Gastric acid and pepsin secretion in response to modified sham feeding in active and inactive duodenal ulcer disease.

Gastric secretion of acid and pepsin were studied under basal conditions, in response to modified sham feeding (MSF), and in response to pentagastrin in 15 male controls and in 11 and 10 male patients with active and inactive duodenal ulcer disease, respectively. In general, patients with ulcer disease produced more acid and pepsin than controls. No differences between the two ulcer groups were found for basal and pentagastrin-stimulated secretions. The response patterns to MSF, however, were different in the two groups. After an early peak, acid and pepsin responses rapidly decreased, approaching basal level in patients with active duodenal ulcer and in controls. In patients with inactive disease, however, the decrease was less marked, and in some patients the secretion continued to increase for 60 min. When expressed as fractions of the responses to pentagastrin, the acid and pepsin responses during the fourth 15-min period were significantly greater in patients with inactive duodenal ulcer disease than in patients with active disease and in controls. The findings indicate that the gastric response to vagal stimulation is different in patients with active and inactive duodenal ulcer disease.