Whole Gut Motility Patterns in Patients with Chronic Nausea and Vomiting.

Chronic nausea and vomiting (N/V) disorders are common in clinical practice. Our primary aim was to compare total and segmental gastrointestinal transit times as well as gastric contraction patterns in patients with chronic N/V syndrome to those of healthy volunteers (HVs). In the patient group, our secondary aim was to explore how symptoms and motility patterns were affected by a serotonin HT receptor agonist (Prucalopride).

Diabetic gastroenteropathy: Associations between gastrointestinal symptoms, motility, and extraintestinal autonomic measures.

Background: Diabetic gastroenteropathy can cause significant diagnostic challenges. Still, it remains unknown if measures of extraintestinal autonomic function reflect diabetic gastroenteropathy. We aimed to assess the associations between (1) gastrointestinal symptoms and motility measures and (2) gastrointestinal symptoms/motility measures and extraintestinal autonomic markers.

Effects of opium tincture on gastrointestinal function and motility in healthy volunteers: A magnetic resonance imaging study.

Background: Opioids inhibit motility and secretion of the gut and have been used for antidiarrheal treatment for centuries. However, the underlying mechanisms of opium tincture are not evident.

Aim: To investigate the effects of opium tincture on gastrointestinal motility, intestinal volumes, and water content of different gut segments assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The influence of tramadol on bowel function: A randomised, placebo-controlled trial.

Tramadol is a weak opioid used to treat moderate pain. Stronger opioids inhibit gastrointestinal function, but little is known about the gastrointestinal effects of tramadol. Our aim was to investigate if tramadol causes opioid-induced bowel dysfunction (OIBD).

Opium tincture has anti-propulsive effects in patients with chronic diarrhea: a randomized, placebo-controlled, and cross-over trial.

Objective: Chronic diarrhea affects approximately 5% of the population. Opioids inhibit gastrointestinal motility, and opium tincture has shown anti-propulsive effects in healthy, but no controlled studies of its clinical efficacy exist. We aimed to investigate the anti-propulsive and central nervous system (CNS) effects of opium tincture in patients with chronic diarrhea.

Influence of weight-adjusted contrast enhancement on computed tomography-derived skeletal muscle measures: a retrospective proof-of-concept comparative study between Danish females and males.

Background: Computed tomography (CT) has an underutilized potential for evaluating body composition in clinical settings. Often conducted with intravenous contrast (IVC), CT scans yield unused body composition data due to unclear effects on skeletal muscle area (SMA), skeletal muscle index (SMI), and muscle density (SMD).

Objectives: This study investigates whether weight-adjusted IVC influences SMA, SMI, and SMD differently in females and males compared with noncontrast abdominal CT.

Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation for treating gastrointestinal symptoms in individuals with diabetes: a randomised, double-blind, sham-controlled, multicentre trial.

Aims/hypothesis: Diabetic gastroenteropathy frequently causes debilitating gastrointestinal symptoms. Previous uncontrolled studies have shown that transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS) may improve gastrointestinal symptoms. To investigate the effect of cervical tVNS in individuals with diabetes suffering from autonomic neuropathy and gastrointestinal symptoms, we conducted a randomised, sham-controlled, double-blind (participants and investigators were blinded to the allocated treatment) study.

Association between the Static and Dynamic Lung Function and CT-Derived Thoracic Skeletal Muscle Measurements-A Retrospective Analysis of a 12-Month Observational Follow-Up Pilot Study.

Background: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with low skeletal muscle mass and severe airway obstruction have higher mortality risks. However, the relationship between dynamic/static lung function (LF) and thoracic skeletal muscle measurements (SMM) remains unclear. This study explored patient characteristics (weight, BMI, exacerbations, dynamic/static LF, sex differences in LF and SMM, and the link between LF and SMM changes.

Ethnic differences in CT derived abdominal body composition measures: a comparative retrospect pilot study between European and Inuit study population.

Understanding ethnic variations in body composition is crucial for assessing health risks. Universal models may not suit all ethnicities, and there is limited data on the Inuit population. This study aimed to compare body composition between Inuit and European adults using computed tomography (CT) scans and to investigate the influence of demographics on these measurements.

MRI-Based Quantification of Pan-Alimentary Function and Motility in Subjects with Diabetes and Gastrointestinal Symptoms.

Diabetes-induced gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are common but difficult to correctly diagnose and manage. We used multi-segmental magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate structural and functional GI parameters in diabetic patients and to study the association with their symptomatic presentation. Eighty-six participants (46 with diabetes and GI symptoms, 40 healthy controls) underwent baseline and post-meal MRI scans at multiple timepoints.

Pan-alimentary assessment of motility, luminal content, and structures: an MRI-based framework.

Background: Gastrointestinal symptoms originating from different segments overlap and complicate diagnosis and treatment. In this study, we aimed to develop and test a pan-alimentary framework for the evaluation of gastrointestinal (GI) motility and different static endpoints based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) without contrast agents or bowel preparation.

