Cimetidine, a new H2‐receptor antagonist, was safely administered to eighteen healthy man by the intravenous, intraduodenal or oral route. 2 When gastric secretion was maximally stimulated by either histamine or pentagastrin, the simultaneous administration of cimetidine produced marked inhibition of both acid and pepsin secretion. 3 Cimetidine was well absorbed by mouth and had a blood half‐life of 2 hours. 4 Cimetidine was rapidly excreted via the kidneys and about 70% of the excreted material was unchanged drug. 5 Clinical evaluation of cimetidine in patients with peptic ulceration is recommended.

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SummaryComparison of cimetidine and placebo in the prevention of recurrence of ulceration was carried out in the study of 696 patients with recently healed duodenal ulcers. Treatment with cimetidine 400 mg at bedtime or twice daily for up to 12 months very significantly reduced recurrence of symptomatic ulceration. Asymptomatic ulceration occurred in treated and untreated patients but was found significantly less often in cimetidine-treated patients. There were no serious untoward effects of cimetidine treatment. Only 3 patients (08%) were withdrawn for possible drugrelated reasons. Evidence from other studies suggests that the natural history of duodenal ulcer remains unaltered when cimetidine treatment is stopped after one year. Investigations have been planned to study the efficacy and safety of longer periods of treatment.