Minneapolis, MN-- 02/01/2007 --Dr. Barry Kimberley of Somnograph
(dba Neosom Clinics) discovered the cause of laryngeal damage to
a 46-year-old woman with Restech’s
Dx-pH Measurement Systemäand put to rest months of inconclusive
testing and uncertainty.
Three physicians treated the patient prior to Dr. Kimberley
without eliciting sufficient evidence to make a diagnosis. The
patient underwent standard testing for the symptoms presented:
a conventional ambulatory impedance-pH test yielded unremarkable
results; the Johnson-DeMeester esophageal reflux score was normal;
and a vocal cord stripping produced benign results.
Dr. Kimberley administered the recently released Restech test
and uncovered acute acid reflux above the esophagus. The Dx-pH
Probeä recorded extremely low pH (acid) events in the laryngopharyngeal
region, which is believed to be far more sensitive and susceptible
to reflux related injuries than is the esophagus. Conventional
pH sensors do not function properly in the non-liquid environment
of the upper airway and generally do not detect such pH drops.
“The results can be clearly interpreted as a positive
recording of significant reflux laryngitis or laryngopharyngeal
reflux (LPR)” said Dr. Kimberley. LPR is a newly recognized
pathology, which has received significant attention in recent
years by the nation’s leading physicians as a “silent
disease.”
LPR has also caused a controversy between the Gastroenterology
(GI) and Otolaryngology (ENT) fields. “Patients presenting
these symptoms are very common. However, until the Restech System
became available, patients slipped through the cracks of the
GI-ENT relationship due to an unclear jurisdiction of symptoms,” said
Dr. Kimberley.
Somnograph, a national leader in sleep disorders diagnosis and
treatment, was an early adopter of the Restech System, which is
now creating a buzz in the GI, ENT, and sleep medicine communities. “With
the rise of research and published work relating acid reflux to
sleep apnea, asthma and other respiratory diseases, we are confident
that this is the only device that can reliably highlight these
relationships,” said Duke Naipohn, CEO, Somnograph.
To obtain further information or photographs, please contact Walter
Flicker or Debra Krahel at
Restech at 800-352-1512, or visit our website at www.restech-corp.com. 
