Esomeprazole effective for prevention of NSAID-associated ulcers

Esomeprazole [Nexium] is effective in the prevention of gastric and duodenal ulcers associated with the use of NSAIDs in at-risk patients, according to a study presented at the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) congress [Berlin, Germany; June 2004]. It is the first proton pump inhibitor to demonstrate efficacy in this indication. Data from two other studies showed that esomeprazole was more effective than ranitidine in healing gastric ulcers in patients receiving NSAIDs. Furthermore, another study showed that esomeprazole was also effective in maintaining symptom relief and health-related quality of life (QOL) in patients receiving long-term NSAID therapy.