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Background: Pantoprazole is a new proton pump inhibitor indicated for the treatment of erosive esophagitis associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and is available in both oral and intravenous (IV) formulations., Objective: This paper reviews the pharmacologic properties of pantoprazole and summarizes the findings from clinical studies of this drug., Methods: This review was compiled from the published literature, abstracts from clinical trials, and data on file with the manufacturer of pantoprazole., Results: Pantoprazole selectively accumulates in the acidic environment of gastric parietal cells and acts at the final step of acid secretion by binding 2 key cysteine residues of the proton pump involved in gastric acid production. The bioavailability of pantoprazole is not altered by concomitant administration of food or antacids or with repeated dosing. Both oral and IV formulations of pantoprazole exhibit linear pharmacokinetics. Several clinical trials have proved pantoprazole superior to histamine-2-receptor antagonists (H2RAs) in reducing acid secretion and elevating gastric pH levels. Pantoprazole has been shown to be more effective than ranitidine (P < 0.05), famotidine (P < 0.001), and nizatidine (P < 0.05), and at least as effective as omeprazole, in healing erosive esophagitis and relieving associated symptoms of GERD, including regurgitation. Pantoprazole is also more effective than the H2RA nizatidine for the treatment of nighttime heartburn (P < 0.05). Studies have shown pantoprazole to be well tolerated; adverse events, including headache, diarrhea, flatulence, abdominal pain, eructation, nausea, and rash, occurred in < or = 6% of patients. The oral and IV formulations of pantoprazole are equally potent in inhibiting gastric acid secretion; thus, switching between formulations requires no dosage adjustments. Special patient populations, including the elderly and patients with renal or mild to moderate hepatic impairment, can take pantoprazole without an adjustment in dosage., Conclusions: Because of its unique pharmacokinetic properties, mechanism of action, and reduced potential for producing cytochrome P-450-based drug interactions, pantoprazole in both oral and IV formulations is effective over a full 24 hours and is well tolerated in a variety of patient types.

Background: Lansoprazole is a new proton pump inhibitor for the treatment of peptic ulcer disease., Methods: A double-blind, multicentre study was undertaken in 296 patients with endoscopically proven duodenal ulcer to compare the efficacy and safety of lansoprazole 15, 30 or 60 mg with placebo. Ulcer healing was documented by endoscopy at 2 and 4 weeks; patients whose ulcers healed after 4 weeks were followed for up to 6 months post-treatment., Results: Four-week healing rates of 89.4%, 91.7% and 89.9% were obtained with lansoprazole 15, 30 and 60 mg, respectively, compared with 46.1% on placebo (P < 0.001). All three doses of lansoprazole produced rapid symptom relief, although patients taking 60 mg lansoprazole required fewer antacids than did those taking 15 mg. At 6 months, the percentages of patients healed were 45.3%, 40.0% and 38.4% in the lansoprazole 15, 30 and 60 mg dosage groups, respectively, and 25.3% for the placebo group. No significant adverse events were documented during the period of this trial., Conclusion: Lansoprazole is an effective and safe treatment for duodenal ulcer and the 15 mg dose is as effective as 30 or 60 mg.

Objectives: A multicenter, double-blind study was conducted in 268 patients to compare the safety and efficacy of 15, 30, and 60 mg of lansoprazole and placebo in the treatment of gastric ulcer., Methods: The study included an 8-wk treatment period to assess healing and a 6-month posttreatment period to evaluate ulcer recurrence. Endoscopies were performed, GI symptoms and antacid use were assessed, and safety evaluations were conducted, including serum gastrin and biopsies of the lesions and the greater curvature of the stomach., Results: At week 4, healing rates were significantly higher with lansoprazole 15 and 30 mg (64.6 and 58.1%, respectively) compared with placebo (37.5%). By week 8, healing rates were 76.7% with placebo, 92.2% with 15 mg of lansoprazole, 96.8% with 30 mg, and 93.2% with 60 mg of lansoprazole (p < 0.05). The drug was well tolerated, with no significant differences from placebo in the incidence of adverse events. Fasting serum gastrin increased in all lansoprazole groups, reaching a plateau by week 2 and returning to baseline levels by month 1 posttreatment. No significant increase in Grimelius-positive cells or inflammation was evident. All but two patients had normal gastric morphology evaluated by Solcia classification., Conclusions: Lansoprazole, 15, 30, and 60 mg, administered once daily before eating, healed gastric ulcers to an approximately equal degree, and all were significantly better than placebo.

The major route of protoporphyrin elimination is biliary secretion. To clarify the nature of the secretory process, maximal canalicular secretion of protoporphyrin was determined under basal conditions and after treatment with various choleretics. The maximal secretion of protoporphyrin under basal conditions was 0.07 +/- 0.01 micrograms.min-1.100 g body wt-1. Infusion of physiological amounts of sodium taurocholate increased protoporphyrin secretion 13-fold (0.90 +/- 0.02), primarily by increasing the biliary protoporphyrin concentration. Biliary protoporphyrin secretion tended to plateau in spite of a continued rise in both biliary bile acid secretion and concentration. Infusion of sodium dehydrocholate increased protoporphyrin secretion, but to only 35% of that achieved by sodium taurocholate. Ethacrynic acid and phenobarbital increased bile flow over controls but failed to enhance protoporphyrin transport. Thus, canalicular secretion of protoporphyrin was maximally enhanced by micelle-forming bile acids and unaffected by nonbile acid choleretics. The observed limitation of protoporphyrin secretion may be related to achievement of a canalicular transport maximum or to a toxic effect of protoporphyrin on the transport process.

