Carbenoxolone and gastric Technetium-99m pertechnetate uptake in patients with gastric ulceration

Technetium-99m pertechnetate is known to concentrate in the stomach following intravenous injection, but there is controversy on the cellular site of this uptake, with evidence for both the mucous and parietal cells being primarily responsible. Gastric uptake following intravenous pertechnetate has been studied in patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia and peptic ulcer, using a gamma camera and computer processing with regions of interest. Under identical conditions in any one patient, quantification of uptake at 20 min is reproducible to an accuracy of +/- 6%. Six patients with gastric ulcer were studied before and 3 weeks after starting treatment with carbenoxolone. There was a rise in uptake in 5 subjects with a mean percentage increase of 25%. The effect of cimetidine was studied in six patients with either gastric or duodenal ulcer. There was little change in uptake (mean 6%). These preliminary data would support the hypothesis that concentration of pertechnetate occurs primarily in the mucous cell.