Chief cell mass after short-term ranitidine treatment for duodenal ulcer.

The chief cell mass and the parietal cell mass were evaluated in endoscopically obtained biopsy specimens of fundic mucosa from 15 duodenal ulcer patients before and after ranitidine treatment. Patients were given ranitidine, 300 mg/day, for 8 weeks. Chief cell mass and parietal cell mass were expressed respectively by a "zymogenous index" (ZI) and a "parietal index" (PI), obtained by multiplying the number of cells per mm2 by the thickness of the glandular layer. From the results of this study it would appear that, in patients with duodenal ulcer, treatment with ranitidine at a dose of 300 mg/day for 8 weeks results in a significant increase in parietal cell mass and a decrease in chief cess mass.