title: Randomized controlled trial: roxatidine vs omeprazole for non-erosive reflux disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy is considered as the first choice for treatment of non-erosive reflux disease (NERD). However, NERD is less sensitive to PPIs than erosive gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and the differences between PPIs and H2 receptor antagonists are less evident in NERD than in erosive GERD. Since gastric acid secretion is lower in the Japanese population than in Western populations, we aimed to investigate whether PPI therapy is really necessary for NERD patients in Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-three symptomatic endoscopically diagnosed NERD patients were randomly assigned to receive roxatidine acetate 75 mg twice daily (n = 16) or omeprazole 20 mg once daily (n = 17). Gastrointestinal symptoms were assessed using the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale at baseline and after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both roxatidine and omeprazole significantly improved the heartburn score at 4 and 8 weeks. The clinical response rates did not differ between roxatidine and omeprazole. Both roxatidine and omeprazole significantly relieved not only reflux but also abdominal pain and indigestion. The degrees of improvement did not differ between the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Roxatidine relieved the symptoms of NERD patients with similar effectiveness to omeprazole. Therefore, roxatidine may be a good choice for NERD treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. knakamur@intmed3.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Hirotada
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akiho
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ochiai
authors.forename: Yasuaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Motomura
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Higuchi
authors.forename: Risa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Noriaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yasuda
authors.forename: Kazuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Akahoshi
authors.forename: Teppei
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kabemura
authors.forename: Eikichi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ihara
authors.forename: Naohiko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.forename: Tetsuhide
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Ryoichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Takayanagi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006356:Heartburn / Q000188:drug therapy; D006635:Histamine H2 Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009853:Omeprazole / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010880:Piperidines / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D054328:Proton Pump Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D006635:Histamine H2 Antagonists; D010880:Piperidines; D054328:Proton Pump Inhibitors; D009853:Omeprazole; C053742:roxatidine acetate