Potential gastrointestinal uses of somatostain and its synthetic analogue octreotide.

Octreotide is a long-acting analogue of somatostatin which has been FDA approved for symptomatic carcinoid syndrome and for vasoactive intestinal peptide-producing tumors. Somatostatin and octreotide have significant effects on gastrointestinal physiology which may be beneficial for a variety of disorders. This paper will review the currently available literature on the use of somatostatin and octreotide in non-neoplastic disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.