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Four patients who apparently had benign gastric ulcer (G.U.) were treated with cimetidine. The ulcers healed and their symptoms disappeared. However, when cimetidine was stopped the symptoms recurred. Intramucosal cancer was found only at histopathological examination of the resected stomachs in two of the four patients, and in all the cases malignancy had not been detected by the initial serial biopsies and brush cytology. Relief of symptoms of malignant gastric ulcers by cimetidine may delay diagnosis and appropriae treatment.

Symptoms associated with carbohydrate malabsorption limit the usefulness to diabetics of a powerful glycoside-hydrolase inhibitor (acarbose) which reduces postprandial glycaemia. Addition of a low dose (50 mg) of a acarbose together with 14.5 g guar gum to a breakfast test meal taken by 8 healthy volunteers reduced the mean peak rise in blood-glucose at 30 min by 70%. Areas under the insulin and gastrointestinal-polypeptide response curves were also greatly reduced. No evidence of carbohydrate malabsorption, as assessed by measurement of breath hydrogen, was found during any of the test periods. When acarbose was taken alone, 3 of the 8 subjects had troublesome symptoms and the 30 min rise in blood-glucose was reduced by only 28%. Thus, combination of these two agents effectively reduces the rate of carbohydrate absorption without increasing side-effects and may make combined acarbose and guar acceptable in the management of some diabetics.