Rabeprazole produces rapid, potent, and long-acting inhibition of gastric acid secretion in subjects with Helicobacter pylori infection

AIM: To compare acid inhibiting activity and duration of action of different doses of rabeprazole, a substituted benzimidazole characterized as a highly potent and irreversible H+, K+-ATPase inhibitor, administered for 7 days to subjects infected with Helicobacter pylori. METHODS: A total of 38 subjects (mean age 39.3 years) were enrolled in a single-centre, double-blind, randomized, crossover study. All subjects were confirmed positive for H. pylori by 14C urea breath test and ELISA serologies. Subjects were divided into two groups of 19 to receive two doses of rabeprazole, either 5 and 20 mg or 10 and 40 mg, and placebo, given in random order daily in the morning for 7 days. Peptone-stimulated acid, pH, and gastrin measurements were made for 24 h after the 1st dose and for 48 h after the 7th dose. RESULTS: Peptone-stimulated acid secretion rates were decreased from 12.5 to 6.7, 4.0, 1.5, and 0.26 h after initial 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg doses, respectively; to 7.3, 4.3, 2.1, and 1.2 mmol/h 23 h after the initial dose; and to 2.4, 2.6, 0.6, and 0.8 mmol/h 23 h after the 7th dose. After 48 h, stimulated acid secretion had recovered less than 40% for all treatment groups compared to placebo. Median intragastric pH also increased from 2.0 with placebo to 4.9, 6.2, 6.6 and 6.9 during the 24-h period after the 7th dose of 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg. The 20 mg dose of rabeprazole produced equivalent acid inhibition to the 40 mg dose with less increase in plasma gastrin. CONCLUSION: Rabeprazole in doses from 5 to 40 mg was a highly effective inhibitor of gastric acid secretion in subjects infected with H. pylori. The inhibition was rapid, dose-related, and long-acting, with less than 50% recovery of acid by 48 h after the 7th dose. The optimal acid inhibitory dose in these subjects appeared to be 20 mg daily, however 5 mg and 10 mg doses produced potent inhibition of gastric acid secretion.