Therapy with gastrin antibody in the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.

The therapeutic effectiveness of parenterally administered rabbit antigastrin antibody was evaluated in a patient with the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome who had a fasting serum gastrin level of 3020 pg/ml and a basal gastric acid secretion of 48.9 mEq/hr. Control globulin reduced gastric secretion to 32 mEq/hr. Gastrin antibody reduced it futher to 8.7 mEq/hr. Betazole hydrochloride which was given 75 min after administration of gastrin antibody stimulated acid secretion to 57.2 mEq/hr. One day later basal acid secretion was uninhibited although some antibody activity was present in the patient's serum. The results suggested that gastrin antibody acutely inhibited basal but not betazole-stimulated secretion.