Gastric emptying and plasma levels of gastrointestinal hormones in patients with peptic ulcer.

AIM: To study the plasma level of gastrointestinal hormones and the time of gastric emptying in patients with peptic ulcer.

METHODS

Thirty patients with gastric ulcer (GU), 29 patients with duodenal ulcer (DU), and 12 healthy controls were studied. Plasma levels of somatostatin (SS), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and substance P (SP) were measured by radioimmunoassay. Gastric emptying half-time (GET1/2) was measured by the TC-99(m) resin/solid meal method.

RESULTS

GET1/2 was significantly longer in the GU patients than that in the healthy controls (65.9 ± 14.8 min vs 53.3 ± 4.3 min, P < 0.01) and plasma VIP levels were significantly higher (37.5 ± 10.7 ng/L vs 18.4 ± 5.9 ng/L, P < 0.05).There was a significant positive correlation between GET1/2 and plasma VIP levels (r = 0.55, P < 0.01). No significant differences were found in SS and SP levels when GU patients were compared with healthy controls (P > 0.05). GET1/2 was markedly shorter in the DU patients than in the healthy controls (41.7 ± 10.2 min vs 53.3 ± 4.3 min, P < 0.01) and plasma SS levels were significantly lower (6.4 ± 2.5 ng/L vs 11.9 ± 3.4 ng/L, P < 0.01). There was a significant positive correlation between GET1/2 and SS levels (r = 0.56, P < 0.01). Plasma SP levels in the DU patients were significantly higher than those in the healthy controls (54.4 ± 12.7 ng/L vs 41.6 ± 5.8 ng/L, P < 0.01). There was a significant negative correlation between GET1/2 and SP levels (r = -0.68, P < 0.01). No significant differences were found in the plasma VIP levels when DU patient were compared to healthy controls (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Elevation in VIP may contribute to occurrence of GU and its associated delay in GET1/2. Increased SP and reduced SS may play important roles in GET1/2 acceleration and in the pathogensis of DU.