Cetraxate is an oral gastrointestinal medication which has a cytoprotective effect. Double-blind clinical trials in patients with gastric ulcer compared the effects of cetraxate with those of the drug gefarnate, a common standard drug treatment for gastric ulcer. Endoscopic examinations of patients treated with cetraxate showed cure rates of 28% after 4 weeks, 61% after 8 weeks, and 73% after 12 weeks of treatment, significantly higher than cure rates seen with gefarnate at both 8 and 12 weeks. The protective effect of cetraxate, an antiulcer and antigastritis agent, on HCl.ethanol-induced gastric lesions was investigated in rats. Oral administration of 1 ml of HCl.ethanol (60% ethanol in 150 mM HCl) induced within 1 hr linear hemorrhagic necrosis in the gastric mucosa. cetraxate is a potent cytoprotective agent effectively preventing the formation of gastric mucosal necrosis induced by HCl.ethanol.
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