There is an unmet need for effective pharmacological therapies for constipation, a symptom that significantly deteriorates patients' quality of life and impacts health care. Ghrelin is an endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor and has been shown to exert prokinetic effects on gastrointestinal (GI) motility via the vagus and pelvic nerves. The pharmacological potential of...

Hirschsprung disease, the colonization defect of neural crest cells through the colon, is one of the reasons for functional obstruction in neonates. Furthermore, hypothyroidism has been known to be one of the causes of bowel hypomotility and pseudoobstruction. These two diseases are generally considered in the differential diagnosis. Although defective thyroid function has been found to be resp...

BR-16A is a herbal preparation with several putative psychotropic effects. Recent work has suggested that it facilities certain aspects of cognition and that it ameliorates ECT-induced amnesia in animal models. The present study sought to assess whether it affects noradrenergic and dopaminergic functioning in the central nervous system. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats received BR-16A (200mg/kg) ...

The research with respect to displacement of the abomasum (DA) in dairy cattle is reviewed. Evaluated articles describe epidemiological and experimental studies. The occurrence is elevated with regard to breed, gender, age, concurrent diseases, environmental aspects and production levels as contributing factors and emphasis is placed on the effects of nutrition and metabolism. Reviewing the exp...

Gastrointestinal (GI) hypomotility and symptoms are common in Scleroderma (SSc) patients yet so far uncorrelated. Eight SSc patients and matched controls were queried about their GI dysmotility symptoms and quality of life (QoL) and underwent anorectal motility and sensory tests. Specific scoring systems were developed for anorectal symptoms and anorectal dysmotility. We found that (1) the SSc ...

Rats were injected intraperitoneally with mecamylamine (Inversine) in doses that were believed to have reduced peristaltic activity in the small intestine. Large numbers of Escherichia coli were present throughout the lumen of the small intestine of animals treated for two or three days and killed within three hours of the last dose of the drug. Histological changes in the small intestinal muco...