On Monday, a string of studies proposed that drugs dubbed proton pump inhibitors or PPIs that are frequently used to cure ordinary indigestion, can lead to grave side effects and must be taken with care.

The drugs all are proton pump inhibitors, the most potent class of antacid drugs, together with AstraZeneca's Nexium and Prilosec.

It's the third top-selling group of drugs in the U. S. Every year, doctors write 113.4 million prescriptions for the medicines.

Drugs in the same group, like Prilosec and Prevacid, now are retailed over-the-counter to cure common indigestion.

The medications help a great deal to diminish heartburn. PPIs should be used only in grave circumstances, but are frequently taken for simple stomachache.

According to a special report in the Archives of Internal Medicine, though the medicines are of big assistance to the right patients, they might increase the danger of fractures in post-menopausal women and lead to bacterial contagions in several patients.

A study led by Shelly Gray of the University of Washington in Seattle observed 161,806 women between the age group 50 and 79.

After eight years of follow-up, they discovered that women who had the drugs were at higher risk for fractures on the whole, particularly of the spine and wrist.