1.   The patients with recurrent ulcers had significantly fewer gap gunctions in the ulcer margin than did the patients with first onset ulcer.

2.   There was also no difference in gap junction frequency between biopsy specimens from the ulcer margin and those from grossly normal regions at a distance from the ulcer.

3.   The abdomen was opened and the stomach was exposed to assess the mucosal blood flow at the ulcer margin, ulcer bed, and adjacent intact mucosa.

4.   By contrast, the mucosa resected from the ulcer margin, including the granulation tissue, showed significantly higher DNA synthesis and higher DNA and RNA concentrations.

5.   Treatment with bFGF almost doubled the DNA synthesis at the ulcer margin and in the non ulcerated mucosa.

6.   The DNA and RNA concentrations were also significantly increased both in the ulcer margin and in the adjacent non-ulcerated mucosa.

7.   Treatment with sucralfate alone did not significantly alter DNA synthesis and the concentrations of nucleic acid in the ulcer margin or in the adjacent intact mucosa.

8.   The ulcer healing by bFGF seems to involve angiogenesis and cell proliferation, especially at the ulcer margin, and is enhanced by treatment with sucralfate.