Changes in Gastric Function During Healing of Gastric Ulcers

Abstract

Abstract: To determine changes in pathophysiology during the healing process of gastric ulcers, gastric acid secretion, gastric emptying, fasting gastrin levels (FGL) and the integrated gastrin response (IGR) were studied in normal volunteers and in each stage of gastric ulcers. In a study of patients with gastric ulcers in the lesser curvature of the ventricular angulus including 20 in the active stage, 49 in the healing stage and 11 in the healed (scar) stage, gastric acid secretion (BAO and MAO) and FGL gradually decreased as the patients progressed from the active stage through the healing and healed stages. IGR values did not change, but gastric emptying showed marked prolongation in the active and healing stages although this was alleviated in the healed stage. In 11 of the same gastric ulcer patients who were followed up, gastric acid secretion, especially BAO, was lower in the healed stage than in the active stage. No fixed tendency was seen for gastric emptying and IGR, but FGL showed higher values in the active stage than in the healing stage. These findings indicated that changes in the pathophysiology of the stomach occur during the healing of gastric ulcers, and it was assumed that these changes are closely related to the stage of the ulcer.