Methods: Twenty healthy volunteers (55.

Association between thoracic and third lumbar CT-derived muscle mass and density in Caucasian patients without chronic disease: a proof-of-concept study.

Background: Computed tomography (CT) is increasingly used in the clinical workup, and existing scan contains unused body composition data, potentially useful in a clinical setting. However, there is no healthy reference for contrast-enhanced thoracic CT-derived muscle measures. Therefore, we aimed at investigating whether there is a correlation between each of the thoracic and third lumbar vertebra level (L3) skeletal muscle area (SMA), skeletal muscle index (SMI), and skeletal muscle density (SMD) at contrast-enhanced CT in patients without chronic disease.

Effects of opium tincture on the enteric and central nervous systems: A randomized controlled trial.

Opioids change gut motility, and opium tincture has been used for treatment of chronic diarrhoea for centuries. However, the effects have never been documented in controlled trials. We aimed to investigate the effects of opium tincture on gastrointestinal transit and motility, frequency of bowel movements, stool consistency, gastrointestinal symptoms and sedation.

Indentation of a pressurized silicon stomach model - A non-invasive study of gastric wall stiffness and pressurized gastric content stiffness.

Background And Aims: Evaluation of gastric wall stiffness and intragastric pressure is essential for detailed assessments of gastric accommodation. However, non-invasive assessments are needed for large scale clinical studies and none of the existing methods takes abdominal wall effect into the calculation. This study aimed to assess gastric wall stiffness and gastric content stiffness as a proxy for intragastric pressure using novel mechanical modeling and non-invasive indentation tests on a silicon stomach model.

Central neuronal transmission in response to tonic cold pain is modulated in people with type 1 diabetes and severe polyneuropathy.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate cortical source activity and identify source generators in people with type 1 diabetes during rest and tonic cold pain.

Methods: Forty-eight participants with type 1 diabetes and neuropathy, and 21 healthy controls were investigated with electroencephalography (EEG) during 5-minutes resting and 2-minutes tonic cold pain (immersing the hand into water at 2 °C). EEG power was assessed in eight frequency bands, and EEG source generators were analyzed using standardized low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA).

Colonic volume in patients with functional constipation or irritable bowel syndrome determined by magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Functional constipation (FC) and irritable bowel syndrome constipation type (IBS-C) share many similarities, and it remains unknown whether they are distinct entities or part of the same spectrum of disease. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows quantification of intraluminal fecal volume. We hypothesized that colonic volumes of patients with FC would be larger than those of patients with IBS-C, and that both patient groups would have larger colonic volumes than healthy controls (HC).

Quantification of gastric emptying with magnetic resonance imaging in healthy volunteers: A systematic review.

Background: Several magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols have been used to assess gastric emptying (GE) with MRI. This systematic review summarizes the current literature on the topic. The aim was to provide an overview of the available imaging protocols and underline the items that appear most agreed upon and those that deserve further investigation.

Contractility patterns and gastrointestinal movements monitored by a combined magnetic tracking and motility testing unit.

Background: Ingestible wireless capsules, including the 3D-transit magnetic capsule and the wireless motility capsule (WMC), describe gastrointestinal (GI) motility from changes in position or pressure. This study aimed to combine information on contractile events in terms of position (assessed with the 3D-transit) and change in pressure (assessed with the WMC) throughout the entire GI tract.

Methods: The 3D-transit capsule and WMC were combined into a single-wireless unit system.

Importance of blinding and expectations in opioid-induced constipation: evidence from a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: Previous studies have found little association between objective measures and the subjective experience of opioid-induced constipation. The subjective experience of opioid-induced constipation may be influenced by treatment expectations. While most trials control for treatment expectations through blinding, success rate is generally low.

The effects of tapentadol and oxycodone on central processing of tonic pain.

Objective: The present study investigated differences between opioids to experimental tonic pain in healthy men.

Methods: Twenty-one males participated in this cross-over-trial. Interventions twice daily were oxycodone (10 mg), tapentadol (50 mg) and placebo for 14 days.

Tapentadol and oxycodone reduce cingulate glutamate in healthy volunteers.

Tapentadol and oxycodone are commonly used analgesics. Preclinical studies have shown that oxycodone modulates brain metabolites related to opioid pathways, whereas tapentadol also affects noradrenergic activity. However, knowledge about the function of the medications in the human brain is limited.

Gastric Emptying Time and Volume of the Small Intestine as Objective Markers in Patients With Symptoms of Diabetic Enteropathy.

Background/aims: Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) often suffer from gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, but these correlate poorly to established objective GI motility measures. Our aim is to perform a detailed evaluation of potential measures of gastric and small intestinal motility in patients with DM type 1 and severe GI symptoms.

Methods: Twenty patients with DM and 20 healthy controls (HCs) were included.