Pharmacological and clinical feature of rebamipide: new therapeutic targets

Rebamipide in gastric mucosal protection and healing: An Asian perspective

This review emphasizes the exemplary safety and efficacy of rebamipide in the treatment of gastric ulcers and other mucosa-related disorders, positioning it as a viable candidate for inclusion in treatment guidelines across India and globally. An in-depth literature review of rebamipide was carried out on PubMed and Google Scholar. Rebamipide has a multifaceted mechanism of action, including prostaglandin synthesis, scavenging free radicals, and enhancing mucin production, leading to enhanced mucosal protection and ulcer healing. Rebamipide serves as a highly effective and safe treatment option for gastric ulcers and gastroesophageal reflux disease. The efficacy of this drug in treating ulcers often surpasses that of routinely used agents such as pantoprazole, sucralfate, misoprostol, famotidine, lansoprazole, and esomeprazole. This superiority of rebamipide can be attributed to the low rate of adverse events associated with it and its mild side effects, contributing to its widespread adoption across Southeast Asia and Russia. This popularity extends to its application beyond gastrointestinal ailments. Notably, it has been successfully employed in the treatment of ophthalmological, oncological, and bone regeneration-related issues. Rebamipide's exemplary safety and efficacy in treating gastric ulcers and other mucosa-related disorders support its potential for inclusion in treatment guidelines, not only in India but also globally.

The value of increased intestinal permeability in the pathogenesis of internal diseases

In the process of evolution in the gastrointestinal tract, a system of protection against bacterial and food antigens from getting into the blood was formed. The causes of increased intestinal permeability (IIP) can be microbiota imbalance, use of antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, stress, diet rich in fructose, glucose, sucrose and long-chain fatty acids. The appearance of IIP may be of paramount importance in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. A diet low in fermentable oligodimonosaccharides and polyols, pre- and probiotics, polyphenols, vitamins, short-chain fatty acids, dietary fiber, glutamine contributes to the reduction of IIP. It has been established that the cytoprotector rebamipide strengthens the barrier function throughout the gastrointestinal tract, which is reflected in practical recommendations for its use in diseases accompanied by IIP. The study of this direction will contribute to the emergence of a new strategy for the treatment of internal diseases.

A novel approach to achieve semi-sustained drug delivery to the eye through asymmetric loading of soft contact lenses

Soft contact lenses are increasingly being explored as a vehicle for controlled delivery of ophthalmic drugs. However, traditional methods of drug-loading by soaking have limitations such as burst delivery and the release of drugs at the front side of the lens, leading to poor drug efficacy and systemic side effects. This study introduces a new methodology, termed asymmetric drug loading, whereby the ophthalmic drug 'Rebamipide' is attached to and released from the post-lens (=cornea-contacting) surface exclusively. The methodology involves using polymeric microparticles that carry a lipophilic crystalline ophthalmic drug at their surface. These drug-loaded microparticles first transfer the drug to the concave surface of the contact lens, and when worn, the drug is transferred again, now from the lens to the cornea. This is achieved through the diffusion of the drug from one hydrophobic microenvironment (the silicone moieties of the contact lens polymer network) to another hydrophobic microenvironment (the corneal epithelium) over a short pathway. The second drug transfer was observed and studied in experiments using an ex vivo porcine eye model. The results show that the drug amount that was absorbed by the cornea after applying the rebamipide-loaded contact lenses is approximately 3× (10.7 ± 3.1 μg) as much as the amount of rebamipide that gets transferred after the instillation of one eye drop (1% solution (p < 0.001). The new drug-loading method offers a practical and reproducible means of delivering ophthalmic drugs to the cornea through soft contact lenses. The drug payloads achieved are comparable to dosages used during eye drop therapy.

