Abstract

Anticholinergic drugs reduce gastric acid secretion and have been used in the treatment of peptic ulcer, but their use is limited by unwanted effects - dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, difficulty in micturition in men and exacerbation of glaucoma. Pirenzepine (Gastrozepin - Boots) is an anticholinergic drug claimed to act selectively on the stomach, and therefore to promote healing of peptic ulcers whilst being well tolerated. It has been the subject of five sponsored supplements in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology,^1–5 several reports at the XI and XIIth International Congresses of Gastroenterology (1980 and 1984), and at least two other international sponsored symposia.^6,7 Our assessment is therefore based to a considerable extent upon papers in sponsored publications rather than on studies submitted to the full refereeing procedures of the specialist journals.