Olmesartan associated with GI condition mimicking celiac disease.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune (6/22, Lerner) reports that Joseph Murray, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, "has published a study linking the drug olmesartan," a blood pressure medication whose trade name is Benicar, "to a potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal condition that mimics celiac disease." Murray, a specialist in celiac disease, discovered that olmesartan "was associated with severe nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and weight loss in a group of 22 patients from 16 states, according to a report published online in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Some of the patients had been told -- apparently mistakenly -- that they had celiac disease, a severe intestinal disorder." Symptoms in patients improved once they discontinued olmesartan therapy.