The teaching and practice of pharmacy

In article <BK.BW.767304690.16838.dulm…@skypoint.skypoint.com>,
Doug Dulmage  <dulm…@skypoint.skypoint.com> wrote:

>Hello, I have a prescription for buscopan and omepral that I was given
>in Japan for ulcer problems, can anyone translate these into drugs
>available in the states, or at least let me know what they are? Thanks!

Buscopan is a tradename for N-butylscopolammonium bromide, a derivative
of the anticholinergic drug scopolamine with a quaternary nitrogen
(this makes the drug unable to cross the blood-brain barrier, thereby
avoiding any effects on the central nervous system.)  Anticholinergics
used to be a mainstay of anti-ulcer therapy before the introduction
of H2 blockers, because of their weak effect in lowering the secretion
of stomach acid.  For this purpose, at least, they’re obsolete.

Omepral is a tradename for omeprazole, a powerful inhibitor of the
ATP-ase-powered "proton pump" which generates H+ ions in the stomach.
In the US, its tradename is Prilosec.  Omeprazole essentially abolishes
acid secretion, and might well be used to treat ulcers, though this is
not currently a FDA-approved indication in the US (it’s reserved for the
treatment of severe reflux esophagitis and a few disease states associated
with gastric acid hypersecretion.)

–
Steve Dyer
d…@ursa-major.spdcc.com

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 4:08 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.