Interdigestive cycling in chronic pancreatitis: altered coordination among pancreatic secretion, motility, and hormones.
OBJECTIVE
Secretions from the exocrine and endocrine pancreas may modulate interdigestive motility. To test this hypothesis in humans, we investigated interdigestive cycling in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) as a model of impaired pancreatic function.


METHODS
Antroduodenal motility, pancreatic enzyme output, and pancreatic polypeptide release were monitored for two consecutive interdigestive cycles in 13 controls and 9 patients with CP.


RESULTS
Interdigestive enzyme output was severely impaired in patients with CP (> 80% decrease); however, secretory cycling was still evident in most patients. All parameters describing interdigestive motility were similar in controls and patients with CP (duration of the migrating motor complex [MMC] was 107 +/- 19 minutes in patients with CP vs. 114 +/- 15 minutes in controls). The time between cyclic peaks of enzyme secretion (76 +/- 4 minutes vs. 101 +/- 4 minutes in controls) and pancreatic polypeptide (63 +/- 4 minutes vs. 106 +/- 7 minutes in controls) was shortened in patients with CP, and peaks were no longer temporally related to the MMC. Only 56% of phase III activity fronts were associated with a concomitant secretory peak in patients with CP compared with 92% in healthy subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
CP not only decreases pancreatic secretion but interrupts the coordination among interdigestive cyclic phenomena. Our findings in several animal and human models refute the concept that pancreatic mechanisms exert a major regulatory influence on interdigestive motor activity.
Pieramico
O
O
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Ulm, Germany.
Dominguez-Muñoz
J E
JE
Nelson
D K
DK
Böck
W
W
Büchler
M
M
Malfertheiner
P
P
D000328:Adult; D000681:Amylases / Q000378:metabolism; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002908:Chronic Disease; D002918:Chymotrypsin / Q000378:metabolism; D004063:Digestion; D004386:Duodenum / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016065:Myoelectric Complex, Migrating; D010179:Pancreas / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010191:Pancreatic Polypeptide / Q000378:metabolism*; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010507:Periodicity; D011706:Pyloric Antrum / Q000503:physiopathology; D014357:Trypsin / Q000378:metabolism
D010191:Pancreatic Polypeptide; D000681:Amylases; D002918:Chymotrypsin; D014357:Trypsin