Gastric acid secretion and gastrin and gastric inhibitory polypeptide release in cirrhotic patients.

Gastric acid secretion, incidence of gastric mucosal lesion, and gut hormone responses were studied in 24 patients with liver cirrhosis. Gastric acid output in these subjects showed normal acidity and was nearly similar to that in patients with gastric ulcer. The incidence of gastric mucosal lesion was high, especially in patients whose plasma disappearance rate of indocyanine green was low. Plasma levels of both gastrin and gastric inhibitory polypeptide were higher in cirrhotic patients than in control subjects both in the fasting state and after the ingestion of a test meal. Gel chromatography of the postprandial plasma of cirrhotics showed a higher immunoreactivity at the second peak than in controls. This is because cirrhotics have a higher percentage of authentic gastric inhibitory polypeptide, although the elution patterns were similar in both groups. It is suggested that impairment of extraction of some molecular components of both gastrin and gastric inhibitory polypeptide may occur in the cirrhotic liver.