Trimipramine in the treatment of gastric ulcer

Forty patients with endoscopically confirmed gastric ulcers, completed a double-blind study comparing trimipramine with placebo during 4 weeks' treatment. The daily dose of trimipramine was 50 mg given before bedtime. No serious side-effects occurred. After four weeks' treatment 12 of the 20 patients receiving trimipramine had endoscopically completely healed ulcers, while in the placebo group only 4 of the 20 ulcers were healed (P = 0.025). With regard to the patients' complaints, a distinct and statistically significant improvement was also observed in the patients receiving trimipramine (P = 0.025). It is assumed that the previously shown antisecretory effect of the drug, together with the sedative and anti-depressive effect, make trimipramine a valuable drug in the treatment of peptic ulcer disease.