Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 17, Issue 16, 2011

There is little doubt that the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal disorders, diagnosis as well as the therapy is a pertinent scientific focus and one of the largest and most intriguing areas in medicine. Likewise, it has been generally accepted that most of the therapy and understanding of pathophysiology in the gastrointestinal tract is well and should be validated in clinical practice. Therefore, there is still an open door for o Read More

Helicobacter pylori infection induces oxidative stress on gastric mucosa, thereby causing mucosal damage, retarding mucosal repair, and eventually inducing gastric cancer. Cells can survive against chronic oxidative stress by enhancing activities of antioxidant enzymes, thereby protecting cells from DNA damage. Recent studies have clearly shown that the genes encoding nrf2 (NF-E2 p45- related factor-2) and ke Read More

Previous studies revealed that prostaglandins contribute to the mechanism of maintenance of gastrointestinal integrity and mediate various physiological aspects of mucosal defense. The suppression of prostaglandin synthesis in the stomach is a critical event in terms of the development of mucosal injury after administration of various NSAID including aspirin (ASA). A worldwide use of ASA is now accepted due to its remar Read More

Recently, reports published in Nature Medicine and Cell have suggested the existence of a gut-bone axis based on studies of gene knockout mice. First, impaired gastric acid secretion was claimed to negatively affect calcium homeostasis and bone mass; which was based on the bone phenotype of cholecystokinin-B (or 2) receptor knockout mice. However, also histidine decarboxylase knockout mice suffered from impai Read More

Our clinical observations proved that the duodenal ulcer in patients healed without any inhibition of gastric acid secretion (1965), and the healing rates of atropine vs. cimetidine vs. Carbenoxolone were equal and superior to that of placebo in randomized, prospective and multiclinical study of DU patients (1978). The phenomenon of gastric cytoprotection was defined by Andre Robert in rats (1979). The essential point of this ph Read More

This review aims to examine current basic and clinical concepts, the results of which are expanding our understanding of visceral hypersensitivity and functional abdominal pain of intestinal origin in relation to the enteric nervous system (ENS), spinal sensory neurons and enteric mast cells. Advances in this sphere are translating to improved insight into chronic functional abdominal and pelvic pain syndromes in general.

Until recently, fat was considered a relatively inactive tissue serving only as a depot for the storage of excess lipid around the body. Over the last decade, however, several studies have established fat as a metabolically active endocrine organ able to affect human pathophysiology at multiple levels. During this time adipose tissue has been shown to produce a number of hormones and inflammatory mediators collectively term Read More

Defensins and cathelicidins are small cationic peptides produced by neutrophils and epithelial cells. They are highly expressed during infection. The role of constitutive and inducible antibacterial peptides has been extensively studied over the recent years; especially in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, where the balance between the luminal bacteria and antibacterial peptides is crucial in the maintenance of a healthy GI tract. The Read More

Postoperative gastric ileus develops after abdominal surgery and if prolonged leads to longer hospitalization times. Besides discomfort for the patient such as abdominal bloating and pain, this condition is associated with a great increase in healthcare costs. In order to develop new and effective treatment strategies to alleviate the ileus, a good understanding of the pathophysiological underlying mechanisms is necessary Read More

The finding that somatostatin (SST) or its analogue, octreotide caused a dose-dependent reduction in exocrine pancreatic secretions triggered their research as therapeutic options for acute pancreatitis (AP), a life-threatening illness. However, the accumulative clinical trials of SST or octreotide in AP treatment present the controversial results. The insufficient secretory capacity of acinar cells in AP patients also queries the validit Read More

Alendronate, a nitrogen containing bisphosphonate (BPP), when given p.o., decreases the transmucosal potential difference by direct irritating action, resulting in non-hemorrhagic lesions in both the corpus and antrum of fasted rats, and after re-feeding produces large ulcers in the antrum with increased vascular permeability and submucosal edema. The pathogenesis of these ulcers may be explained by the impairment of Read More

Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 is an anti-ulcer peptidergic agent, safe in inflammatory bowel disease clinical trials (GEPPPGKPADDAGLV, M.W. 1419, PL 14736) and wound healing, stable in human gastric juice and has no reported toxicity. We focused on BPC 157 as a therapy in peridontitis, esophagus, stomach, duodenum, intestine, liver and pancreas lesions. Particularly, it has a prominent effect on alcohol-lesio Read More

Gastrointestinal (GI) ulcers are essentially internal wounds that resist normal healing processes. Since their pathogenesis is poorly understood, and the etiologic (e.g., gastric acid, aspirin-like drugs, stress) and aggravating factors (e.g., H. pylori) are not well characterized, the remaining therapeutic option is to accelerate healing. Superficial mucosal lesions, i.e., erosions usually heal by epithelial regeneration and restituti Read More

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn disease (CD) are characterized by recurrent inflammation and ulceration of intestinal and/or colonic mucosa and an inappropriate and delayed healing. Current therapies with, e.g., anti-TNFα antibody (infliximab) and other anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g., mesalamine) do not induce sustained remission, complete healing or prevent recurrence of UC. Although Read More