A study was carried out in 30 out-patients with endoscopically confirmed active, benign gastric or duodenal ulceration to assess the comparative effectiveness and tolerance of treatment with
triletide, a new synthetic tripeptide with anti-
ulcer properties, with that of conventional
antacids. Patients were allocated at random to receive treatment with either 1.6 g
aluminium hydroxide and 1.6 g
magnesium hydroxide per day or the
antacids plus 1.5 g
triletide per day over a period of 8 weeks.
Heartburn and epigastric
pain, monitored every other week, were significantly relieved by both treatments, but to a significantly greater extent (70% vs 20% on average, p less than 0.01) and significantly faster (p less than 0.01) in the presence of
triletide. Endoscopic control showed that the patients who had
triletide experienced complete healing in a significantly greater proportion (73% vs 27%, p less than 0.02) than those who had
antacids only. The efficacy of treatments was the same, regardless of the actual
ulcer location. Routine haematology and haematochemistry findings were unaffected by either treatment, and subjective possible side-reactions were limited to
constipation (9 complaints overall) which is a well-known side-effect of
antacid treatment. It would appear, therefore, that
triletide is at least as well tolerated as
antacids, while promoting the healing of
peptic ulcers in a significantly greater proportion of patients and easing symptoms significantly faster and to a greater extent than
antacids alone, regardless of the
ulcer location.