Abstract
Fasting plasma levels of immunoreactive gastrin, somatostatin, and pancreatic polypeptide (PP) were determined in 67 patients with an endoscopically proven duodenal, pyloric, or prepyloric ulcer. Pretreatment gastrin (45.6 ± 53.6pmol/l, mean ± S.D.) and somatostatin (54.5 ± 27.5pg/ml) did not differ significantly from those in 22 healthy controls (21.8 ± 20.2 pmol/l and 64.8 ± 24.7 pg/ml, respectively). The gastrin and somatostatin levels were not changed by 3 weeks of treatment either with propantheline and antacids or with Cimetidine and antacids. The mean PP value before treatment was significantly (p < 0.01) higher in duodenal ulcer patients (0.76 ± 0.55 ng/ml) than in healthy subjects of similar age (0.36 ± 0.26 ng/ml). The increased PP level was not lowered significantly by medical treatment even when this resulted in healing of the ulcer.