[Primary hyperparathyroidism and peptic ulcer].

The prevalence of peptic ulcer disease was retrospectively analysed in 35 patients affected by primary hyperparathyroidism consecutively observed from 1977 through 1987. Eight of the examined patients (22.8%) had peptic ulcer (7 duodenal and 1 gastric ulcer), that in five cases (14%) represented the first clinical manifestation of the endocrine disease. A Zollinger-Ellison syndrome was demonstrated in three cases (8.5% of the total series, 37% of the patients with ulcer). There was no difference in calcium, gastrin and parathormone serum level between patients with and without ulcer, excluding patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. These data confirm the high prevalence of peptic ulcer disease in hyperparathyroidism, but the mechanism causing this association remains to be elucidated.