Treatment with lansoprazole also induces hypertrophy of the parietal cells of the stomach

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether not only omeprazole but also lansoprazole leads to hypertrophy of the parietal cells of the gastric mucosa. We investigated the gastric mucosa of 295 patients with gastro-esophageal reflux disease prior to therapy, after 8 weeks of treatment with 30 mg lansoprazole/day, and after 6 and 12 months of long-term treatment with 15 or 30 mg lansoprazole, or 20 mg omeprazole/day. In a small group of 48 patients, a follow-up examination was carried out 3 months after termination of the study. Following acute treatment with 30 mg lansoprazole/day, 84% of the patients revealed parietal cell hypertrophy, while under long-term treatment this figure rose to 89%. The grade of the parietal cell hypertrophy increased continuously under long-term treatment. With regard to the incidence and grading of parietal cell hypertrophy, no significant differences were found among the three groups receiving long-term treatment. Three months after termination of treatment with these proton-pump inhibitors, the hypertrophy of the parietal cells had largely disappeared again. This study shows that hypertrophy of the parietal cells in the gastric mucosa occurs not only under treatment with omeprazole, but also under therapy with lansoprazole, and is reversible when the proton pump inhibitors are discontinued.