[The effect of selective proximal vagotomy on the content of prostaglandins and cyclic nucleotides of the blood and of the gastric mucosa].

Prostaglandins (PG) PGE2, PGF2, cAMP, cGMP were measured in blood plasma and gastric mucosa biopsy specimens from 42 patients with continuously relapsing peptic ulcer of duodenal localization, using radioimmunoassay. In duodenal ulcer, there occurs a significant increase in blood plasma levels of PGE2 and PGF2, while those of PGE2 in gastric mucosa biopsies are lowered. Selective proximal vagotomy is associated with a significant decrease in PGE2 and PGF2 in blood plasma and significant increase in PGE2 in a gastric mucosa biopsy. Cyclic nucleotides in blood plasma showed some tendency to rise. Preoperative level of cAMP in gastric mucosa biopsies tended towards increase which appeared to be statistically significant following the operation, cGMP was low both before and after the operation. The revealed changes in the levels of prostaglandins and cyclic nucleotides in patients with duodenal ulcer provide an additional index to be used while performing selective proximal vagotomy that results in their normalization.