Betazole (also known as ametazole) is a histamine
H2 receptor agonist. Betazole hydrochloride is known as gastramine and histalog.
It has been used as a gastric stimulant to test for maximal production of
gastric secretion
The stomach is a muscular, Organ (anatomy), hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the Digestion, dige ...
activity. The test can be used in diagnosis of diseases such as
Zollinger-Ellison syndrome where there is excess acid production, in this case driven by over production of
gastrin. The volume of acid secretion is measured following administration of betazole, diagnosis being secretion greater than 60% of the maximal acid secretion following betazole stimulation. This procedure can lead to complications and should be avoided in subjects with
coronary artery disease. It is also used in diagnosis of
gastritis
Gastritis is inflammation of the lining of the stomach. It may occur as a short episode or may be of a long duration. There may be no symptoms but, when symptoms are present, the most common is upper abdominal pain (see dyspepsia). Other possi ...
in association with a test for
secretin activity.
Betazole is used as a stimulant in preference to histamine because of its specificity for the
H2 receptor and its advantage of not generating the undesirable side effects that histamine would induce. It therefore does not require concomitant use of antihistaminic compounds to block the actions of histamine at other histamine receptor types.
It is used to test the effectiveness of H
2 receptor blocking drugs such as
nizatidine
Nizatidine is a histamine H2 receptor antagonist that inhibits stomach acid production, and is commonly used in the treatment of peptic ulcer disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease.
It was patented in 1980 and approved for medical use i ...
.
References
Amines
Pyrazoles
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