COMPARATIVE EFFECTS OF PIRENZEPINE AND CIMETIDINE, ALONE AND IN COMBINATION, ON 24-HOUR GASTRIC-ACIDITY IN DUODENAL-ULCER DISEASE

  • 1 January 1984
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 7  (1) , 98-111
Abstract
This study determined the effects of 50 mg of pirenzepine BID [twice daily] and 600 mg of cimetidine BID, either alone or in combination, on 24-h intragastric acidity, nocturnal gastric secretory volume and acid output, and serum gastrin profile in patients with duodenal ulcers. Eight asymptomatic patients with healed duodenal ulcers received placebo, pirenzepine, cimetidine or cimetidine plus pirenzepine for 1 wk each in a sequential order. All measurements were performed over a 24-h period on the last day of each treatment week. Compared with pirenzepine, cimetidine was associated with lower H+ activities after breakfast, during the night and over the 24-h period. Pirenzepine alone failed to suppress H+, but the combination of cimetidine plus pirenzepine resulted in more prolonged acid suppression, with lower H+ after lunch, than did cimetidine alone. The effect of cimetidine on the suppression of nocturnal acid secretory volume and acid output was further enhanced by the addition of pirenzepine. The fasting serum gastrin concentrations were similar in all treatments, excluding 1 patient with antral G-cell hyperplasia; the postprandial gastrin responses were similarly higher with cimetidine and cimetidine plus pirenzepine than with pirenzepine. The findings suggest an added benefit of combination therapy with cimetidine and pirenzepine that may be useful in patients who fail to respond to single-agent therapy.