Non-ulcer dyspepsia is a highly prevalent medical condition affecting up to 30 percent of the Western population, accounting for 2-5 percent of all adult visits to primary care physicians and leads to over one billion dollars worth of upper endoscopy procedures per year. In an attempt to lower this tremendous burden on the health care system the general practice currently is to attempt to avoid endoscopy in the majority of patients, which are at low risk, by an initial empirical trial of medication. Endoscopy can then be performed in those that fail initial therapy. Unfortunately, empirical treatment is only effective in about 40-50 percent of cases since it is difficult to determine in advance the most effective treatment. Consequently, the high cost of endoscopy continues to be a problem. The overall goal of this proposal is to develop an inexpensive, non-invasive test for the objective and quantitative categorization of non-ulcer dyspepsia patients with the purpose of providing the most effective initial treatment. Effective initial treatment is the single most important action to limit the unnecessary use of expensive investigative procedures, such as upper endoscopy.

Proposed Commercial Applications

NOT AVAILABLE

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Type
Small Business Innovation Research Grants (SBIR) - Phase I (R43)
Project #
1R43DK057395-01A1
Application #
6210341
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-SSS-3 (01))
Program Officer
Podskalny, Judith M,
Project Start
2000-09-30
Project End
2001-09-29
Budget Start
2000-09-30
Budget End
2001-09-29
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2000
Total Cost
$99,850
Indirect Cost
Name
Western Research Company, Inc.
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Tucson
State
AZ
Country
United States
Zip Code
85741