Gastrobiliary motility is not coordinated in patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia of normal gastric emptying time: simultaneous sonographic study.
BACKGROUND
Disorders of the motor function of the upper gastrointestinal tract have been implicated in the pathogenesis of non-ulcer dyspepsia. Approximately 50% of patients with abdominal symptoms (without ulcer) have normal gastric emptying. Apart from gastric emptying, other mechanisms are very important in the etiology of non-ulcer dyspepsia.


METHODS
Gastric emptying and gallbladder motility were simultaneously investigated in 16 patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia and in 15 healthy controls. Fasting blood samples were taken, and pepsinogen levels were assayed.


RESULTS
Gastric emptying time, fasting antral diameter, and post-prandial antral diameter were not significantly different between the patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia and the controls. Fasting gallbladder volume, the time required to reach minimal gallbladder residual volume, minimal gallbladder residual volume, and the serum levels of pepsinogen were not significantly different. Simple linear regression was used to summarize the relationship between gastric emptying time and time required to reach minimal gallbladder residual volume. In the controls, the gastric emptying time and time required to reach minimal gallbladder residual volume were linearly related. However, in the patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia, they were not related.


CONCLUSIONS
These observations suggest that disturbance of coordination between gastric emptying and gallbladder emptying is a cause of the symptoms of non-ulcer dyspepsia.
Mizushima
Takaaki
T
Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Okayama University Medical School, Okayama, Japan. takaakim@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp
Sawa
Kiminari
K
Ochi
Koji
K
Tanioka
Hiroaki
H
Wakuta
Akiko
A
Matsushita
Koki
K
Shirahige
Akinori
A
Kiura
Katsuyuki
K
Tanimoto
Mitsune
M
Koide
Norio
N
Harada
Hideo
H
D004415:Dyspepsia / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005704:Gallbladder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016473:Gallbladder Emptying / Q000502:physiology*; D005746:Gastric Emptying / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D020116:Pepsinogen A / Q000097:blood; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013270:Stomach / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014463:Ultrasonography
D020116:Pepsinogen A