Alterations of colonic motility after oral administration of prostaglandin E1 analogue misoprostol in man

Abstract

AbstractThis study describes the motor changes observed in human colon under normal feeding schedule, after administration of a single oral does of misoprostol, a PGE1 synthetic analogue. Fourteen patients (3 men, 11 women, mean age 45±7 years), with chronic abdominal pain but without any detectable organic digestive disease were studied. The colonic motor activity was recorded by endoluminal electromyography during 218‐h recording sessions over 2 consecutive days. Misoprostol 600 μg or placebo was randomly administered in double‐blind manner either on the first or the second day of the recording period. In 8 patients, misoprostol was administered orally 1 h before the dinner (17.30 hours) and in 6 patients at the beginning of the night‐time (23.00hours). Meals were standardized and scheduled during the whole recording session in the same way for all patients.After placebo, colonic response to feeding was characterized by an increase in colonic motor activity mainly concerning the percentage of time occupied by long spike bursts (LSBs =+232%) and migrating long spike bursts (MLSBs =+214%) (p < 0.05). Short spike burst activity (SSBs) was not affected by feeding. Administered before the meal, misoprostol (600 μg) strongly reduced percentage of time occupied by the LSBs activity during post‐cibal period (‐46%) when compared to placebo (P < 0.01). On the contrary, MLSBs and SSBs activities were similar in post‐prandial period after placebo and misoprostol. Administration of misoprostol during the nighttime did not affect the basic colonie myoelectrical pattern when compared to placebo.We conclude that an oral administration of misoprostol before a meal alters the colonic response to feeding, mainly the contractile activity of LSBs.