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This study describes the validation of a computer program for automated analysis of ambulatory 24-hour two-channel esophageal manometry. The program's ability to characterize contractions and to calculate their duration and amplitude was validated against manual evaluation. An independent reference standard for the identification and classification of contractions was established by submitting representative recordings to a group of 14 experts in upper gastrointestinal motility; the program's ability to identify and classify contractions was then validated against the majority verdict of the experts. The results show an excellent correlation between the manual and computer evaluations of both contraction amplitude (p = 0.9957) and duration (p = 0.8241). The concordance between the experts was also excellent: 97 (72%) of 135 pressure events were classified identically by 12 or more experts. Computer-aided manometry analysis (CAMA) had a sensitivity of 98.9% and a specificity of 93.5% for the detection of contractions, with sensitivities of 94.7% and 84.4% and specificities of 94.9% and 94.2% for the classification of propagated and nonpropagated contractions, respectively.

To assess the effect of a late-evening, high-fat meal on nocturnal supine gastro-oesophageal reflux, eight healthy volunteers (aged 20 to 38 years) underwent two ambulatory oesophageal pH-metry recordings, the first after a standardized light meal at 1930 h and the second after a high-fat meal including peppermint and chocolate, at 2130 h. Between 2300 and 0700 h, when subjects were supine, the median acid exposure time (percentage recording with pH less than 4) increased from 0.0\% (range, 0.0-6.8\%) after the standardized meal to 7.9\% (0.0-17.8\%) after the high-fat meal (p = 0.031). Similarly, the median number of reflux episodes increased from 0 (0 to 11) after the standardized meal to 7 (0 to 26) after the high-fat meal (p = 0.031). Reflux occurred after both meals, but, in general, persistent nocturnal reflux was observed only after the high-fat meal. Thus, the analysis of oesophageal pH recordings should consider the effects of meal composition and timing on oesophageal acid exposure.

Diurnal variations in the pattern of esophageal motility and acidity were studied in 14 healthy volunteers. Data from a two-channel manometry and one-channel pH-metry recording were stored in a portable 1-MByte, solid-state data logger for subsequent computerised analysis. Comparison of predefined nighttime, mealtime and nonmeal daytime periods showed that propagated contractions predominated during mealtimes (56\% of all contractions) and nonmeal daytime periods (53.5\% of contractions) and that their propagation velocity (2.98 cm/sec) was at its lowest and the AUC of all contractions (134.6 hectoPascal.sec) at its greatest during mealtime periods. During the night, propagated contractions (0.136/min) and simultaneous contractions (0.025/min) were significantly less frequent than during both meal (1.31/min and 0.172/min, respectively) and nonmeal daytimes (0.665/min and 0.133/min, respectively), whereas the nocturnal segmental contraction frequency (0.181/min) was not significantly lower than the nonmeal daytime contraction frequency (0.243/min). Median reflux time was in the normal range (1.2\%), although two subjects had prolonged reflux times (9.5\% and 14.5\%). In conclusion, all subjects showed similar patterns of diurnal esophageal contractory activity determined partly by meal intake and partly by a characteristic clustering of nocturnal contractions that could not be explained by episodes of nocturnal gastroesophageal reflux. It may, therefore, be speculated that nocturnal contraction clusters are associated with rhythmic phenomena such as MMC or specific sleep stages.

The effect of continuous intraduodenal enteralw nutrition on gastric pH was compared with the effects of fasting and of parenteral and standard nutrition control regimens containing equal amounts of carbohydrate, protein, and lipid. Eleven healthy volunteers underwent four 24-hour intragastric pH-metry studies; serum glucose, calcium, immunoreactive insulin and gastrin levels were determined during fasting and enteral and parenteral regimens. Median 24-hour gastric pH during enteral nutrition (group median pH 1.4) was lower than during parenteral nutrition (pH 1.9; P = 0.0039 vs. enteral) but was not different from fasting (pH 1.4) or standard nutrition (pH 1.6) values. Median 24-hour serum glucose levels during enteral nutrition (group median, 4.8 mmoI/L) were higher than during fasting (4.0 mmol/L; P = 0.00098 vs. enteral) and lower than during parenteral nutrition (5.3 mmol/L; P = 0.0039 vs. enteral). Median 24-hour serum insulin levels during enteral nutrition (group median, 22.9 mU/L) were higher than during fasting (group median, 9.2 mU/L; P = 0.00098 vs. enteral) but similar to levels during parenteral nutrition (23.3 mU/L). Neither median 24-hour gastrin levels nor calcium levels were affected by any nutrition regimen. Thus, continuous enteral nutrition produces gastric pH values similar to those seen with fasting or standard nutrition, suggesting that, under most physiological conditions, gastric acidity is subject to close feedback control. Parenteral nutrition increases gastric pH, suggesting that systemic nutrients may influence this feedback mechanism.

