Ranitidine: A New H2-Receptor Antagonist

Abstract

OVER the past six years the treatment of peptic-ulcer disease has been dramatically altered by the introduction and use of cimetidine. This substituted imidazole compound is an effective H₂-receptor antagonist, which acts on the gastric parietal cell to inhibit gastric acid production. Cimetidine is prescribed worldwide, and on the basis of numerous controlled clinical trials, it is considered effective in the healing of both duodenal¹ and gastric ulcers.² Recently, ranitidine, another H₂-receptor antagonist, has undergone extensive clinical studies and has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the short-term treatment of duodenal ulcers . . .