Use of cimetidine, omeprazole, and ranitidine in pregnant women and pregnancy outcomes. (65/1291)

Evidence documenting the safety of acid-suppressing drugs in pregnancy is very limited. The authors assessed the prevalence of congenital malformations in first trimester-exposed pregnancies to cimetidine, omeprazole, and ranitidine and compared it with nonexposed pregnancies between 1991 and 1996. Two different sources were used, the United Kingdom General Practice Research Database and the Italian Friuli-Venezia Giulia Health Database. The final study cohort included 1,179 pregnancies from the United Kingdom and 1,057 from Italy. Abortions or ectopic pregnancies were not included. There were 20 stillbirths and 2,261 live-born babies in both cohorts combined, with 100 offspring identified with a malformation. The overall malformation rate was 4.4%. The relative risks for nongenetic congenital malformations associated with the use of cimetidine, omeprazole, and ranitidine were 1.2 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.6, 2.3), 0.9 (95% CI: 0.3, 2.2), and 1.4 (95% CI: 0.8, 2.4), respectively, compared with the nonexposed. No specific grouping in the distribution of malformations was observed in any of the three exposed groups. Moreover, no relation was found between drug exposure and preterm delivery or growth retardation. These findings suggest that the use of acid-suppressing drugs during the first trimester of pregnancy is not associated with a major teratogenic risk.  (+info)

Endoscopic regression of Barrett's oesophagus during omeprazole treatment; a randomised double blind study. (66/1291)

BACKGROUND: Barrett's oesophagus, columnar metaplasia of the epithelium, is a premalignant condition with a 50-100-fold increased risk of cancer. The condition is caused by chronic gastro-oesophageal reflux. Regression of metaplasia may decrease the cancer risk. AIMS: To determine whether elimination of acid gastro-oesophageal reflux induces a regression of metaplastic epithelium. METHODS: Sixty eight patients with acid reflux and proven Barrett's oesophagus were included in a prospective, randomised, double blind study with parallel groups, and were treated with profound acid secretion suppression with omeprazole 40 mg twice daily, or with mild acid secretion suppression with ranitidine 150 mg twice daily, for 24 months. Endoscopy was performed at 0, 3, 9, 15, and 24 months with measurement of length and surface area of Barrett's oesophagus; pH-metry was performed at 0 and 3 months. Per protocol analysis was performed on 26 patients treated with omeprazole, and 27 patients treated with ranitidine. RESULTS: Omeprazole reduced reflux to 0.1%, ranitidine to 9.4% per 24 hours. Symptoms were ameliorated in both groups. There was a small, but statistically significant regression of Barrett's oesophagus in the omeprazole group, both in length and in area. No change was observed in the ranitidine group. The difference between the regression in the omeprazole and ranitidine group was statistically significant for the area of Barrett's oesophagus (p=0. 02), and showed a trend in the same direction for the length of Barrett's oesophagus (p=0.06). CONCLUSIONS: Profound suppression of acid secretion, leading to elimination of acid reflux, induces partial regression of Barrett's oesophagus.  (+info)

Review article: the pharmacology of rabeprazole. (67/1291)

Rabeprazole sodium is a new substituted benzimidazole proton pump inhibitor with several differences compared with existing proton pump inhibitors. In vitro and animal studies have demonstrated that rabeprazole is a more potent inhibitor of H+,K(+)-ATPase and acid secretion than omeprazole, and is a more rapid inhibitor of proton pumps than omeprazole, lansoprazole, or pantoprazole. This probably reflects rabeprazole's faster activation in the parietal cell canaliculus. In human studies, once-daily doses of 5-40 mg of rabeprazole inhibit gastric acid secretion in a dose-dependent fashion. A once-daily dose of 20 mg has consistently achieved profound decreases in 24-h intragastric acidity in single and repeat dosing studies, in healthy volunteers and patients with either peptic ulcer disease or gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Significantly greater decreases in intragastric acidity are achieved on day 1 of dosing with rabeprazole 20 mg than with omeprazole 20 mg. As with other proton pump inhibitors, rabeprazole has in vitro antibacterial activity against Helicobacter pylori, with greater activity against this organism than either lansoprazole or omeprazole. In addition to inhibiting bacterial urease activity, rabeprazole binds to several molecules on H. pylori. Clinical trials are needed to assess the clinical importance of these findings, as well as to assess whether the potential advantages of rabeprazole result in clinical benefit for patients with acid-related diseases.  (+info)

Review article: the pharmacokinetics of rabeprazole in health and disease. (68/1291)

Rabeprazole, a newly developed proton pump inhibitor, has been shown to be effective for the treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcers and for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. It is a rapid and potent inhibitor of gastric H+,K(+)-ATPase, the gastric acid (proton) pump. The maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) and the area under the plasma concentration time curve (AUC) are linearly related to dose, while the time to maximum plasma concentration (tmax) and elimination half-life (t1/2) are dose-independent. Rabeprazole is extensively metabolized in the liver via the cytochrome P450 enzyme system, and its metabolites are excreted primarily in the urine. Rabeprazole does not accumulate with repeated dosing. Its bioavailability is not influenced by the coingestion of either food or antacids. The pharmacokinetic profile of rabeprazole is substantially altered in the elderly and patients with stable compensated chronic cirrhosis; however, these alterations are not associated with clinically significant abnormalities in laboratory parameters or serious adverse events. The influence of severe decompensated liver disease on the pharmacokinetics of rabeprazole has not been assessed. The pharmacokinetic profile of rabeprazole is not significantly altered by renal dysfunction requiring maintenance haemodialysis. These findings suggest that dosage adjustment is not required in these special patient populations. Caution should be exercised, however, in patients with severe liver disease.  (+info)

Review article: drug interactions with agents used to treat acid-related diseases. (69/1291)

Patients with acid-related diseases often need to take multiple medications. Treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection often includes either a histamine type 2 (H2)-receptor antagonist or a proton pump (H+,K(+)-ATPase) inhibitor (proton pump inhibitor), administered in conjunction with one or more antimicrobials. Also, treatment for acid-related diseases often requires extended therapy during which many concomitant medications may be administered for concurrent disease states. Polypharmacy may be the result, particularly in elderly patients, who are at increased risk for both acid-related and many other diseases. Thus, it is important to understand the potential for clinically significant drug-drug interactions in this setting. H2-receptor antagonists and proton pump inhibitors can influence the pharmacokinetic profiles of other commonly administered medications by elevating intragastric pH, which can alter drug absorption, and by interacting with the cytochrome P (CYP) 450 enzyme system, which can affect drug metabolism and clearance. Such interactions are particularly important when they affect the pharmacokinetics of drugs with narrow therapeutic ranges (e.g. warfarin, digoxin). In these cases, drug-drug interactions can result in significant toxicity and even death. There are marked differences among H2-receptor antagonists and proton pump inhibitors in their potential for such interactions. The oldest drugs in each class, cimetidine and omeprazole, respectively, have the greatest potential to alter CYP activity and change the pharmacokinetics of other drugs. The most recently developed H2-receptor antagonist, famotidine, and the newer proton pump inhibitors, rabeprazole and pantoprazole, are much less likely to induce or inhibit CYP and thereby change the metabolism of other medications. These differences are important when choosing medications for the safe treatment of patients with acid-related diseases.  (+info)

Review article: cytochrome P450 and the metabolism of proton pump inhibitors--emphasis on rabeprazole. (70/1291)

The proton pump inhibitors rabeprazole, omeprazole, lansoprazole, and pantoprazole undergo an extensive hepatic biotransformation. In the liver, they are metabolized to varying degree by several cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoenzymes which are further categorized into subfamilies of related polymorphic gene products. The principal isoenzymes involved in the metabolism of proton pump inhibitors are CYP2C19 and CYP3A4. Of these two, minor mutations in CYP2C19 affect its activity in the liver and, in turn, the metabolic and pharmacokinetic profiles of the proton pump inhibitors. The metabolism of rabeprazole is less dependent on CYP2C19 and therefore is the least affected by this genetic polymorphism. Recent studies have brought to light the important role that this polymorphism plays in the therapeutic effectiveness of proton pump inhibitors during the treatment of acid-related diseases.  (+info)

Possible evidence for transmembrane K(+)-H+ exchange system in guinea pig myocardium. (71/1291)

The aim of this study was to obtain evidence for a transmembrane K(+)-H+ exchange system in Langendorff-perfused whole hearts and isolated ventricular myocytes of guinea pig. Effluent relation between K+ and pH in the whole hearts perfused with HEPES-buffered Tyrode's solution indicated a significant (p < 0.05) functional coupling of K+ uptake and H+ extrusion that was energy-dependent and omeprazole (OPZ)-sensitive. Administration of OPZ (0.3 mM) or dimethylamiloride (0.1 mM), an inhibitor of Na(+)-H+ antiport, to whole hearts subjected to the repetitive NH4Cl applications implied that both Na(+)-H+ and putative K(+)-H+ countertransports contribute to the regulation of intracellular pH. In isolated myocytes, voltage-dependent L-type Ca current (ICa) was inhibited by OPZ (0.3 mM) under K(-)- and Na(+)-free condition by 11 to 14%, and was inhibited to a greater extent (i.e., by 36 to 40%) by this agent in the presence of K+. OPZ-induced inhibition of the putative K(+)-H+ exchanger likely resulted in subsarcolemmal acidification which was responsible for the rate-independent suppression of ICa. In conclusion, these data provide functional evidence for a myocardial transmembrane K(+)-H+ exchanger.  (+info)

Lack of drug interaction between omeprazole, lansoprazole, pantoprazole and theophylline. (72/1291)

AIMS: Theophylline is a model substrate of cytochrome P4501A2. The ability of the proton pump inhibitors (PPI) omeprazole, lansoprazole and pantoprazole to induce cytochrome P4501A2 has not yet been unequivocally resolved. The aim of this comprehensive study was to compare directly the effect of the three PPI on the absorption and disposition of theophylline. METHODS: Twenty healthy, nonsmoking, male and female volunteers (extensive metabolisers of cytochrome P4502C19 and Helicobacter pylori negative) participated in a randomized, double-blind, four-period, placebo-controlled crossover study. In each of the four periods they received either omeprazole (40 mg), lansoprazole (60 mg), pantoprazole (80 mg) or placebo once daily for 10 days. Sustained release theophylline (350 mg twice daily) was coadministered from day 8-10. Pharmacokinetics of theophylline as well as of all three PPI were determined at steady-state (day 10). RESULTS: In all periods, point estimates and 90% confidence intervals of the area under the concentration-time curves (AUC), maximum steady-state concentrations and peak-trough fluctuations of theophylline were not altered by PPI pretreatment and met the required limits for bioequivalence. Point estimates (90% confidence intervals) of the AUC ratios of theophylline plus PPI to theophylline alone were 0.92 (0.87-0.97), 0.90 (0.85-0.95) and 1.00 (0.95-1.06) for omeprazole, lansoprazole and pantoprazole, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Concomitant intake of omeprazole, lansoprazole or pantoprazole at high therapeutic doses does not affect the absorption and disposition of theophylline.  (+info)