Regulation of antral peptides by administration of omeprazole to healthy men.

OBJECTIVES

We investigated the effects of short-term administration of omeprazole on the regulation of antral gastrin and somatostatin in 15 healthy men.

METHODS

Seven of these men were administrated 20 mg, and eight were given 40 mg of omeprazole for 8 days each. All subjects were examined before the first dose and after the last dose.

RESULTS

Each dose significantly increased the basal serum gastrin level. Although the dose of omeprazole 20 mg/day had no significant affect on the antral somatostatin content, omeprazole 40 mg/day increased the antral gastrin content and decreased the antral somatostatin content significantly. Both doses significantly increased in the antral gastrin mRNA level. However, neither dose significantly affected the antral somatostatin mRNA level.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows reciprocal changes between the antral content of gastrin and somatostatin following omeprazole administration. These results indicate that antral somatostatin may be involved in the hypersecretion of gastrin produced by omeprazole in humans.