COLONIC MYOELECTRICAL ACTIVITY IN DIARRHEA AND CONSTIPATION

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 27  (5) , 381-389
Abstract
The electrical activity of the colon was recorded during 10 h sessions from 4-8 sets of electrodes carried on a 1.5 m probe in 11 control volunteers and in 35 patients with irritable bowel syndrome manifested by chronic constipation, diarrhea and/or pain. The patterns of electrical spiking activity were compared with those obtained from dogs with induced diarrhea or constipation. In humans and dogs, 2 types of electrical activity were identified: short spike bursts (SSB) lasting 0.6-2.4 s and long spike bursts (LBS) lasting 6.4-25 s. The SSB occurred at a maximum frequency of 13/min in man, while the LSB never exceeded 3/min. Characteristic changes in the myoelectrical activity mainly coincided with disorders. In group I containing 19 patients, most of them exhibiting constipation, the level of activity was 62% higher than in healthy subjects with an increase in the SSB hourly frequency of 170-420%. The colonic activity was similarly increased in constipated dogs. In group II containing 11 patients suffering from soft feces or watery diarrhea, the LSB activity was significantly reduced. In group III containing 5 patients, diffuse abdominal pain occurred after eating despite a reduction of the electromotor feeding responses and the absence of colonic postprandial rushes. The functional colonic disorders in man apparently corresponded mainly to 3 specific patterns of myoelectrical activity, 1 of them (group I) being reproduced in experimentally constipated dogs.

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