BACKGROUND/AIMS To investigate whether transit time could influence H2 consuming flora and certain indices of colonic bacterial fermentation. METHODS Eight healthy volunteers (four methane excretors and four non-methane excretors) were studied for three, three week periods during which they received a controlled diet alone (control period), and then the same diet with cisapride or loperamide....

PURPOSE Itopride hydrochloride (itopride) inhibits acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and antagonizes dopamine D(2) receptor, and has been used as a gastroprokinetic agent. However, its prokinetic effect on the small bowel or colon has not yet been thoroughly investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of itopride on motor functions of the ileum and colon in guinea pigs. MATER...

Chloride channels modulate gastrointestinal neuromuscular functions in vitro. Lubiprostone, a selective type 2 chloride channel (ClC-2) activator, induces intestinal secretion and has been shown to relieve constipation in clinical trials; however, the effects of lubiprostone on gastric function and whole gut transit in humans are unclear. Our aim was to compare the effects of the selective ClC-...

BACKGROUND Carcinoid diarrhoea is associated with rapid small bowel and proximal colonic transit. Intravenous administration of a serotonin type 3 receptor (5HT3) antagonist restores postprandial colonic tone towards normal in carcinoid patients. AIMS To evaluate the medium-term effects of an oral 5HT3 antagonist, alosetron, on symptoms, stool fat, and transit in patients with carcinoid diarr...

BACKGROUND Measurement of colonic transit time (CTT) is sometimes used in the evaluation of patients with chronic constipation. AIM To investigate the relation between symptoms and CTT, and to assess the importance of symptoms and CTT in predicting outcome. METHODS Between 1995 and 2000, 169 consecutive patients (median age 8.4 years, 65% boys) fulfilling the criteria for constipation were ...

Estimates of colonic transit times (CTT) through the three colonic segments, right colon, left colon, and rectosigmoid, are commonly based on radiopaque markers. For a given segment, CTT is usually calculated from just the number of markers visible in that segment on abdominal X-rays. This procedure is only strictly valid for the theoretical, but unrealistic, case of continuous marker ingestion...

BACKGROUND Constipation is a prominent lower gastrointestinal tract dysfunction that occurs frequently in Parkinson's disease (PD). OBJECTIVE To investigate colonic transport and dynamic rectoanal behaviour during filling and defecation in patients with PD. METHODS Colonic transit time (CTT) and rectoanal videomanometry analyses were performed in 12 patients with PD (10 men and 2 women; mea...

Parkinson's disease is frequently associated with gastrointestinal symptoms, mostly represented by constipation and defecatory dysfunctions. This study examined the impact of central dopaminergic denervation, induced by injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the medial forebrain bundle, on distal colonic excitatory cholinergic neuromotor activity in rats. Animals were euthanized 4 and 8 w...

CONTEXT Constipation is prevalent in palliative care. Whilst numerous factors contribute to this problem, opioid analgesia remains the most quoted aetiology. However, in gastroenterology, constipation is classified as a problem of prolonged transit times of colonic contents, impaired function of the structures of defecation or both. Little work in palliative care has used these assessments. A...

BACKGROUND & AIMS Gastrointestinal motility is regulated by enteric neural circuitry that includes enteric neurons and glia. Enteric glia monitor synaptic activity and exhibit responses to neurotransmitters that are encoded by intracellular calcium (Ca2+) signaling. What role evoked glial responses play in the neural regulation of gut motility is unknown. We tested how evoking Ca2+ signaling in...