The prevalence of herpesvirus DNA was examined in inflammatory bowel disease tissue. DNA was extracted from resection and biopsy specimens of the large intestine from patients with ulcerative colitis (n = 21), patients with Crohn's disease (n = 29), and patients with noninflammatory bowel disease (controls) (n = 21). The nested polymerase chain reaction was used to detect viral DNA using primer pairs specific for either cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1), human herpesvirus 6 (HHV6), varicella zoster virus (VZV), or Epstein Barr virus (EBV). HSV1 and VZV DNA were not detected in any of tissue samples. There was a high prevalence of CMV (81%), HHV6 (76%), and EBV (76%) DNA in ulcerative colitis tissue compared to Crohn's disease tissues (CMV 66%, HHV6 45%, EBV 55%). Control tissue had a relatively low frequency of CMV (29%) and EBV (19%) DNA but a prevalence of HHV6 DNA similar to that of ulcerative colitis (86%). However, the simultaneous presence of HHV6 and CMV and/or EBV DNA in ulcerative colitis tissue (76%) was much greater than in either Crohn's disease tissues (38%) or control tissue (29%) (P < 0.05). There was a low prevalence of CMV, HHV6, and EBV DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from all patient groups. CMV and EBV are capable of reactivating HHV6: the high prevalence of coexistent HHV6 infection with either or both of these two viruses in ulcerative colitis tissue suggests that they may play a synergistic role in the pathogenesis of this disease.
Rabeprazole sodium is a new substituted benzimidazole proton pump inhibitor with several differences compared with existing proton pump inhibitors. In vitro and animal studies have demonstrated that rabeprazole is a more potent inhibitor of H+,K(+)-ATPase and acid secretion than omeprazole, and is a more rapid inhibitor of proton pumps than omeprazole, lansoprazole, or pantoprazole. This probably reflects rabeprazole's faster activation in the parietal cell canaliculus. In human studies, once-daily doses of 5-40 mg of rabeprazole inhibit gastric acid secretion in a dose-dependent fashion. A once-daily dose of 20 mg has consistently achieved profound decreases in 24-h intragastric acidity in single and repeat dosing studies, in healthy volunteers and patients with either peptic ulcer disease or gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Significantly greater decreases in intragastric acidity are achieved on day 1 of dosing with rabeprazole 20 mg than with omeprazole 20 mg. As with other proton pump inhibitors, rabeprazole has in vitro antibacterial activity against Helicobacter pylori, with greater activity against this organism than either lansoprazole or omeprazole. In addition to inhibiting bacterial urease activity, rabeprazole binds to several molecules on H. pylori. Clinical trials are needed to assess the clinical importance of these findings, as well as to assess whether the potential advantages of rabeprazole result in clinical benefit for patients with acid-related diseases.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.