Effect of H2-receptor blockade on gastric mucus composition. A comparative study with ranitidine and famotidine.

The effects on gastric mucus by two different H2-receptor antagonists, famotidine and ranitidine, have been investigated in 20 patients with duodenal ulcer. Before and after 4 weeks' treatment with either drug the quality of mucus secretion was assessed by means of a 'mucoprotective index'. A significant (P less than 0.01) decrease in the values of this index was observed in famotidine-treated subjects, whereas no changes were detected in those given ranitidine. The findings of this study with famotidine are in keeping with the results previously reported with cimetidine using the same method. It is suggested that blockade of gastric H2-receptors alters the composition of gastric mucus in man. This effect is not shared by ranitidine.