title: Gastric emptying and plasma levels of gastrointestinal hormones in patients with peptic ulcer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the plasma level of gastrointestinal hormones and the time of gastric emptying in patients with peptic ulcer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty patients with gastric ulcer (GU), 29 patients with duodenal ulcer (DU), and 12 healthy controls were studied. Plasma levels of somatostatin (SS), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and substance P (SP) were measured by radioimmunoassay. Gastric emptying half-time (GET1/2) was measured by the TC-99(m) resin/solid meal method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  GET1/2 was significantly longer in the GU patients than that in the healthy controls (65.9 ± 14.8 min vs 53.3 ± 4.3 min, P < 0.01) and plasma VIP levels were significantly higher (37.5 ± 10.7 ng/L vs 18.4 ± 5.9 ng/L, P < 0.05).There was a significant positive correlation between GET1/2 and plasma VIP levels (r = 0.55, P < 0.01). No significant differences were found in SS and SP levels when GU patients were compared with healthy controls (P > 0.05). GET1/2 was markedly shorter in the DU patients than in the healthy controls (41.7 ± 10.2 min vs 53.3 ± 4.3 min, P < 0.01) and plasma SS levels were significantly lower (6.4 ± 2.5 ng/L vs 11.9 ± 3.4 ng/L, P < 0.01). There was a significant positive correlation between GET1/2 and SS levels (r = 0.56, P < 0.01). Plasma SP levels in the DU patients were significantly higher than those in the healthy controls (54.4 ± 12.7 ng/L vs 41.6 ± 5.8 ng/L, P < 0.01). There was a significant negative correlation between GET1/2 and SP levels (r = -0.68, P < 0.01). No significant differences were found in the plasma VIP levels when DU patient were compared to healthy controls (P > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Elevation in VIP may contribute to occurrence of GU and its associated delay in GET1/2. Increased SP and reduced SS may play important roles in GET1/2 acceleration and in the pathogensis of DU.
authors.affiliation: Jian Chen, Jun-Man Li, Xue-Hui Li, Hong-Sheng Hao, Shu-Hua Fu, Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Medical University, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Jian Chen, Jun-Man Li, Xue-Hui Li, Hong-Sheng Hao, Shu-Hua Fu, Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Medical University, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Jian Chen, Jun-Man Li, Xue-Hui Li, Hong-Sheng Hao, Shu-Hua Fu, Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Medical University, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: X H
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Jian Chen, Jun-Man Li, Xue-Hui Li, Hong-Sheng Hao, Shu-Hua Fu, Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Medical University, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Jian Chen, Jun-Man Li, Xue-Hui Li, Hong-Sheng Hao, Shu-Hua Fu, Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Medical University, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Fu
keywords: Gastric emptying; Gastrointestinal hormones/blood; Peptic ulcer/physiopathology