| Theme |
Controversies in the Drug Therapy of Upper Gastrointestinal Tract Disorders |
| Title |
COX-2 Inhibitors -- Deleterious to the Stomach ? |
| Author |
Shingo Tsuji |
Department of Internal Medicine and Therapeutics, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine |
| [ Summary ] |
Conventional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) inhibit the constitutive isozyme of cyclooxygenase(COX-1) in stomach and thereby are deleterious to the stomach. On the other hand, inhibitors of the inducible isozyme(COX-2) do not inhibit COX-1, and are believed to be less injurious to the stomach. However, COX-2 is upregulated in damaged gastric mucosa and in human stomachs infected with Helicobacter pylori. Although COX-2 inhibitors are truly safer than conventional COX-1/COX-2 inhibitors, they should be carefully prescribed to patients with various gastrointestinal disorders. |