Health
Botox for burping? Doctors use injections to treat ‘no-burp syndrome’
Burping is often considered a “faux pas,” as it can be embarrassing and off-putting, especially in social situations.
But for some, the inability to belch can be an issue that can cause discomfort. There is even a medical name for the condition: retrograde cricopharyngeal dysfunction (R-CPD), also known as “no burp syndrome.”
The cricopharyngeus is the main muscle of the upper esophageal sphincter, the top gate of the food pipe. With no burp syndrome, this muscle does not relax, which interferes with the burping process, according to Neil Chheda, MD, associate professor and vice chair in the department of otolaryngology and chief of the division of laryngology at UF Health in Gainesville, Florida.
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“Both men and women can be affected, and risk factors for developing this condition are not known,” Chheda told Fox News Digital.
The inability to belch is a medical condition called retrograde cricopharyngeal dysfunction (R-CPD), also known as “no burp syndrome.” (iStock)
It may not seem like an inability to burp is a big deal, but it can bring severe challenges, the doctor said.
“Those who can’t burp may report quality of life issues, such as bloating, a gurgling noise, and discomfort with certain foods and drinks, such as carbonated beverages,” Chheda said.
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Priya Krishna, MD, an otolaryngologist in the department of head and neck surgery at Loma Linda University in California, agreed that no burp syndrome can cause “significant psychological distress” in the affected person.
“It actually severely impacts the life of an individual, making social situations embarrassing because the gurgling can be loud and the flatulence excessive,” she told Fox News Digital.
“Those who can’t burp may report quality of life issues, such as bloating, a gurgling noise, and discomfort with certain foods and drinks.”
If over-the-counter options, prescription medications and lifestyle tweaks don’t solve the burping issues, patients can turn to Botox for a potential remedy, medical experts say.
Whether it’s injected into the face for a cosmetic procedure or elsewhere in the body for a functional reason, Botox works by preventing a motor nerve from releasing the chemical transmitter that signals a muscle to contract, explained Dr. Chheda with UF Health.
Botox works by preventing a motor nerve from releasing the chemical transmitter that signals a muscle to contract. (iStock)
“When Botox is injected into the cricopharyngeus, the muscle can’t contract, and thereby relaxes and permits the venting of the esophagus.”
As a result, this can help a patient burp.
Dr. Krishna of Loma Linda University told Fox News Digital that a Botox injection can be a very safe procedure as long as it is injected into the correct and intended muscle.
“That means having a surgeon familiar with the anatomy — as all otolaryngologists are — injecting the cricopharyngeus muscle,” she said.
While it may not seem like an inability to burp is a big deal, it can bring severe challenges, a doctor said. (iStock)
The remedy was discovered by Robert Bastian, MD, an otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat doctor) and director of Bastian Voice Institute in Downers Grove, Illinois.
“I have subspecialized in laryngology (the ‘T’ of ENT), which means voice, swallowing, upper airway, sensory neuropathic cough and inability to burp, or R-CPD,” he told Fox News Digital. “So I describe myself as a ‘laryngologist.’”
Bastian said he pioneered the procedure that involves injecting Botox into the cricopharyngeal muscle, which enables it to loosen and permits burping.
What to expect from the procedure
There are two methods of using Botox to induce burping, according to Bastian.
The first is a brief procedure under general anesthesia in an outpatient operating room.
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“A simple ‘scope’ procedure allows one to see the sphincter, at the junction between the low throat and opening of esophagus,” the doctor told Fox News Digital. “A tiny needle is then inserted into the muscle to inject Botox.”
“Both men and women can be affected, and risk factors for developing this condition are not known,” a doctor told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
Because of the anesthesia, someone must drive the patient home after the procedure.
The second method is to inject the muscle while the patient is sitting in a chair in a doctor’s office.
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“A needle is passed into the muscle from the side of the neck. Surface landmarks and three-dimensional visualization are used by the surgeon, and an EMG device monitors and verifies muscle placement,” Bastian described.
The patient can drive to and from the procedure since only local anesthesia is used.
A Botox injection can be a very safe procedure as long as it is injected into the correct and intended muscle, one doctor stated. (iStock)
Bastian said it has been rewarding to pioneer the Botox method.
“It has been a great privilege to be the one to ‘discover’ and codify the diagnosis and help spread the information to other doctors … and above all, it has been an honor to work with lovely patients who have suffered so much and for so long with this terrible disorder,” he told Fox News Digital.
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A patient of Bastian spoke about the effectiveness of the procedure, saying it has allowed them to burp, that “any gurgling is gone,” and that “bloating has diminished almost entirely,” the doctor shared.
The patient also noted that getting the procedure has “drastically” improved their day-to-day life.
Fox News Digital reached out to the manufacturer of Botox and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting comment.
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A new injectable therapy is showing positive results in reducing melanoma throughout a five-year period.
The personalized mRNA cancer therapy, called intismeran autogene, combined with the cancer immunotherapy drug KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), is a collaboration between Merck and Moderna.
The results from the phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 study were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 27.
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After about a five-year follow-up, the combo drug was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone.
The researchers analyzed data from 157 patients with high-risk stage 3 and 4 melanoma whose cancer had been removed via surgery. The participants were split into two groups — one received the combo therapy and the other only received pembrolizumab, according to a press release.
The therapy was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone after a five-year follow-up. (iStock)
The findings revealed that the combination group saw benefits that were “sustained and durable over time.”
Intismeran autogene is designed using mutations identified in a patient’s own tumor, with the intention of teaching the immune system what the cancer looks like so that it can recognize and attack it.
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According to the researchers, intismeran is “well-tolerated” with a “manageable” safety profile.
The most commonly cited side effects of the personalized mRNA vaccine plus KEYTRUDA were fatigue, injection-site pain, chills, fever and headache. The researchers reported no new long-term safety concerns and no severe vaccine-related adverse events.
The combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study — the final confirmation stage.
Patients with late-stage melanoma have a “significant risk” of cancer recurrence, according to an expert. (iStock)
In a Merck press release from January, Kyle Holen, MD, Moderna’s senior vice president and head of development, oncology and therapeutics, noted that this data highlights the “potential of a prolonged benefit … in patients with resected high-risk melanoma.”
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“We continue to invest in our platform in oncology because of encouraging outcomes like these, which illustrate mRNA’s potential in cancer care,” he said.
Dr. Marjorie Green, senior vice president and head of oncology, global clinical development at Merck Research Laboratories, also commented that for many patients with stage 3 or 4 melanoma, there is a “significant risk of recurrence following surgery.”
Researchers confirmed that the combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study. (iStock)
“As such, demonstrating the longer-term potential of intismeran autogene and KEYTRUDA to reduce the risk of recurrence for certain patients with melanoma is a meaningful milestone,” she said.
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The company cited encouraging five-year follow-up data and pointed to upcoming late-stage INTerpath trial results with Moderna in several hard-to-treat cancers.
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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