SUMMARY The effect of a long acting somatostatin analogue SMS 201-995 on stomal effluents in patients with severe short bowel syndrome was investigated in a double blind placebo controlled balance study. Six patients, five with Crohn's disease and one with radiation enteropathy were studied. Five patients had a jejunostomy and one an ileostomy. The patients had a normal food intake, but because of severe malabsorption had received home parenteral nutrition for several years. Faecal mass was reduced (p<0005) and intestinal net sodium absorption was increased (p

We investigated exocrine pancreatic function in a population of patients with Crohn's disease in order to correlate the pancreatic function with clinical and laboratory variables.

Dietary supplementation with wheat bran has been widely advocated as a first-line treatment of patients with the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Few controlled trials have been reported, and the results are, furthermore, contradictory. The present study comprised 20 patients with IBS, of whom 18 (14 women, 4 men) completed the trial. The two treatment periods of 6 weeks each, with a daily intake of 30 g coarse wheat bran or 30 g placebo bran, respectively, were randomized in a double-blind cross-over design. Wheat bran significantly (P less than 0.05) increased the stool weight and shortened the intestinal transit time but was without significant effect on the colonic motility index was shown. We conclude that coarse wheat bran used as the only treatment in IBS does not provide a sufficient effect in a 6-week period. However, wheat bran seems to be justified in the treatment of constipation.

Eighty-four patients had colectomy with ileostomy and oversewing of the rectum for Crohn's colitis. Seventy-two patients were operated on because of intractable disease, colitis in combination with rectal fistulas, and toxic megacolon. The operative mortality was 6 percent, and neither emergency surgery nor treatment with steroids correlated with operative morbidity. After a median 7.7 years of follow-up, 25 ileorectal anastomoses had been undertaken, 16 of which were successful. Twenty-nine protectomies were performed; the resulting 10-year cumulative risk of proctectomy was 50 percent. While the risk of proctectomy was significantly less among patients with a normal rectum at colectomy compared with patients with proctitis, the initial macroscopic degree of proctitis did not correlate with the risk of subsequent proctectomy. The 5-year cumulative ileal resection rate in 29 patients with a rectum in situ but out of circuit was 29 percent. The possibility of a future ileorectal anastomosis should still be considered in patients with proctocolitis.

The fate of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), which is used in the treatment of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, was studied in six healthy volunteers receiving doses of 100 mg and 250 mg intravenous bolus as well as 250 mg per os (slow release). Following intravenous administration, the drug was rapidly eliminated with a plasma half-life of about 40 min, mainly due to rapid metabolism. No parent drug was recovered in feces, and the total recovery following oral administration (30%) was significantly lower than following the intravenous doses (77% and 72%). Nonlinear pharmacokinetics were suggested as the 2.5-fold increase in intravenous dose was followed by a significant relative increase (greater than 2.5) in the renal elimination of 5-ASA, as well as a significant decrease (less than 2.5) in the elimination of the metabolite N-acetyl-5-ASA. There was also a trend towards a decreasing total body clearance and metabolic ratio. The present study confirms earlier findings on the pharmacokinetics of 5-ASA and suggests a possible saturation of the N-acetylating system in the dose range studied. This may be of interest in the design of controlled-release formulations and dosage regimes for the treatment of diseases of the small-bowel, where 5-ASA is easily absorbed. Further, for the first time, a marked difference in the intestinal fate compared to the systemic fate of the drug is demonstrated, suggesting alternative presystemic metabolism of 5-ASA, which may bear relevance to its mode of action. Further studies on the pharmacokinetics of 5-ASA, preferably in patients, are warranted.

A sensitive and specific enzyme linked immunoassay for lactoferrin is described. The assay is designed to estimate lactoferrin concentrations in samples of duodenal aspirate, but is suitable for other biological fluids as well. The detection limit was 4.7 pmol/l. Within and between assay reproducibility was 41 and 178 pmol/l (1 SD), respectively, at a concentration of 1974 pmol/l. In the fasting state the concentration of lactoferrin in duodenal aspirates of three normal subjects ranged from 0-390 pmol/l and increased to 2860-14,820 pmol/l after pancreatic stimulation.

Absorption studies were performed in 17 patients with ulcerative colitis operated on with colectomy and an ileal two-limbed J-pouch anastomosis. The patients were studied 3 and greater than or equal to 18 months after closure of the temporary ileostomy. Increased stool mass (median, 609 g/24 h) was found in all patients and was unchanged with time. Moderate steatorrhoea was present in 29% of the patients 3 months postoperatively, but faecal fat excretion normalized with time. Calcium absorption was normal in all but one patient regardless of time after operation. An abnormal bacterial deconjugation, evaluated by a 14C-glycocholic acid breath test was present in 27% of the patients and increased significantly with time. Forty per cent of the patients had increased faecal bile acid excretion. B12 malabsorption was present in 29-35% of the patients. In conclusion, ileal J-pouch anastomosis for ulcerative colitis causes increased stool mass in all patients and produces moderate bile acid deconjugation and malabsorption in about one-third to half. Substitution therapy with vitamin B12 is necessary in about one-third of the patients. Intestinal adaptation as far as absorption is concerned is minimal after the first 3 postoperative months.

Bone marrow hemosiderin iron was assessed in 48 patients with alcoholic, and in 34 patients with nonalcoholic liver disease (53 men, 29 women, median age 55 years, range 18-84) and correlated to serum (S)-iron status markers (iron, transferrin, ferritin), as well as to histochemical hepatocyte iron and chemical liver iron content. In a control group of 53 healthy subjects (23 men, 30 women, median age 28 years, range 18-90) marrow hemosiderin iron and iron status markers were evaluated as well. Among liver patients, the marrow iron grade was higher in men than in women (p = 0.03). Correlations were found between marrow iron and histochemical liver iron (rho = 0.38, p = 0.0001) as well as chemical liver iron (rho = 0.33, p = 0.01). Marrow iron was correlated to S-ferritin (rho = 0.53, p = 0.0001), mean red cell volume (rho = 0.34, p = 0.003), and S-transferrin (rho = -0.24, p = 0.02). Alcoholics had a higher marrow iron grade than nonalcoholics (p = 0.001) and controls (p = 0.0001). Among controls, the marrow iron grade was likewise higher in men than in women (p = 0.01). Correlations were found between marrow iron and ferritin (rho = 0.64, p = 0.0001), transferrin saturation (rho = 0.56, p = 0.001), transferrin (rho = 0.53, p = 0.001), S-iron (rho = 0.37, p = 0.01), and hemoglobin in women (rho = 0.38, p = 0.05). The results indicate that alcoholics either have increased marrow hemosiderin iron stores, or display a redistribution of iron in reticuloendothelial cells from soluble ferritin-bound iron to insoluble hemosiderin iron. Among patients with absent marrow hemosiderin iron, 81% had absent hepatocyte hemosiderin iron as well. Among patients with absent hepatocyte hemosiderin iron, 23% had absent and 77% normal or increased marrow hemosiderin iron. Therefore, in patients with iron depletion, assessment of marrow hemosiderin iron yields more relevant information of iron status than assessment of hepatocyte hemosiderin iron.