gastrins and Spasm

An intravenous bolus of pentagastrin significantly increased the amplitude and duration of oesophageal body contractions in seven patients with diffuse oesophageal spasm (DES) when compared with five normal subjects (P greater than 0.05). In order to determine whether this stimulation also occurred at physiological gastrin concentrations, the effect of an intravenous infusion of gastrin heptadecapeptide (G17), 25 pmol/kg-h, on oesophageal contractions was studied in DES patients. G17 had no significant effect on the amplitude and duration of oesophageal contractions compared with a saline control. This dose of G17 was near the D50 for gastric acid secretion and produced a rise in serum gastrin concentration comparable with a meal. G17 infusions at doses of 100 and 200 pmol/kg-h increased the amplitude and duration of oesophageal contractions, but the corresponding serum gastrin concentrations were higher than postprandial levels. Thus, endogenous fluctuations in serum gastrin heptadecapeptide, alone, are unlikely to alter oesophageal contractions in DES patients.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Esophageal Diseases; Esophagus; Female; Gastrins; Humans; Infusions, Parenteral; Male; Middle Aged; Muscle Contraction; Pentagastrin; Spasm

Present knowledge about gastrointestinal peptide hormones is discussed from three points of view: (a) diagnostic significance of these hormones; (b) states characterized by over-production or deficiency of peptide hormones; (c) clinical application and perspectives of gastrointestinal hormones. The data in the literature are subjected to a critical analysis; in addition, the author's own experiments are discussed.

Topics: Anemia, Pernicious; Celiac Disease; Cholecystokinin; Duodenal Ulcer; Duodenum; Esophageal Diseases; Gastrins; Gastrointestinal Hormones; Humans; Peristalsis; Pyloric Stenosis; Secretin; Spasm; Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome

Topics: Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists; Animals; Atropine; Ceruletide; Female; Ganglionic Blockers; Gastrins; Histamine H1 Antagonists; Parasympatholytics; Peptides; Pylorus; Rats; Serotonin Antagonists; Spasm; Sympatholytics; Sympathomimetics

Topics: Ampulla of Vater; Animals; Bile Ducts; Cattle; Cholecystokinin; Depression, Chemical; Drug Antagonism; Epinephrine; Gastrins; Gastrointestinal Agents; Guinea Pigs; In Vitro Techniques; Morphine; Muscle, Smooth; Nitrites; Papaverine; Peptides; Scopolamine; Spasm