Cola drinks consumption and oesophagitis

For oesophageal epithelial changes to develop from gastro-oesophageal reflu x disease (GORD), the character of the refluxate must be acid enough to cau se injury. Experimentally, copious perfusion of the oesophagus with weak ac id is quite harmless. However, hydrochloric acid alone with a pH below 3.0 may cause oesophageal injury. Cola drinks are strongly acidic (pH 2.5), Thi s study analyses the influence of and possible interaction between cola con sumption and oesophagitis, Twenty rats were divided into two groups of 10. The animals received saline (pH 7.0) or cola (pH 2.6) per OS with 24 h free access to these solutions. After the experiment the oesophagus was dissect ed. The mucosa was macroscopically and histopathologically examined, and ho w cytometric analysis was used to look for proliferative activity. The hist opathological analysis showed that there is no difference between saline an d cola. But the findings of cell cycle anal? sis showed that the effects of cola and saline in inducing oesophageal mucosal damage are different. In t he cola group the values were G(0)/G(1), 7.33 +/- 2.88; S, 29.88 +/- 2.88; G(2)/M, 0.10 +/- 0.01; PI (proliferative-regenerative index), 29.76 +/- 2.8 8. The rat cell population g(0)/g(1) phases were found to he low (p < 0.01) , and the cell population S and PI phases were found to be significantly el evated compared with the control group (p ( 0.01). (G(0)/G(1), 79.30 +/- 5. 97; S, 16.06 +/- 8.27; G(2)/ M, 4.66 +/- 1.03: PI, 20.03 +/- 6.01). These r esults: Here reflected in the proliferative index, which is used as a measu re of the regeneration index, The data show that cola has proliferative and regenerative effects on the oesophageal mucosa, and it is possible that it s regenerative effect is caused as a result of an irritant effect.