The effect of the FODMAP and rebamipid diet on the activity of disaccharidases in patients with enteropathy with impaired membrane digestion

Aim. To compare the effect of a diet low in fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols FODMAP) and rebamipide on carbohydrate tolerance and disaccharidases activity in patients with maldigestive enteropathy (ENMP). Materials and methods. The study included 61 patients with ENMP with reduced small intestine carbohydrases. Their glucoamylase activity was 100 ng glucose/mg tissue min (quartile 53, 72), maltase 504 (quartile 258, 708), sucrase 43 (quartile 25, 58), lactase 8 (quartile 4, 20). Group 1 included 19 people on a low FODMAP diet. The 2nd group included 42 patients who were on a normal diet and received rebamipide 300 mg/day. Patients were monitored weekly for 8 weeks. Results. In 16 patients of the 1st group, abdominal pain and stool disorders decreased, in 15 patients, swelling and rumbling in the abdomen stopped. Glucoamylase activity increased to 196 (quartile 133, 446, р0.024) ng glucose/mg tissue min, maltase activity increased to 889 (quartile 554, 1555, p0.145), sucrase activity increased to 67 (quartile 43, 175, p0.039), lactase activity increased to 13 (quartile 9, 21, p0.02). After the diet was discontinued, intestinal symptoms in patients of group 1 resumed. In 27 patients of the 2nd group after 4 weeks dyspeptic manifestations decreased, in 34 patients the tolerability of products containing FODMAP improved. Continuation of treatment up to 8 weeks contributed to a further improvement in well-being. Glucoamylase activity increased after 4 and 8 weeks to 189 (quartile 107, 357, p0.013) and 203 (quartile 160, 536, p0.005), respectively; maltase up to 812 (quartile 487, 915, p0.005) and 966 (quartile 621, 2195, р0.0012); sucrases up to 60 (quartile 34, 105, p0.013) and 75 (quartile 52, 245, р=0.003); lactase up to 12 (quartile 8, 12, p0.132) and 15 ng glucose/mg tissue min (quartile 10, 20, р0.092). Conclusion. The clinical symptoms of fermentable carbohydrate intolerance and increased membrane enzyme activity are reduced by a low FODMAP diet in patients with ENMT, but clinical symptoms of food intolerance reappear when switching to a normal diet. Treatment with rebamipide improves food tolerance and consistently increases the activity of TSOTS enzymes after 4 and 8 weeks.

Syndrome of increased epithelial permeability: opportunities of current pharmacotherapy

Syndrome of increased epithelial permeability (SPEP) is considered as one of the universal mechanisms that determine the subsequent development of chronic systemic inflammation of varying severity. Studies carried out in the last 10 years have shown the important role of SPEP in the pathogenesis of many diseases of internal organs, and, first of all, of the gastrointestinal diseases. The article discusses possible ways of correcting impaired epithelial permeability from the point of view of the cytoprotective effects of drugs most often prescribed to patients with gastrontestinal diseases.

Epithelial protective therapy in comorbid diseases. Practical Guidelines for Physicians

In 2021 the first multidisciplinary National Consensus on the pathophysiological and clinical aspects of Increased Epithelial Permeability Syndrome was published. The proposed guidelines are developed on the basis of this Consensus, by the same team of experts. Twenty-eight Practical Guidelines for Physicians statements were adopted by the Expert Council using the "delphic" method. Such main groups of epithelial protective drugs as proton pump inhibitors, bismuth drugs and probiotics are discussed in these Guidelines from the positions of evidence-based medicine. The clinical and pharmacological characteristics of such a universal epithelial protector as rebamipide, acting at the preepithelial, epithelial and subepithelial levels, throughout gastrointestinal tract, are presented in detail.

Functional gastrointestinal disorders. Overlap syndrome Clinical guidelines of the Russian Scientific Medical Society of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterological Scientific Society of Russia

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[Enteropathy with impaired membrane digestion and the prospects for cytoprotective therapy]

The article describes enteropathy with impaired membrane digestion (EIMD) as a new nosological form. The main clinical manifestation of EIMD is the poor tolerance of food products, in particular carbohydrates and a decrease in the activity of membrane enzymes, in particular, carbohydrates, in the mucous membrane of the small intestine. The cause of the disease can be acute intestinal infections, viruses, drugs and other agents that damage the small intestine. The pathophysiology, clinical picture and diagnosis of EIMD are described. The basis of therapy is rebamipide, which has the ability to reduce the symptoms of carbohydrate intolerance and increase the activity of disaccharidases.

[Rebamipide: evidence base for use in gastroenterology]

Rebamipide is a cytoprotective drug that has been used in practical gastroenterology for 30 years. This article summarizes the main results of the most relevant clinical studies of rebamipide in diseases of various parts of the gastrointestinal tract, including the esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine.