High detection rate of adenomas in familial colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Subjects with one first-degree relative (FDR) with colorectal cancer (CRC) <50 years old or two FDRs with CRC have an increased risk for CRC (RR 4-6). Current guidelines recommend colonoscopic surveillance of such families. However, information about the yield of surveillance is limited. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the outcome of surveillance and to identify risk factors for the development of adenomas. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Subjects were included if they fulfilled the following criteria: asymptomatic subjects aged between 45 and 65 years, with one FDR with CRC <50 years old (group A) or two FDRs with CRC diagnosed at any age (group B). Subjects with a personal history of inflammatory bowel disease or colorectal surgery were excluded. RESULTS: A total of 551 subjects (242 male) met the selection criteria. Ninety-five subjects with a previous colonoscopy were excluded. Two of 456 remaining subjects (0.4%) were found to have a colorectal tumour (one CRC and one carcinoid). Adenomas were detected in 85 (18.6%) and adenomas with advanced pathology in 37 subjects (8.1%). 30 subjects (6.6%) had multiple (>1) adenomas. Men were more often found to have an adenoma than women (24% vs 14.3%; p=0.01). Adenomas were more frequent in group B compared with group A (22.0% vs 15.6%; p=0.09). CONCLUSION: The yield of colonoscopic surveillance in familial CRC is substantially higher than the yield of screening reported for the general population.

Ranitidine bismuth citrate with clarithromycin versus omeprazole with amoxycillin in the cure of Helicobacter pylori infection.

AIM: To compare the efficacy of ranitidine bismuth citrate plus clarithromycin (RBC-C) vs. omeprazole plus amoxycillin (OME-AMO) in the cure of Helicobacter pylori infection. METHODS: In this double-blind, multicentre, parallel-group study 122 H. pylori-positive patients with active duodenal ulcer or gastritis, with confirmed history of duodenal ulcer, were randomized to treatment with ranitidine bismuth citrate 400 mg b.d. plus clarithromycin 500 mg b.d. or omeprazole 20 mg b.d. plus amoxycillin 1000 mg b.d. for 14 days, followed by 14 days of ranitidine bismuth citrate 400 mg b.d. or omeprazole 20 mg once daily, respectively, to facilitate ulcer healing. Endoscopy was carried out at the start of the study and 28 days after the end of treatment. At each endoscopy four biopsies were obtained from the antrum and four biopsies from the corpus, for rapid urease test, histology and culture. H. pylori infection was defined as a positive urease test, confirmed by histology or culture. Cure of H. pylori infection was defined as negative urease test, histology or culture from both sites. RESULTS: Per-protocol, all-patients-treated and intention-to-treat cure rates (95% confidence interval) were, respectively, 90% (81-89%), 90% (82-89%) and 84% (74-93%) for ranitidine bismuth citrate plus clarithromycin, and 39% (27-54%), 44% (31-57%) and 41% (29-53%) for omeprazole plus amoxycillin, P < 0.00001. Both regimens were well tolerated. Eight patients were lost to follow-up, for lack of efficacy (one patient), adverse events (three patients) or refusal of second endoscopy (four patients). CONCLUSION: Ranitidine bismuth citrate 400 mg b.d. with clarithromycin 500 mg b.d. is superior to omeprazole 20 mg b.d. with amoxycillin 1000 mg b.d. Ranitidine bismuth citrate with clarithromycin is the first dual therapy with high cure rates and good tolerance, and is easy to take. It may therefore prove a suitable first-line treatment in H. pylori infection.

Effect of synthetic prostaglandin E2 analog enprostil on omeprazole-induced hypergastrinemia and hyperpepsinogenemia.

This study was undertaken to determine whether the synthetic prostaglandin E2 analog enprostil is able to inhibit basal and postprandial hypergastrinemia induced by omeprazole. We also studied the effect of omeprazole, enprostil, and the combination of both drugs on serum pepsinogen A and C levels. Eight normal subjects received in random order five-day courses of 40 mg omeprazole once a day, 35 micrograms enprostil three times a day, the combination of both drugs, and placebo. Omeprazole induced significant increases in basal and postprandial serum gastrin and in pepsinogen A and C levels. These increments persisted on the day after stopping treatment. Coadministration of enprostil inhibited omeprazole-induced basal hypergastrinemia and postprandial integrated serum gastrin, but not basal serum pepsinogen A and C, while the inhibition on the day after the treatment courses only reached statistical significance for the postprandial integrated serum gastrin concentration. It is concluded that enprostil inhibits omeprazole-induced basal and postprandial hypergastrinemia, with a tendency to protracted inhibition after stopping the drugs, and that enprostil does not significantly influence omeprazole-induced increases in pepsinogen A and C level. Coadministration of enprostil may be helpful in preventing pronounced hypergastrinemia in the few patients who show large serum gastrin increases during treatment with omeprazole.

