Relation between serum group II pepsinogen concentration and the degree of Brunner's gland hyperplasia in patients with chronic renal failure.

Serum concentrations of group I and II pepsinogens (PG I and PG II) were determined in 15 patients with chronic renal failure. Gastroduodenoscopy with biopsy and acid secretion tests were also performed. Five patients had histologically confirmed severe Brunner's gland hyperplasia manifesting as multiple polyps in the duodenal bulb. Five patients had a mild form of Brunner's gland hyperplasia which was evident only by histological analysis. Five had no signs of such alterations. The three groups of patients were comparable in age, sex, mean level of serum creatinine, mean duration of dialysis treatment, distribution of non-dialysed and dialysed patients, and gastric histology. In patients with severe Brunner's gland hyperplasia the mean serum PG II concentration was significantly higher than in the other patients. Both the serum PG I and the serum PG II concentrations decreased after receiving a well functioning renal transplant in the two patients who underwent transplantation.