Abstract
Objectives: Somatostatin participates in the control of gut motility. Recently, somatostatin analogs have been proposed as therapeutic agents for chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction, although the endogenous somatostatin pattern has never been assessed in this syndrome. We aimed to evaluate fasting and postprandial plasma somatostatin levels in patients with chronic idiopathic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIIP). Methods: We studied eight patients with CIIP and 10 healthy volunteers. Blood samples were taken at regular intervals while patients and subjects fasted and during the 3 h after a standard solid/liquid meal (550 kcal) had been eaten. Somatostatin was measured by radioimmunoassay. Results: Fasting somatostatin levels were normal, whereas postprandial peptide responses were markedly impaired or even absent in patients with CIIP. Conclusions: An impaired postprandial somatostatin response in patients with ClIP seems to be characteristic of this heterogenous disorder. Whether the lack of somatostatin response to a meal identifies patients with severe gut dysmotility for whom treatment with somatostatin analogs would be useful remains to be verified.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1884-1886 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | American Journal of Gastroenterology |
Volume | 92 |
Issue number | 10 |
Publication status | Published - Oct 1997 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Gastroenterology