Inhibition of omeprazole induced hypergastrinaemia by SMS 201-995, a long acting somatostatin analogue in man.

Whether the long acting somatostatin analogue SMS 201-995 (octreotide, Sandostatin) could inhibit the basal and meal stimulated hypergastrinaemia and hyperpepsinogenaemia induced by omeprazole was investigated. Eight healthy subjects were randomised to receive five day courses of SMS 201-995 (25 micrograms subcutaneously three times daily), omeprazole (40 mg once a day), a combination of both drugs, or placebo. Basal and meal stimulated serum gastrin and basal serum pepsinogen A and C values were measured the day before treatment, on day five of treatment, and the day after each course of treatment. Omeprazole caused significant increases in basal and meal stimulated peak and integrated serum gastrin values and pepsinogen A and C levels, which were still significantly raised the day after stopping omeprazole treatment. Giving SMS 201-995 with omeprazole significantly reduced any omeprazole induced increases in basal and meal stimulated peak and integrated serum gastrin levels; serum pepsinogen A and C values were significantly inhibited too. Serum gastrin values during combined therapy were not significantly different from those during placebo treatment, whereas pepsinogen A and C levels were still significantly raised. On the day after stopping combined therapy, basal and meal stimulated peak and integrated serum gastrin and serum pepsinogen C (but not pepsinogen A) levels were not significantly different from values obtained on the day after stopping omeprazole alone. SMS 201-995 without omeprazole significantly inhibited basal and meal stimulated peak and integrated serum gastrin levels. Pepsinogen A was also significantly inhibited by SMS 210-995, but the reduction in pepsinogen C failed to reach statistical significance. In conclusion, SMS 201-995 prevents basal and meal stimulated increases in serum gastrin during omeprazole therapy. This finding may have clinical importance in the few patients who have pronounced hypergastrinaemia because of profound long acting acid inhibition.

Effect of intermittent administration of omeprazole on serum pepsinogens in duodenal ulcer patients and healthy volunteers.

1. Omeprazole, a substituted benzimidazole inhibitor of the gastric H+/K(+)-APT-ase, was administered orally at a dose of 20 mg in the morning of 3 consecutive days, followed by a period of 4 days without medication, and this intermittent dosage regimen was continued for 4 weeks. 2. During intermittent administration of omeprazole to 10 patients with duodenal ulcer disease and 10 healthy volunteers concentrations of serum pepsinogen A and serum pepsinogen C were monitored by sensitive and specific radioimmunoassays to study whether the effect of this treatment on serum pepsinogens is different between patients and normal subjects and to evaluate whether serum pepsinogen levels can be used to assess compliance with therapy. 3. Administration of omeprazole for 3 days induced significant increases in pepsinogen A and pepsinogen C serum concentrations, which rapidly fell after stopping the omeprazole intake. The pattern of serum pepsinogens after stopping the drug was different for duodenal ulcer patients and normal subjects. Both pepsinogens were intra-individually related in both patients and healthy subjects when compared during the first and last 3-day course with omeprazole, but in duodenal ulcer patients both pepsinogens tended to be higher in the last treatment course, while the opposite was found in the normal subjects. 4. The present study confirms that serum pepsinogen concentrations are higher in duodenal ulcer patients than in normal subjects, but also shows for the first time that serum pepsinogens in the patients respond differently upon stimulation with omeprazole.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effect of short-term omeprazole administration on serum pepsinogens in relation to fasting serum gastrin and gastric acid secretion.

A study has been done in 10 male healthy volunteers of the effect of oral omeprazole 20 mg daily for 3 days on the serum concentrations of Pepsinogens A and C in relation to changes in fasting serum gastrin and basal and pentagastrin stimulated gastric acid output. The concentrations of Pepsinogens A and C showed concomitant and variable but significant increases, and the Pepsinogen A, C ratio did not change during the 3-day course of omeprazole. The increments were also significantly correlated with the increase in fasting serum gastrin and with the reduction in pentagastrin stimulated acid output. The correlations were mainly due to the marked inhibition of gastric acid secretion and the corresponding increases in serum gastrin and Pepsinogens A and C in two subjects, as in the other 8 subjects the changes were only modest. There appears to be a relationship, therefore, between the degree of inhibition of acid by omeprazole and the parallel increases in both serum pepsinogens and fasting gastrin.

