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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Eating too much salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but new research suggests it could trick the immune system into prematurely aging the blood vessels.
A preclinical study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has identified a biological chain reaction that links a salty diet to cardiovascular decay.
Scientists at the University of South Alabama observed that mice on a high-salt diet experienced rapid deterioration in their blood vessel function.
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After just four weeks of high sodium intake, the small arteries responsible for regulating blood flow lost their ability to relax, according to a press release.
The team found that the cells lining these vessels had entered a state of cellular senescence, a form of premature cellular aging in which cells stop dividing and release a mix of inflammatory signals that can damage surrounding tissue.
Excess salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but a new study goes deeper into its effects on the cardiovascular system. (iStock)
The researchers tried to replicate this damage by exposing blood vessel cells directly to salt in a laboratory dish, but the cells showed no harmful effects.
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This suggests that salt isn’t directly causing damage to the vascular lining but that the real culprit may be the body’s own defense mechanism, the researchers noted.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16 (IL-16), which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16, which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study. (iStock)
Once these cells age, they fail to produce nitric oxide, the essential gas that tells arteries to dilate and stay flexible.
To test whether this process could be reversed, the team turned to a class of experimental drugs known as senolytics.
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Using a cancer medication called navitoclax, which selectively clears out aged and dysfunctional cells, the researchers were able to restore nearly normal blood vessel function in the salt-fed mice, the release stated.
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By removing the decaying cells created by the high-salt diet, the drug allowed the remaining healthy tissue to maintain its elasticity and respond correctly to blood flow demands.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system into stopping the cells from dividing, the study suggests. (iStock)
The study did have some limitations. The transition from mouse models to human treatment remains a significant hurdle, the team cautioned.
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Senolytic drugs like navitoclax are still being studied for safety, and the team emphasized that previous trials have shown mixed results regarding their impact on artery plaque.
Additionally, the researchers have not yet confirmed whether the same IL-16 pathway is the primary driver of vascular aging in humans.
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Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests.
The observational study, led by Jorge Nieva, M.D., of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at Keck Medicine, was presented this month at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting in San Diego. It has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Researchers looked at dietary, smoking and demographic data for 187 patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer at age 50 or younger.
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They found that among non-smokers, there was a link between healthier-than-average diets – rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains – and the chance of lung cancer development.
Young lung cancer patients ate more servings of dark green vegetables, legumes and whole grains compared to the average U.S. adult, the researchers found.
Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests. (iStock)
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association.
“Commercially produced (non-organic) fruits, vegetables and whole grains are more likely to be associated with a higher residue of pesticides than dairy, meat and many processed foods,” according to Nieva. He also noted that agricultural workers exposed to pesticides tend to have higher rates of lung cancer.
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“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” Nieva told Fox News Digital.
The disease is becoming more common in non-smokers 50 and younger, especially women – despite the fact that smoking rates have been falling for decades, the researcher noted.
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association. (iStock)
“These patients tend to have eaten much healthier diets before their diagnosis than the average American,” he went on. “We need to support research into understanding why Americans – and women in particular – who no longer smoke very much are still having lung cancer,” he said.
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The study did have some limitations, Nieva acknowledged, primarily that it relied on survey data and was limited by the participants’ memories of their food intake.
“Also, the survey participants were self-selected, and this could have biased the findings,” he told Fox News Digital.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking.”
The researchers did not test specific foods for pesticides, relying instead on average pesticide levels for certain types of food. Looking ahead, they plan to test patients’ blood and urine samples to directly measure pesticide levels, Nieva said.
Although the study shows only an association and does not prove that pesticides caused lung cancer, Nieva recommends that people wash their produce before eating and choose organic foods whenever possible.
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“This work represents a critical step toward identifying modifiable environmental factors that may contribute to lung cancer in young adults,” said Nieva. “Our hope is that these insights can guide both public health recommendations and future investigation into lung cancer prevention.”
“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but is by no means certain,” a doctor said. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said the study is “interesting,” but that it “raises far more questions than it answers.”
“It is a small study (around 150) and observational, so no proof,” the doctor, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.
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“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but it is by no means certain,” Siegel went on. “How much exposure is needed? How much of it gets into food and in which areas? This requires much further study.”
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Kayla Nichols, communications director for Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network, a distributed global network, said the organization agrees with the study’s conclusion that more research should be done on the rise in lung cancer, particularly in individuals eating diets higher in produce and fiber.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” the researcher told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“There is a bounty of existing research that already links pesticide exposure to increased risk of multiple types of cancers,” Nichols, who was also not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. She called for more research on chronic, low-level exposures to pesticides, as well as more effective policies to protect the public from pesticide residues on food.
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The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, as well as industry partners including AstraZeneca and Genentech, among others.
Fox News Digital reached out to several pesticide companies and trade groups for comment.
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