Peptic ulcer imaging with /sup 99m/Tc sucralfate and possible advantages of /sup 99m/Tc sucrose octasulfate

Sucralfate is a basic aluminum salt of sucrose octasulfate that protects the damaged mucosa and also the normal mucosa from peptic aggression. In fact sucralfate adheres to the mucosa as pH decreases below 4, and buffers the acid, slowly releasing sucrose octasulfate that forms insoluble complexes with the proteins exuded by the ulcers, or is washed out of the stomach. Sucralfate itself is also able to precipitate with proteins in the ulcers. Sucralfate may be labelled by several methods: /sup 99m/Tc HSA, /sup 99m/Tc DTPA, /sup 75/Se, /sup 111/In. The aims of this study were to evaluate the clinical results obtained using /sup 99m/Tc DTPA sucralfate, which the authors believe is the only labelled sucralfate suitable for clinical studies and to discuss the possible diagnostic uses of /sup 99m/Tc sucrose octasulfate. In fact, it has been possible to label the sucrose octasulfate either with /sup 99m/Tc DTPA or with /sup 99m/Tc without the use of intermediate ligands