Radioimmunoassay of human pepsinogen A and pepsinogen C.

We describe the development of radioimmunoassays to measure both human pepsinogen A and pepsinogen C concentrations in serum. The antibodies were raised in goats by immunization with purified pepsinogen A or C. The affinity constants of the respective antibodies were 20.10(10) l/mol and 7.10(10) l/mol. Pepsinogens A and C were labeled with Na 125I by the chloramine T method. The binding between labels and antibodies was inhibited by 0.50 at 0.82 ng pepsinogen A per tube and 2.1 ng pepsinogen C per tube. The detection limits of the assay of pepsinogen A and C were 0.12 microgram/l and 1.8 micrograms/l, respectively. Pepsinogen A and C were purified and added to a patient serum, showing a good recovery in the radioimmunoassays. Serial dilution of another patient serum, which contained a high concentration of both antigens, showed curves parallel to the standard curves. The intra- and interassay variations of these radioimmunoassays were evaluated. The intra-assay coefficients of variation for pepsinogen A were found to vary from 0.03 to 0.102 at concentrations in serum in the normal range, while the inter-assay coefficient of variation ranged from 0.118 to 0.194 at the same concentrations in serum. For the pepsinogen C radioimmunoassay we found intra-assay coefficients of variation between 0.126 and 0.147 at concentrations in serum in the normal range, while the inter-assay coefficient of variation ranged from 0.174 to 0.325 for the same sera. In 201 blood donors we found a mean serum concentration of pepsinogen A of 59 micrograms/l and a mean serum concentration of pepsinogen C of 15 micrograms/l. There was a significant relationship between these values (r = 0.779, p less than 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effect of intermittent weekend therapy with omeprazole on basal and postprandial serum gastrin concentrations in patients with duodenal ulcer.

We have studied the effect on serum gastrin concentrations of weekly 3-day courses of 20 mg/day omeprazole followed by a 4-day period without medication (weekend therapy) for 4 weeks in 10 patients with duodenal ulcer. Basal and postprandial serum gastrin concentrations were measured in week 1, before (day 1) and immediately after the 3-day omeprazole course (day 4), and further on day 6 and day 8, immediately before the next course, and at similar intervals in week 4 (days 22, 25, 27, and 29). Basal serum gastrin concentrations were not significantly different from day 1, but postprandial peak gastrin concentrations on days 6, 8, 22, 25, 27, and 29 and integrated postprandial gastrin secretion on days 25 and 27 were significantly increased (p less than 0.01 to p less than 0.05). However, the increases in serum gastrin concentration were modest and clinically irrelevant. It is concluded that this intermittent weekend schedule of omeprazole therapy does not induce marked hypergastrinemia and may therefore be suitable for long-term therapy with this drug.

Effect of intermittent weekend therapy with omeprazole on basal and bombesin- and pentagastrin-stimulated gastric acid and serum gastrin.

Omeprazole, a substituted benzimidazole inhibitor of the gastric H+/K+-ATPase, is a potent and long-acting antisecretory drug. Because of its high potency and because of the possible risk of long-term hypergastrinaemia intermittent therapy with this drug may be preferable to continuous treatment in patients requiring long-term treatment. We have therefore studied the effect of weekly 3-day courses of 20 mg/day omeprazole followed by a 4-day period without medication (weekend therapy) for 4 weeks on basal and bombesin- (150 ng/kg.h) and pentagastrin- (1.5 micrograms/kg.h) stimulated gastric acid secretion in 10 normal subjects. Gastric acid was measured in week 1, before (day 1) and immediately after the 3-day omeprazole course (day 4), and further on day 6 and day 8, immediately before the next course, and at similar intervals in week 4 (days 22, 25, 27, and 29). When compared with pretreatment values, basal and bombesin- and pentagastrin-stimulated gastric acid were significantly (p less than 0.01-p less than 0.05) inhibited on the days immediately after the courses (days 4 and 25) but were, except for a significant (p less than 0.05) reduction of pentagastrin-stimulated gastric acid on day 8, not significantly affected on all other days. Basal and integrated bombesin-stimulated serum gastrin values were not significantly changed, whereas bombesin-stimulated peak serum gastrin was significantly (p less than 0.05) increased on days 22 and 29. Since this schedule of omeprazole induces pronounced, but transient, inhibition of gastric acid secretion without provoking marked hypergastrinaemia, intermittent weekend therapy may be suitable for long-term maintenance treatment with this drug.