losartan-potassium and Stomach-Ulcer

Erythropoietin has anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activity. We wanted to evaluate its activity in preventing damage to the gastric mucosa.. We examined the protective effect of erythropoietin on indometacin-induced gastric mucosa damage in the rat stomach and compared its potency with that of famotidine. We also measured effects on oxidant and antioxidant parameters in the rat stomach.. Famotidine and erythropoietin 2500 and 5000 IU/kg reduced the ulcer area by 98%, 31% and 58%, respectively, compared with the indometacin group. Superoxide dismutase activity and glutathione level were decreased and myeloperoxidase activity increased in the indometacin group compared with healthy rats. Famotidine and erythropoietin at all doses increased superoxide dismutase and glutathione levels significantly compared with the indometacin group. Myeloperoxidase activity was decreased by erythropoietin and famotidine.. These results support the view that erythropoietin counteracts the effects of indometacin in inducing gastric ulcer and could be used as a an antiulcer compound. Its antiulcer effect is less potent than that of famotidine. The antiulcerogenic effects of erythropoietin may be related to its intrinsic ability to sustain the activities of free-radical scavenging enzymes and the bioavailability of glutathione.

Topics: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Anti-Ulcer Agents; Antioxidants; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Erythropoietin; Famotidine; Gastric Mucosa; Glutathione; Indomethacin; Male; Oxidants; Peroxidase; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Stomach Ulcer; Superoxide Dismutase

A 71-year-old man presented with epigastralgia and tarry stool. Laboratory examination showed anemia (Hb 7.1 g/dl) due to hemorrhagic gastric ulcer and positive Coombs' test without features of hemolysis. Initial bone marrow smears disclosed normal granulocytes and megakaryocytes, but only erythroid hyperplasia with multinuclearity and megaloblastosis was identified. Cytogenetic studies revealed normal karyotype. Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia (CDA) type II was initially suspected. Serologically, however, acid hemolysis and anti-I * i tests were negative as were the results of another Coombs' test. The second bone marrow aspiration disclosed a marked decrease in multinucleated erythroblasts together with an increase in those that had internuclear chromatin bridges. Electron microscopy of bone marrow specimens demonstrated morphological features of CDA types I and II, thus yielding a final diagnosis of elderly dyserythropoietic anemia, which is similar to both CDA types. It was suggested that the reactive secretion of erythropoietin due to bleeding played a role in these pathologic changes.

Topics: Aged; Anemia, Dyserythropoietic, Congenital; Bone Marrow Cells; Erythroblasts; Erythropoietin; Humans; Hyperplasia; Male; Peptic Ulcer Hemorrhage; Stomach Ulcer

The decision to transfuse children in families practicing the Jehovah's Witness faith with human blood products raises medical, legal, and moral questions. Two cases are presented in which recombinant human erythropoietin was used in pediatric patients as an alternative following acute gastrointestinal hemorrhage. The patients demonstrated increased hematocrit levels obviating the need for blood transfusion. Although erythropoietin is not an alternative to hemotransfusion in the unstable patient, it may be an option in the hemodynamically uncompromised Jehovah's Witness patient following acute blood loss.

Topics: Adolescent; Child, Preschool; Christianity; Erythropoietin; Esophageal Stenosis; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage; Hematocrit; Humans; Male; Recombinant Proteins; Religion and Medicine; Stomach Ulcer

Topics: Anemia; Erythropoietin; Histamine H2 Antagonists; Humans; Nizatidine; Recombinant Proteins; Stomach Ulcer; Thiazoles