Misoprostol-induced changes in gastric mucosal hemodynamics. A double-blind parallel study in human volunteers.

The effects of misoprostol on human gastric mucosal hemodynamics were examined in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel study in 12 healthy male volunteers. Six subjects received 200 micrograms of misoprostol and six received placebo. The index of mucosal blood volume and mucosal blood hemoglobin oxygen saturation (Hb-SO2) were measured at 20 locations in the stomach using reflectance spectrophotometry during endoscopy prior to and after administration of the study drug. Mucosal blood volume index increased by approximately 10 to 25 percent throughout the stomach without a significant change in mucosal Hb-SO2 following treatment with misoprostol. The increase in mucosal blood volume index was statistically significant for 16 of the 20 locations (p less than or equal to 0.05). Placebo produced no significant change in mucosal blood volume and mucosal Hb-SO2. These findings suggest that misoprostol may have the potential effect of accelerating gastric ulcer healing by improving gastric mucosal hemodynamics, in addition to its gastric acid antisecretory activity.