Anti-peptic and anti-inflammatory actions of
ecabet sodium might be beneficial in either improving
gastritis or relieving dyspeptic symptoms. This study was designed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of
ecabet sodium on dyspeptic symptoms and to elucidate the molecular mechanism attributable to symptom relief in patients with chronic
gastritis. Two hundred and sixty eight chronic
gastritis patients with persistent
dyspepsia received
ecabet sodium 1 g b.i.d. for 2 weeks, after which dyspeptic symptoms were reassessed with a questionnaires as before. The changes of
interleukin-8 (IL-8),
inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS),
prostaglandin E(2) (
PGE(2)), and
vascular endothelial growth factor (
VEGF) levels in gastric juices were measured by ELISA. The changes of
nitrotyrosine in gastric mucosa were measured by immunohistochemical staining. The most common dyspeptic symptom in Korean patients with chronic
gastritis was epigastric soreness (76.8%), which was improved significantly after
ecabet sodium treatment (81.7%, p<0.001).
Ecabet sodium was more effective in patients with epigastric
pain than vague abdominal discomfort (p = 0.02), especially in patients with old age. Complete relief of discomfort was more highly achieved in patients with positive Helicobacter pylori than without (p = 0.01). In spite of clear tendency that the decreased levels of
IL-8, iNOS, and
PGE(2) and increased levels of
VEGF were measured in gastric juices after
ecabet sodium treatment, no statistical significance was noted, which might be due to high inter-individual variations. The
nitrotyrosine expressions were significantly decreased after
ecabet sodium treatment than before (p<0.01). In conclusion,
ecabet sodium treatment was very useful for the relief of dyspeptic symptoms in chronic
gastritis, to which both attenuated inflammatory and enhanced regenerative mechanisms were contributive.