Prospectively acquired data from 941 patients staying greater than 24 h in a medical ICU were analyzed to determine the relevance of scoring on ICU admission by the following methods of outcome prediction: Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II), Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS), and Mortality Prediction Model (MPM). Analysis was performed separately for all patients (group A) and for a subsample (group B), obtained by excluding coronary care patients. Calculation of risk and classification of patients were carried out as recommended in the literature for MPM, APACHE II, and SAPS. In group A, sensitivities (correct prediction of hospital mortality) were 44.7%, 51.1%, and 21.2% and specificities (correct prediction of survival) were 84.5%, 85.4%, and 96.8%, respectively; overall correct classification rates were 73.3%, 75.8%, and 75.6%. In group B, sensitivities were slightly higher, but total correct classification rates did not reach group A levels. Goodness-of-fit testing showed low levels of fit for all methods in both groups. Application of APACHE II to diagnostic subgroups, using disease-adapted risk calculations, revealed marked inconsistencies between the estimated risk and the observed mortality. We conclude that the estimation of risk on admission by the three methods investigated might be helpful for global comparisons of ICU populations, although the lack of disease specificity reduces their applicability for severity grading of a given illness. The inaccuracy of these methods makes them ineffective for predicting individual outcome; thus, they provide little advantage in clinical decision-making.

The site of action of a high-power Al-Mg antacid gel (buffering capacity 70 meq/10 ml) and its interaction with food was examined in 10 healthy volunteers. Combined pH-metries in antrum and corpus were performed in each volunteer on four occasions. In a randomized study design, antacid or placebo were given 1 hr after either a protein or a carbohydrate pancake, of which only the former had any acid-buffering capacity. Before the meal, pH was higher in the antrum than in the corpus (median antrum: 3.2, corpus 1.5). In the corpus, a protein pancake but not a carbohydrate pancake raised the pH (median pH after protein pancake: 3.5; after carbohydrate pancake: 1.4). In the antrum, the protein pancake had no effect, but the carbohydrate pancake decreased the pH (median pH after protein pancake: 3.1; after carbohydrate pancake: 2.0). The antacid had no effect in the corpus after either pancake. It raised intraluminal pH markedly in the antrum after a carbohydrate pancake (median antral pH before antacid: 2.0; after antacid: 3.3), whereas its effect in the antrum was weak after a protein pancake. In vitroexperiments were conducted to explain the in vivoresults: in contrast to a carbohydrate pancake, a protein pancake reduced the buffering capacity of the antacid by direct interaction. In conclusion, the effect of an antacid gel on intragastric pH is predominantly localized in the antrum and is attenuated in the presence of proteins. Thus, pancakes of differing compositions may be used, in conjunction with pH-metry in the antrum and the corpus, to study functional gastric compartmentalization and to quantify and localize antacid effects and food interactions.

The reproducibility of simultaneous, long-term, ambulatory gastric pH recordings in the antrum and corpus was investigated in nine healthy subjects who underwent three separate, 27-h gastric double pH-metries. Intraindividual reproducibility for the entire 27-h recording period was good in the corpus (Kendall's concordance coefficient, W' = 0.6393, p less than 0.025) but not in the antrum (W' = 0.4806, NS). Analysis of predefined time periods showed that non-meal daytime pH was reproducible in the corpus (W' = 0.6531, p less than 0.025) but not in the antrum (W' = 0.3395, NS), whereas mealtime pH was reproducible in the antrum (W' = 0.7159, p less than 0.005) but not in the corpus (W' = 0.4954, NS); nocturnal pH was not reproducible in either the antrum or the corpus. These results reflect the functional separation of corpus and antrum and their differing responses to food. Thus, studies of gastric acidity over long periods should be conducted in the corpus, whereas studies of gastric acidity over shorter, meal-related periods should be conducted with a second electrode in the antrum.

