title: A novel biomagnetic approach to study caecocolonic motility in humans.
abstract: Motility patterns play a major role in human colonic functions; however, its physiological significance is poorly understood. Several studies have been introducing the Alternating Current Biosusceptometry (ACB) as a valuable tool in gastroenterology and pharmaceutical research. Using gold standard techniques, great effort has been made to validate ACB as a method for measuring gastrointestinal motility in humans and animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate caecocolonic motility and its response to a meal in healthy volunteers. The results showed a dominant frequency of 3.17 +/- 0.13 cycles per minute (mean +/- SD) that remained unchanged even after a standardized meal (P > 0.01). The colonic response to a meal was recorded as a considerable increase in amplitude, reflected by motility index (P < 0.01) and was observed for all the volunteers. The caecocolonic motility could be assessed by the ACB providing new insights into physiological patterns of motility. Moreover, the method is non-invasive, radiation-free, cost-effective and independent of bowel preparation.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Clínica Médica, FMB, Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: F G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Romeiro
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Corá
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: de Andreis
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Américo
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Baffa
authors.forename: J R A
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Miranda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002432:Cecum / Q000502:physiology*; D003106:Colon / Q000502:physiology*; D004435:Eating; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008280:Magnetics / Q000295:instrumentation*