Prokinetics and their use in gastroenterology

Gastrointestinal motility disorders are reflected in clinical medicine not only in the form of functional disorders but also as primary organic units or secondary manifestations of other diseases and physicochemical effects. Recent sophisticated diagnostic methods and basic research in the field of digestive tract motility have shown significant development. However, causal treatment of prokinetic motility disorders is still marginalized. A number of new effective drugs have been withdrawn from the market due to their significant side effects. The efficacy of others is limited to individual parts of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), e.g. only the stomach or the intestine. The article presents an overview of prokinetic indications with an effect on selected pathological conditions. In addition to isolated administering of prokinetics, they can also be used in combination with other drugs, for example in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease with proton pump inhibitors. There is currently no "gold standard" prokinetic, which would globally therapeutically and, at the same time, causally affect such a complicated pathophysiological chain of GIT dysmotility. There is ongoing research to develop new drugs with a beneficial effect on the propulsion activity disorder which, while maintaining a prokinetic effect over the full length of the GIT, would not show any adverse or side effects. Patient access in this case needs to be individualized according to the proven type of motility disorder. Key words: gastroesophageal reflux disease - gastrointestinal dysmotility - gastroparesis - intestinal pseudo-obstruction - obstipation.