SUMMARYBackground: Irritable bowel syndrome is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder which affects up to 20% of the population, with a predominance in females. Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of tegaserod in female patients with irritable bowel syndrome characterized by symptoms of abdominal pain ⁄ discomfort and constipation. Methods: In a randomized, double-blind, multicentre study, 1519 women received either tegaserod, 6 mg b.d. (n ¼ 767), or placebo (n ¼ 752) for 12 weeks, preceded by a 4-week baseline period without treatment and followed by a 4-week open withdrawal period. The primary efficacy evaluation was the patient's sympto-

Pantoprazole 40 mg is significantly more effective than omeprazole 20 mg in raising intragastric pH.

Pantoprazole, a substituted benzimidazole, is a potent and well tolerated inhibitor of the gastric H+,K+‐ATPase with a low potential to inhibit cytochrome P450. In this randomized, placebo‐controlled two‐period crossover study, 12 healthy volunteers received placebo (reference) and 240 mg of pantoprazole (test) i.v. within 2 min once daily for 7 days each. On day 4 of either period, a 1 min bolus of diazepam (0.1 mg kg−1 body weight) was additionally injected. Pantoprazole was well tolerated and did not cause clinically relevant changes in heart rate, blood pressure, ECG and routine clinical laboratory parameters. There was no effect on diazepam clearance (0.021 l h−1 kg−1 for test and reference) and elimination half‐life (36.8 h for test, 40.4 h for reference). Diazepam metabolism to desmethyldiazepam was not affected by pantoprazole. In conclusion, pantoprazole and diazepam may be administered concomitantly without dose adjustment even when high doses of pantoprazole are required.

BY963 significantly improves intracranial Doppler imaging while being well tolerated. The signal enhancement lasts long enough for TCCS to display all basal cerebral arteries after just one injection.

Tegaserod is devoid of electrocardiographic effects and is not expected to adversely influence cardiac function. These data confirm preclinical findings.