Myoelectric spiking activity of right colon, left colon, and rectosigmoid of healthy humans.

The tip of an intraluminal probe was positioned in the cecum, and before and after a standard meal (greater than 800 kcal), the rapid myoelectrical activity of the right, the left, and the rectosigmoid colon in six healthy subjects was recorded. In each colonic site, we recorded two different patterns of spike bursts: Short spike bursts and long spike bursts, as previously described. We observed no difference in either the duration or the amplitude of the two kinds of spike bursts among the three different parts of the colon. Before the meal, the number of long spike bursts was lower in the right than in the left colon (P less than 0.01) and than in the rectosigmoid (P less than 0.01). After the meal, a significant activity increase in long spike bursts lasted 20 min in the right colon (P less than 0.001), 100 min in the left colon, and in the rectosigmoid (P less than 0.001-P less than 0.05). This activity was always significantly less intense in the right colon than in the two other sites (P less than 0.001-P less than 0.01) and was less marked in the left colon than in the rectosigmoid (P 0.01-P less than 0.05). The short spike burst activity remained unchanged. These results provide evidence for the heterogeneity of motility in the different parts of the colon, with a relative hypomotility of the right colon compared to the left colon and the rectosigmoid in the healthy human.

[Colonic response to the meal of the right colon, the left colon, the rectosigmoid and the rectosigmoidal junction in digestive functional disorders]. / Réponse colique au repas du côlon droit, du côlon gauche, du recto-sigmoïde, et de la charnière recto-sigmoïdienne au cours des troubles fonctionnels digestifs.

The aim of this work was to answer the two following questions: 1) is there any difference between the right colonic, the left colonic, and the rectosigmoid motility? 2) does the rectosigmoid junction (radiological and endoscopic entity) exhibit a specific motility pattern? Colonic motility was assessed by electromyography. We used an intraluminal probe supporting 15 groups of 3 ring electrodes. Inside the probe a lead pellet was placed opposite each electrode. The probe was inserted through the colon by colonoscopy. A visual analysis of the signal was performed and we distinguished: Long Spike Bursts (LSB) activity (propagating in oral or aboral direction or not propagating) from Short Spike Bursts (SSB) activity as previously described. Twenty patients suffering from the irritable bowel syndrome included in a subgroup defined as abdominal pain, were studied, and two groups were defined as follows: the tip of the probe was positioned in the caecum in 9: group "Right colon" patients. An electrode was specifically located on the rectosigmoid junction in 15: group "Junction" patients. In the "Right colon" group, the postprandial increase of LSB activity in the rectosigmoid lasted longer than in the right and left colons. During the postprandial period, the right colon exhibited a lower LSB activity than the rectosigmoid (p less than 0.01). After the meal LSB activity propagating in aboral direction was increased in the right colon while it was inhibited in the rectosigmoid. LSB activity propagating in the oral direction was increased both in the right colon and rectosigmoid after the meal. In the "Junction" group, we observed a specific myoelectrical activity at the rectosigmoid junction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Epidemiology of intestinal functional disorders in an apparently healthy population]. / Epidémiologie des troubles fonctionnels intestinaux dans une population apparemment saine.

The characteristics and the prevalence of functional bowel disorders in the general French population are unknown. Based on an epidemiological inquiry in a random population of 1,200 persons who were not seeking care, residents in our country we established: the prevalence of symptoms suggestive of functional bowel disorders; the epidemiological differences between symptomatic subgroups which included abdominal pain with or without bowel dysfunction, diarrhea and constipation. The amount of cases and the prevalence in each subgroup were: abdominal pain, 165, 13.8 p. 100, painless constipation, 75, 6.3 p. 100, diarrhea, 10, 0.8 p. 100. As a whole, functional bowel disorders occurred in 20 p. 100 of our population. The "irritable bowel syndrome" group defined as abdominal pain and/or diarrhea differ from normal subjects by the following higher frequency of age under 50, subjects in active duty, antecedents of diverticulosis, influence of stress on symptoms, nausea, vomiting, migraines, pyrosis and number of visits to a doctor. However neither the sex-ratio nor professional occupation were relevant. The constipation group differed from normal because of the higher frequency of female sex, antecedents of hiatus hernia, use of laxatives but not because of age nor by the number of associated symptoms. In conclusion, functional bowel disorders occurred in 20 p. 100 of our population; two subgroups were clearly different from an epidemiological point of view, the irritable bowel syndrome (13 p. 100) and constipation (7 p. 100); therefore these two groups deserve a specific physiopathological, psychological and therapeutic approach.

[Colonic myoelectric activity during fasting and postprandial periods in healthy subjects and colonopathic patients]. / Activité myoélectrique colique à jeun et en période post-prandiale chez le sujet sain et chez le colopathe.

The purpose of this prospective study was to assess colonic myoelectric activity during fasting and after a test meal in patients with the Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and in control subjects. Colonic electromyographic activity was recorded using an intraluminal probe in 14 patients and in 8 controls. Only rapid electrical activity [i. e. Short Spike Bursts (SSB) and Long Spike Bursts (LSB)] was taken into account. In control subjects the test meal provoked a significant increase in LSB from 46.7 +/- 16.3 to 88.6 +/- 20.3 (p less than 0.001) but not in SSB. In IBS patients rapid myoelectrical activity was not significantly modified by food intake (47.2 +/- 10.3 vs. 62.2 +/- 10.9; NS). The increase of postprandial LSB activity was found to be significantly higher in controls than in IBS patients (41.8 +/- 7.6 vs. 12.9 +/- 8.4; p less than 0.05). These results showed that colonic myoelectrical activity in IBS patients is different from that of controls; such a difference could be useful in classifying IBS patients.

Cancer, pancreatitis, and the detection of the isoenzymes of DNAase, RNAase and amylase.

Substrate films of starch, RNA, and DNA were used to identify the isoenzymes of amylase, RNAase, and DNAase found in human ductal pancreatic juice subjected to isoelectric focusing. The pancreatic secretions from 15 patients were shown to contain as many as four isoenzymes of RNAase; the two major forms had isoelectric points of 7.87 and 7.52, and the two minor forms, of 7.25 and 6.90. Six DNAase bands were detected; the major bands had pI values of 4.86 and 4.79, and sometimes appeared as one band. The minor bands had pI values of 5.08, 5.00, 4.68, and 4.58. Purified bovine DNAase I, analyzed similarly, showed four bands (5.29, 5.19, 5.04 and 4.96). Nine isoenzymes of alpha-amylase were observed in the secretions from 15 patients. The major alpha-amylase isoenzyme had a pI value of 6.84 in 14 patients and of 7.04 in 1 patient. Secondary bands were seen with pI values of 6.23, 6.53 and 6.69. Additional isoenzymes were found with pI values of 7.16, 6.39, 6.00 and 5.78. The amylase isoenzyme with a pI value of 6.39 was found in 7 of the 8 patients with a normal pancreas or carcinoma of the pancreas, and in only 1 of 7 patients with acute or chronic pancreatitis.

In-situ-isolated perfused rat pancreas: a new method for pharmacological studies of the exocrine pancreas.

A method of in-situ-isolated perfused rat pancreas is described. In situ perfusion of the isolated rat pancreas allows a faster set-up, thanks to a simpler operating procedure. The sensitivity of the isolated rat pancreas has been tested with secretin and cholecystokinin. The pancreas responds to doses of secretin as low as 0.005 CU/kg-h. Such a highly sensitive model might prove to be useful for the bioassay of secretin and the study of the effects of pancreatic secretagogues.