Review article: The role of rebamipide in the management of inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract

Rebamipide stimulates the generation of endogenous prostaglandins in the gastric mucosa and is reported to accelerate ulcer healing. This review discusses whether rebamipide can prevent Helicobacter pylori infection, reduce inflammation, accelerate healing after eradication, promote ulcer healing, and prevent progression of preneoplastic lesions. Furthermore, we evaluate its usefulness in other inflammatory conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. We conclude that rebamipide is an important candidate for long-term suppression of gastro-intestinal inflammation, praticularly if reducing the complications of H. pylori infection without eradicating the organism becomes accepted. If its ability to accelerate mucosal normalization is confirmed, rebamipide could be added to eradication regimens. Little information exists on whether such therapy could help limit the development of pre-neoplastic lesions. In light of the dearth of effective drugs to control inflammation in idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease, the potential of any promising new and safe compound deserves to be fully explored. The next step is to devise a targeted plan of translational research, so that results from the bench may be used to design rigorously controlled international clinical trials.