DUODENAL LESIONS PRODUCED BY PANTOTHENIC-ACID DEFICIENCY IN ANIMAL-EXPERIMENTS

Inflammatory lesions of the duodenal mucosa and duodenal ulcers can be produced in animal experiments by pantothenic acid deficiency. We investigated this model in 30 rats of both sexes aged 2 or 6 months and 1 year. During 3 months the experimental animals were feeded with a diet including all the known nutritional factors except pantothenic acid, while the control animals received a standard diet. Thereafter paraffin and semithin sections of the duodenum showed mucosal changes and lesions (so-called Leistenspitzen-erosionen, submucosal oedemas, initial duodenitis) in about three fourths of the experimental animals.-Yet there were no ulcers.-They, however, can be demonstrated when lengthening the experimental period as shown by our investigations using male rats aged 1 year (time for producing ulcers: approximate 5 months).-The duodenal lesions are typical and regularly to be reproduced. In this context their role as a precursor to an ulcer is discussed. © 1979 Springer-Verlag.