Review article: efficacy and safety of rabeprazole in treating gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) are the mainstay of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) treatment. They have a good efficacy and short- and long-term safety profile. Rabeprazole is a second generation PPI with rapid onset of action that quickly relieves symptoms of GERD. Rabeprazole consistently and profoundly inhibits gastric acid secretion. Its metabolism is less dependent on CYP4502C19 system and therefore is the least affected among all PPIs by CYP4502C19 genetic polymorphism. Recent studies have also indicated that rabeprazole on-demand is cost effective in preventing non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) symptom relapse.