Intragastric and intraduodenal investigations

This review has detailed a method for the quantification of postprandial gastric secretion and emptying based on multiple marker dilution. The method can be applied to the physiologic study of antacid therapy, allowing measurement of the effects of the antacid on gastric secretion and emptying, as well as measurement of the efficiency of antacid utilization. In our laboratory, my colleagues and I have employed this method to characterize the fate of aluminum hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide under conditions closely resembling those existing in a usual therapeutic setting. Further studies are required to compare the behavior of this class of cationic antacid with other commercial preparations and to study other factors (concomitant administration of other drugs such as H2-blockers or anticholinergics, diet, schedule, and dose) that may have an important influence on antacid utilization and their acid-neutralizing effects.