The effects of acute intravenous alcohol infusion or sham treatment with normal saline on rectosigmoid motility was determined in healthy adult volunteer subjects. A significant reduction of rectosigmoid wave frequency, amplitude, percent activity and motility index occurred in subjects infused with alcohol when compared to their basal period or corresponding periods in the sham-treated group. Chemical intoxication was achieved in all subjects given alcohol and the percent of the basal motility index varied inversely with the blood alcohol level.

The pathogenesis of liver disease in protoporphyria has been presumed to result from the hepatic deposition of protoporphyrin. To examine the effects of protoporphyrin on hepatic bile flow and histopathology, studies were performed employing an isolated, in situ, rat liver perfusion system. Rat livers in the control group were perfused with 0-80 mumol sodium taurocholate/h. Rat livers in the experimental group were perfused with sodium taurocholate and (a) sufficient quantities of protoporphyrin to produce maximal canalicular secretion and (b) perfusate protoporphyrin concentrations of 0.01, 0.1, and 1 muM. The administration of protoporphyrin sufficient to achieve maximal canalicular secretion was found to significantly reduce bile flow in rats infused with 0, 40, and 80 mumol sodium taurocholate/h. Linear regression analysis defined the relationship between bile flow and biliary bile acid secretion and showed that the bile acid-independent fraction of bile flow was reduced (P < 0.01). Bile acid-dependent flow was unaffected and there was no significant difference in biliary bile acid secretion rates between control and protoporphyrin-perfused livers. Perfusion of rat livers with varying concentrations of protoporphyrin demonstrated the reduction of bile flow was dose-related. Analysis of perfusate enzyme activity did not reveal abnormalities that could account for the cholestasis. Studies to evaluate the effect of protoporphyrin on regional hepatic hemodynamics were inconclusive. Histopathological studies of control and protoporphyrin-perfused rat livers did not show abnormalities on light microscopy. However, canalicular dilatation, distortion, and loss of microvilli were present in the protoporphyrin-perfused livers examined by transmission electron microscopy. Although ultraviolet microscopy showed diffuse fluorescence of the hepatocytes and canaliculi of protoporphyrin-perfused livers, the deposition of protoporphyrin in amorphous or crystalline forms was notably absent in studies with polarizing and transmission electron microscopy. These studies provide evidence that protoporphyrin has hepatotoxic properties that affect the canalicular secretory apparatus. The mechanism(s) responsible for the injury require further clarification.

Models to explain the pathophysiology of protoporphyria have been based on fluxes of protoporphyrin between plasma and liver for which no quantitative data exist. The present studies employed isolated, in situ, recirculating and nonrecirculating rat liver perfusions to define the kinetics of hepatic uptake and biliary secretion of protoporphyrin. Livers from Sprague-Dawley rats were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit-3% albumin solution (bile acid-free) to which protoporphyrin was added. In nonrecirculation studies, hepatic protoporphyrin extraction was determined from 5 sec to 3 min. In recirculation studies, protoporphyrin perfusate disappearance and biliary secretion were determined at 5 and 10 min intervals, respectively. Rate constants derived from compartmental analysis of recirculation studies correlated with early measured values obtained during nonrecirculation; however, a dose-related decrease in the influx rate constant was evident. The overall disappearance of protoporphyrin from perfusate followed first-order kinetics but was neither monoexponential nor saturable. Sinusoidal cells contained less than 8% of the protoporphyrin extracted by the liver. Only 0.1% to 4% of the extracted protoporphyrin was secreted into bile. Therefore, canalicular secretion appeared to be the rate-limiting step in hepatic protoporphyrin disposal. Extrapolations based on these data provide a theoretical framework to appreciate the generation of plasma protoporphyrin concentrations. Within this framework, it may be inferred that if plasma protoporphyrin concentration is in excess of that predicted from total protoporphyrin excretion, a defect in hepatic protoporphyrin clearance exits.

To further define the pathogenesis of protoporphyric liver disease, perfused rat livers received varying doses of protoporphyrin, and aberrations of hepatic ultrastructure and function were correlated. Results indicated that the relative canalicular volume was equally increased in all protoporphyrin-perfused livers; however, bile flow was only minimally diminished at the smallest protoporphyrin dose employed. Protoporphyrin injured microvilli at the sinusoidal pole and reduced the surface density of the endoplasmic reticulum in a dose-related fashion. No crystalline or amorphous material was detectable, and only slight mitochondrial distortions occurred. Thus, cholestasis did not correlate with canalicular dilatation, the presence of crystalline material, or mitochondrial changes. Liver plasma membrane abnormalities appeared to correlate with functional defects and support a direct hepatotoxicity. Long-term protoporphyrin overload studies are needed to assess differences between hepatic and erythroid (parenteral) sources of protoporphyrin overproduction.