Background Rikkunshito, a traditional Japanese (Kampo) medicine, is widely prescribed as an oral preparation for the treatment of functional dyspepsia (FD). In our previous study, we reported that extracorporeal ultrasonography (US) is a useful technique for the assessment of the gastric accommodation reflex (AR) and duodenogastric motility. In this study, we examined the effects of Rikkunshito on the gastroduodenal function in patients with FD. Methods Sixteen FD patients (median age, 45 y) underwent US, before and after 14 days of treatment with Rikkunshito (7.5 g b.d.). For assessment of the AR, a cross-sectional area of the proximal stomach was measured after incremental ingestion of a liquid meal up to 400-mL. The expansion rate was used as the parameter to determine the AR. Then, the gastric emptying rate (GER), motility index (MI), and reflux index (RI) were evaluated using previously reported methods. Results Although no significant changes were observed in the total score of the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS), the scores of 3 of the 15 symptoms of GSRS decreased significantly after treatment with Rikkunshito. The expansion rate of the proximal stomach was significantly greater after treatment with Rikkunshito than before the treatment. Although the GER and MI increased significantly, no significant differences in the RI were observed after treatment with Rikkunshito. Conclusion These observations suggested that Rikkunshito may be beneficial for the treatment of FD patients with impaired AR and gastric motility. These results also suggested that Rikkunshito has a therapeutic potential for FD and GERD.

Although 7-day P-CAB triple therapy was superior to 7-day PPI triple therapy, neither was highly effective, or can be recommended, in the presence of clarithromycin-resistant infections.

Background:Helicobacter pylori eradication following endoscopic mucosal resection of early gastric cancer reduces the risk of metachronous gastric cancer. Aim: To identify subgroups of differing cancer risk after endoscopic mucosal resection of early gastric cancer. Methods: Histological assessment of antral and corpus tissue was done by the updated Sydney Classification and serum pepsinogen I and II levels were measured using ELISA kits. Infected patients were treated with a 7-day regimen consisting of amoxicillin, clarithromycin and a proton pump inhibitor. Results: 100 patients were enrolled; in 80 patients H. pylori was successfully eradicated and they were followed up for more than 2 years (median observation period 33 months). Metachronous gastric cancers developed in 9 patients after successful eradication. All cases were men. The frequency of severe atrophy assessed by histology (100 vs. 53.2%, p = 0.03) was higher and pepsinogen I/II ratio before eradication was significantly lower in the group that developed cancer compared to the group that did not. Pepsinogen I <25 ng/ml was significantly associated with development of a new lesion. Conclusions: The cancer risk after eradication correlated with the severity of corpus atrophy. It should be possible to identify subgroups requiring intensive and less intensive surveillance after eradication.

This study shows that mosapride citrate enhances the meal-induced gastric accommodation reflex and promotes adequate gastroduodenal coordination and motility in healthy volunteers.

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