Acute effect of clonidine on gastric emptying in patients with diabetic gastropathy and controls.
BACKGROUND
The treatments available for diabetic gastropathy are frequently ineffective. Clinical observations suggest that clonidine, an a-2 adrenergic agonist, may improve diabetic gastropathy symptoms.


OBJECTIVE
To establish whether a single oral dose of clonidine alters the gastric emptying of a solid meal in 10 patients with diabetic gastropathy and their matched controls. A secondary goal was to compare two methods of analysis of the data from gastric emptying studies.


METHODS
Clonidine, 0.3 mg, or a matched placebo were administered orally in a double-blind fashion.


RESULTS
Only three of the 10 patients showed an increased gastric residual volume. Gastric emptying rates were comparable in patients and controls. Clonidine had no significant effect on gastric emptying in the controls but increased t1/2 values in the patient group. This effect just reached statistical significance only when calculated by the power exponential method (P=0.05 but not by the linear component model.


CONCLUSIONS
Delayed gastric emptying is not an invariable characteristic of symptomatic diabetic gastropathy. Clonidine, given as a single dose of 0.3 mg orally, has no gastric prokinetic effects. It may act on gastric afferent innervation or, more likely, at a central site to reduce nausea and vomiting. The analysis of gastric emptying data by the power exponential and the two linear component methods yields equivalent results.
Huilgol
V
V
Division of Gastroenterology/Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
Evans
J
J
Hellman
R S
RS
Soergel
K H
KH
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003000:Clonidine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005746:Gastric Emptying / Q000187:drug effects*; D018589:Gastroparesis / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists; D003000:Clonidine