Objective: To study the effects of the somatostatin analog octreotide on gastric mucosal function and histology during short-term (3 months) preoperative treatment in patients with acromegaly. Design: Open design clinical study. Methods: 10 patients were studied before treatment with octreotide (pre-tx), on day 1 of 300 mg octreotide/day (d300), after 1 week on 300 (w300), 600 (w600) or 1500 (w1500) mg octreotide/day, and after an additional 2.5 months on 1500 mg octreotide/day (M3). An 8 h gastrin profile was obtained and ambulatory intragastric 23 h pH-metry carried out at the indicated time points. Gastroscopy was performed at pre-tx and M3 and multiple mucosal biopsy specimens taken. Results: The mean serum gastrin concentration at first declined during octreotide therapy to a nadir at w1500, then recovered despite ongoing therapy (probably in response to reduced gastric acidity) and was similar to pre-tx values at M3 (mean6S.E.: 87626, 50611 and 98646 ng/l for pre-tx, w1500 and M3 respectively; P

Background/Aims : Assessment of the neuromuscular control of small intestinal motility and movement of luminal contents is hampered in vivo by measurement techniques and in vitro by tissue viability. The aim of this study was to establish the structural and functional integrity of an isolated segment of rat ileum and characterize its motility. Methods : Segments of rat ileum were perfused arterially with oxygenated fluorocarbon and luminally with saline. Oral and aboral pressures were correlated with conformational changes detected by concurrent video imaging. Results : Light and electron microscopy showed no neuromuscular abnormalities after experiments, and acetylcoline-induced pressure amplitudes were unchanged during experiments. Under basal conditions, low-frequency contractions showing constant frequency (0.27/min) and amplitudes (oral, 17 hPa; aboral, 15 hPa) corresponded to luminally occlusive aborally propagated contractions, which were eliminated by tetrodotoxin. High-frequency contractions with a constant frequency (27/min) were also seen; their basal amplitude (0.3 hPa) increased immediately before and after low-frequency contractions and after tetrodotoxin. Tetrodotoxin also increased basal intestinal tone. Conclusions : An isolated, arterially perfused segment of rat ileum retains structural and functional integrity. It shows low-frequency propulsive contractions, controlled by the enteric nervous system, and myogenic high-frequency contractions, probably subject to tonic neural inhibition.

The effect of ranitidine and cisapride on acid reflux and oesophageal motility was investigated in 18 patients with endoscopically verified erosive reflux oesophagitis. Each patient was treated with placebo, ranitidine (150 mg twice daily), and ranitidine (150 mg twice daily) plus cisapride (20 mg twice daily) in a double blind, double dummy, within subject, three way cross over design. Oesophageal acidity and motility were monitored under ambulatory conditions for 24 hours on the fourth day of treatment, after a wash out period of 10 days during which patients received only antacids for relief of symptoms. Acid reflux was monitored by a pH electrode located 5 cm above the lower oesophageal sphincter. Intraoesophageal pressure was simultaneously recorded from four transducers placed 20, 15, 10, and 5 cm above the lower oesophageal sphincter. Upright reflux was three times higher than supine reflux (median (range) 13.3 (3.7-35.0)% v 3.7 (0-37.6)% of the time with pH < 4.0, p < 0.01, n = 18). Compared with placebo, ranitidine decreased total reflux (from 10.0 (3.2-32.6)% to 6.4 (1.2-22.9)%, p < 0.01), upright reflux (p < 0.05), supine reflux (p < 0.001), and postprandial reflux (p < 0.01), but did not affect oesophageal motility. The combination of ranitidine with cisapride further diminished the acid reflux found with ranitidine--that is, cisapride led to an additional reduction of total reflux (from 6.4 (1.2-22.9)% to 3.7 (1.0-12.7)%, p < 0.01), supine reflux (p < 0.05), and postprandial reflux (p < 0.05). Cisapride also reduced both the number (p

SUMMARY The importance of the temporal relationship between meal and nizatidine intake was studied in a six-armed, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Eleven healthy volunteers received early (18.00 hours) or late (21.00 hours) supper, with either placebo, early (18.00 hours) nizatidine, or late (21.00 hours) 300 mg nizatidine. Ambulatory 21-hour gastric pH-metry was performed and plasma nizatidine concentrations were determined by high pressure liquid chromatography. Early-nizatidine/early-supper (median pH 2.50), but not late-nizatidine/late supper (median pH 2.30), produced significantly higher median 21-hour pH values than did early-nizatidine/late-supper (median pH 1.90). Concomitant food delayed the absorption of nizatidine but did not change the drug's bioavailability. Oral nizatidine should be taken with food, preferably early in the evening, to optimize its anti-secretory effect.

Simultaneous overnight oesophageal pH and manometric and sleep electroencephalographic recordings were performed in eight healthy subjects, aged 20-38 years, to test the hypothesis that the frequency of primary, swallow related contractions decreases progressively with deeper sleep stages whereas the frequency of secondary contractions remains constant throughout the night. During the nocturnal period (2300 to 0700), periods of oesophageal motor quiescence were interspersed by clusters of contractions detected 5 and 15 cm above the lower oesophageal sphincter. Primary contractions decreased in frequency from 1.42/min (median) during arousal periods to 0.22/min during stage 1 sleep, 0.05/min during stages 2 to 4 combined, and 0.03/min during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Secondary contractions were also most frequent during arousal periods (0.51/min) and they, too, decreased in frequency during stage 1 (0.35/min) and stages 2 to 4 combined (0.08/min). During REM sleep, however, the frequency of secondary contractions increased (0.50/min) to levels noted during arousal and stage 1 sleep. Compared with primary contractions, secondary contractions had a lower amplitude (51.9 hPa v 76.0 hPa; p = 0.0078) and a shorter duration (3.08 v 4.06 s; p = 0.0078). The results of this study suggest that there is no intrinsic oesophageal motor activity in the absence of a stimulatory input from the central nervous system and that the increased number of secondary contractions during REM sleep may be a result of an REM related increase in autonomic nervous system activity although a temporary decrease of efferent inhibitory influences cannot be ruled out. Nocturnal contraction clusters comprise both primary contractions during arousals and stage 1 sleep and secondary contractions during REM sleep.

A method is introduced which enables the two-dimensional detection and analysis of absorbancy-values from continuous dye-deposites with rather low data storage capacity. Applied to histochemical reactions this method is used for kinetic analysis of enzymes along the intestinal villus. Its main part consists of two programs for two dimensional scanning, i.e. along the villus and at right angle from the lumen across the brush-border membrane to the apical cytoplasma. Two further programs serve as prerequisites: the automatical detection of mean values and the description of absorbancy spectra in the tissue section. The measurements are carried out with a MPVII Leitz in connection with a Hewlett Packard 9815 A calculator. The study of alpha-glucosidases of the human small intestine is taken to demonstrate the value of the method. It is shown that a similar Vmax-gradient along the villus can be demonstrated as by microchemical methods. Thus this method enables the description of the kinetic properties of a distinct enzymatic activity in preserved tissue sections on the cellular level and the possible alterations of Vmax and Km in context to the morphological pattern.

The interaction between smoking and the effect of histamine H2-antagonists on intragastric acidity was examined in a double blind double dummy placebo controlled study. Healthy volunteers, 11 smokers and 10 non-smokers, were given, on four separate days at least one week apart, either placebo or cimetidine 800 mg nocte or ranitidine 2 X 150 mg per day or ranitidine 300 mg nocte. Tablets were taken at 2115 and 0900 h. Smokers smoked a cigarette hourly from 0700 to 2300 h. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were standardised. Intragastric acidity was measured with a combined intragastric glass electrode and a solid state recorder. The subjects were fully ambulatory. The three histamine H2-receptor antagonist regimens were less effective (p = 0.04) in smokers than in non-smokers, but the difference between acidity of smokers and non-smokers was small. Means of medians of pH during a 24-h period with placebo, cimetidine 800 mg, ranitidine 2 X 150 mg and ranitidine 300 mg were 1.6, 2.3, 3.1, and 2.7 in smokers and 1.5, 2.7, 3.2, and 3.1 in non-smokers, respectively. In a second part of the study seven chronic smokers were reexamined after acutely stopping smoking: inhibition of gastric acidity by histamine H2-receptor antagonists was similar before and after withdrawal. Smoking does not affect intragastric acidity in untreated volunteers and only slightly decreases the effectiveness of histamine H2-receptor antagonists on intragastric acidity. This effect best in part explains the unfavourable effect of smoking on healing of peptic ulcer in patients treated with these drugs.

Evidence from animal experiments suggests that intraduodenal infusion of nutrients leads to an inhibition of gastric acid secretion via an enterogastric feedback mechanism. Detailed data are lacking, however, on the difference in circadian gastric acidity between gastric and intraduodenal alimentation in man. We conducted a randomized study in 10 healthy volunteers (5 men, 5 women, age 22-30 yr). From 8:00 am of the first study day until 4:00 pm of the next day, either a standardized normal meal or a liquid polymer diet (Fresubin) was given orally at 8:00 am, noon, and 6:00 pm. In a third experiment, a liquid hydrolysed diet (Survimed OPD) was continuously applied to the duodenum using a portable pump. Daily caloric intake and main nutrient components were comparable in all three diets. From 2:00 pm of the first day until 4:00 pm of the next day, an intragastric pH-metry was performed with a combined glass pH-electrode in the gastric corpus. Median pH-values from predefined time periods (whole day, prandial, interdigestive, nocturnal) were compared between the three groups. The orally applied liquid polymer diet led to a significantly stronger increase in 24-hr and prandial gastric pH than the normal diet. Twenty-four-hr, interdigestive, and nocturnal pH-median values were significantly higher during continuous intraduodenal application of the liquid hydrolysed diet than during the normal diet.

In order to evaluate whether combined esophageal and gastric pH-metry is feasible without interference due to the transcardial cable, four 24-hr ambulatory esophageal pH-metries were carried out in seven healthy volunteers in a randomized order. In two studies only one glass electrode was used. It was placed 5 cm above the lower esophageal sphincter. In the two other studies an additional electrode was placed in the corpus region 10 cm below the lower esophageal sphincter. In order to obtain a wide range of pH values, misoprostol (400 micrograms) was given at 9 AM and 9:15 PM in two studies. In the two other studies placebo was given. Misoprostol exerted only a weak and short-lasting effect on gastric acidity. The four measuring conditions did not differ with respect to medians of esophageal reflux time and duration of single reflux episodes, Kendall's coefficient of concordance yielded a high reproducibility for both variables (P less than 0.0025). Thus, combined esophageal and gastric pH-metry is feasible and highly reproducible.

Intragastric pH monitoring has shown that the distribution of acidity within the stomach is not homogeneous. Not only is it affected by meals but it also has a circadian rhythm in which nocturnal pH falls to very acid levels in normal subjects. Although results of pH monitoring are highly reproducible within individuals, considerable inter-individual variation has been shown. Duodenal ulcer patients do not appear to possess the normal buffering reaction to meals, but their night-time acidity is within the normal range. In these patients, antacids and pirenzepine have a small acid-neutralizing effect in the stomach; cimetidine is less potent than ranitidine and famotidine. Clinicians can choose between a single dose of either ranitidine or famotidine in the evening with dinner and a twice-daily regimen.

SUMMARY We investigated the effect of a slow-release formula of trimoprostil, a prostaglandin E2 analogue, at a dose of 3 mg b.d. on circadian intragastric acidity in nine healthy volunteers using ambulatory pH-metry in a placebo-controlled study. The effect of trimoprostil was long lasting (8 hours during the night). However, it lowered gastric pH on average only by 0.4 pH units. In four of the six women severe side-effects occurred in the form of abdominal cramping, metrorrhagia, and/or diarrhoea. These disadvantages may limit the clinical use of this drug.

In order to test the influence of thyroid hormones on small intestine function, adult female Wistar rats were injected daily with either 100 microgram/100 g body weight tetraiodothyronine or placebo. After 12 days, jejunal segments were removed and processed for morphometric analysis of mucosal architecture and quantitative histochemical determinations of the apparent Km- and Vmax-values of lactase/beta-glucosidase and neutral alpha-glucosidase at constant basal and apical measuring positions along the villi. The villus-crypt-architecture was the same in both experimental groups. At the cellular level, however, application of tetraiodothyronine resulted in a marked decrease in the apparent Vmax of lactase/beta-glucosidase at both villus positions, maintaining the normal activity gradient along the villi. In comparison with the controls, a less pronounced but significant reduction in activity was also demonstrated for the neutral alpha-glucosidase. Substrate affinity, however, was only increased for this enzyme, the apparent Km of lactase/beta-glucosidase not being affected by the hormone. The results indicate a direct effect of tetraiodothyronine on jejunal brush border disaccharidases of the rat. The alternative mechanism, an effect mediated by an altered enterocyte turnover is unlikely to occur.

A small-bore feeding tube of silicone rubber was developed in order to improve the acceptance of enteral feeding. The insertion procedure was facilitated by providing a double guidewire which allows continuous adjustment of tip rigidity. The usefulness of this tube was tested in a short-term and a long-term volunteer study as well as in a prospective follow-up of patients receiving enteral nutrition. The volunteer study showed that the newly developed tube significantly reduced subjective distress (rank value 14) when compared to a conventional tube made of polyurethane (rank value 20). In the patient study, 131 silicone rubber tubes were used in 85 patients who received enteral nutrition for a total period of 2080 days and complained about foreign-body feeling and rhinorrhea in only 3.7% and 0.5% of the days, respectively. The rate of inadvertent removals was relatively low (32%), mainly due to restricted mental status of the patients. (Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition13:281-285, 1989)

This study examines whether eating food at different times has differential effects on intragastric pH. Experiments were done in 23 healthy volunteers (12 men). Intragastric acidity was monitored by ambulatory 22 hour pH-metry. Composition of meals was standardised: breakfast and lunch at 7 am and 12 noon respectively, and dinner at 6 or 9 pm, in random order. The time of going to bed and getting up was also standardised. With early dinner nocturnal pH was higher, than with late dinner (pH median: 1.67 and 1.39, p less than 0.001). During the remaining time periods, pH values were similar. Thus early dinner may be helpful in conditions where low intragastric acidity is desirable.

We have investigated the short-term effects of hydrocortisone (60 mg/kg per day) and placebo on basal and stimulated pancreatic secretion in the conscious rat. Volume and enzyme secretion were determined; fine structural changes were examined simultaneously. The pancreatic and bile ducts were cannulated separately; pancreatic juice was drained via an isolated fistula, and bile was recirculated into the duodenum. The application of hydrocortisone led to an almost complete inhibition of the secretory response of the exocrine pancreas when stimulated with 0.25 U secretin in combination with 5 X 10(-8) g caerulein per h. It strongly affected the secretion rates of volume, protein, lipase, chymotrypsin, trypsin and carboxypeptidase, whereas the secretion rate of alpha-amylase continued to show a slight increase after stimulation. After stimulation with secretin and caerulein, the hydrocortisone-treated animals showed a higher density of zymogen granules in the acinar cell and an increase in the number of autophagic vacuoles in comparison to the equally stimulated placebo-treated rats. It is concluded that the short-term inhibition of pancreatic secretion by hydrocortisone occurs largely as a result of an inhibition of cellular enzyme discharge.

The administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) leads to mucosal lesions in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Furthermore, NSAIDs increase the risk of ulcer bleeding and perforation, but the overall risk of fatal complications is relatively small (about 21 per one million prescriptions). Therefore, in asymptomatic patients, it is not justified to prescribe NSAIDs together with gastroprotective agents. The following recommendations can be given with respect to the management of peptic lesions in patients taking NSAIDs: (i) Fibre endoscopy should be performed even when there are relatively mild symptoms since mucosal lesions in rheumatic patients under NSAIDs produce minor or no symptoms. (ii) "Modern" NSAIDs might produce less gastric lesions than aspirin. (iii) Rheumatic patients with peptic disorders should be treated with an H2-antagonist. (iv) After complications such as ulcer bleeding or after rapid recurrence of peptic lesions, maintenance treatment with an H2-antagonist is advisable.

It has been suggested that for the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux simultaneous long-term measurement of gastric and esophageal pH would be superior to pH monitoring in the esophagus alone [1–3]. On the other hand, it has not yet been investigated whether intubation of the cardia with an electrode cable would influence the properties of the gastroesophageal junction and thereby the amount of reflux. Theoretically, either a decrease in reflux by mechanical obstruction of the cardia and an increase of reflux, as it has been observed in patients with nasogastric feeding tubes, might be possible.

In order to investigate whether the human pancreas is capable of adapting to a diet with high-carbohydrate, low-fat, and normal protein content, 10 healthy volunteers were given a defined elemental diet (60% of calories as carbohydrates, 22% as fat, and 18% as protein) for 7 d. For the next 7 d they received an elemental diet with a further increased carbohydrate content (76% of calories) and a decreased fat content (10% of calories). A complete secretin-pancreozymin test was carried out at the end of the first wk and at d 14. The results show that an increase in dietary carbohydrate does not provoke an adaptational response of stimulated secretion rates of amylase, trypsin, and chymotrypsin in humans, as expected from animal experiments.

In order to investigate whether the human exocrine pancreas is capable of adapting to a diet with a high-carbohydrate, low-fat, and normal protein content, 10 healthy subjects were given a continuous intraduodenal infusion of such a dietary composition (8760 kJ in 2400 ml/day) via a portable infusion pump over a period of 10 days. The diet consisted of 76% of calories as carbohydrates (80% oligosaccharides, 20% mono-and disaccharides), 10% as fat (more than 90% C 18 fatty acids) and 14% as protein (oligo-and polypeptides; 11.8 g nitrogen per day). A complete pancreozymin-secretin test was carried out before and after the experimental period. The results show that the above dietary regimen leads to a significant (P

Bedingt durch die Immobilisation von intensívpflichtigen Patienten oder durch pathologische Veränderungen im oberen Magen-Darm-Trakt wie z. B. Stenosen oder Anastomosen ist in einigen Fällen die Positionierung von Ernährungssonden in das Duodenum erschwert. Aus diesem Grunde wurde eine enterale Ernährungssonde entwickelt, die sich durch den Biopsiekanal eines Endoskops vorschieben läβt und somit eine Positionierung unter Sicht erlaubt. Dieses Verfahren wurde bei über 20 Patienten eingesetzt; in jedem Falle gelangen Sondenapplikation und nachfolgende Ernährung komplikationslos. Das erforderliche Instrumentarium ist inzwischen im Handel erhältlich.

Although in several studies the nutritional benefits of immediate postoperative enteral feeding have been confirmed, until now there is no investigation about the function of the "entero-insular axis" during this period. Eleven non-diabetic patients (8 ~, 3~ , 52 years (23-67) , 70 kg (52,7-88) , 172 cm (155-178) were tested before major abdominal surgery and at the first p.o. day. During each test three different quantities of gluoose (5 g, 15 g, 40 g) were given intraduodenally via a new developed thin nasoduodenal tube (@ 2 ram). Blood samples for determination of glucose, insulin, and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) were taken at -10, -5, 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, and 60 min. after each glucose load. Results: glucose (mg/100ml) insulin (~U/ml) GIP (pg/ml) fasting peak fasting peak fasting peak 5g 15g 409 59 159 409 59 159 409 preop. 85,5 105 114 136 17 31 63 137 1898 2276 1874 2480 postop. 111" 120" 142" 169" 17,5 52* 95* 163" 1207 2172 2354 2713