Effects of lansoprazole on mucosal regeneration in patients with gastric ulcers: evaluation using an electronic endoscope with a magnifying function.

When healing of gastric ulcers is observed using an electronic endoscope with a magnifying function, five types of regenerated mucosa can be distinguished. The membranous type appears first at the ulcer margin and is followed by the spindle-shaped and palisade-shaped regenerated mucosae that plays an important role in ulcer healing. These two types change into the cobblestone-shaped and the basically normal structure, which have an important relation to the maturity of ulcer healing. In observation of gastric ulcer healing in 10 patients who received lansoprazole 30 mg (L group) or in 12 patients who received famotidine 20 mg b.i.d. (F group), the spindle- and palisade-shaped mucosae were significantly more developed in the L group than in the F group after 4 weeks (p < 0.05). On the other hand, after 8 weeks, the development of these two types of mucosa was less extensive in the L group than in the F group, because these two types had changed into cobblestone-shaped and basically normal structure in the L group. In conclusion, treatment with lansoprazole resulted in more rapid ulcer healing and maturation of regenerated mucosa than did treatment with famotidine in this study.