title: [Electrogastrography in the elderly and effect of hot stupes on the solar plexus].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Constipation affects as many as 26% of elderly men and 34% of elderly women and is a problem that has been related to a diminished quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of aging on electrogastrograms (EGGs). On the basis of the EGGs of elderly individuals, the effect of hot stupe application on the epigastrium was also evaluated.
  
  
  METHODS
  The first group included 14 healthy, young participants (age, 20-25 years) and the second group comprised 14 healthy, elderly participants (age, 65-76 years). EGGs were obtained for the first 30 min in a sitting position and for the next period (> 150 min) in a supine position. A hot stupe was placed on the epigastrium of each elderly patient 90 min after the postural change. We evaluated EGGs by spectral analysis and nonlinear analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  On comparing the gastrointestinal electrical activity of the elderly group with that of the young group, the activity in the former revealed an overall decrease. With hot stupe application, translation error in the elderly individuals was significantly larger than that without hot stupe application (p < 0.01). We also observed a gender-specific characteristic, wherein the gastrointestinal motility of the young women was likely only influenced by postural change. Moreover, the translation error in the EGGs of the elderly individuals increased during hot stupe heating.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This increase in the translation error suggests that the electrical synergy between the stomach and intestine could be enhanced by the application of a hot stupe. Our findings also indicated that hot stupe application on the epigastrium was effective for improving gastrointestinal motility in elderly individuals.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Physiology, Aichi Medical University. yamamoto@u-gifu-ms.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Yasuyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuura
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takada
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iwase
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sugenoya
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002447:Celiac Plexus / Q000502:physiology*; D004576:Electromyography / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006358:Hot Temperature / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013270:Stomach / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult