Evaluation of colonic myoelectrical activity in health and functional disorders.

Abstract

Despite considerable progress in the knowledge of human colonic motor function, the relationships between electrical and mechanical activity, their significance in regard to transit of digesta, and their temporal daily distribution in health and disease remain uncertain.' Previous attempts to evaluate electrical activity of the colon in man have allowed the identification of two distinct slow-wave rhythms with frequencies of 9-12 and 2-5-3.5 c/min respectively2-4 and, in one report, spike potentials were found to be superimposed on the higher slow-wave rhythm.2 Whereas the low frequency slow wave has the same incidence and frequency along the whole colon, the higher frequency slow wave has a greater incidence in the right colon, although its frequency is higher in the left colon.5 Lack of further information has been due to the technical difficulty of attaching clip or suction electrodes to the proximal colon. Failure to achieve adequate records of spiking activity was also due to the use of long time constants

The Rectum: A Window to Irritable Bowel Syndrome?

“…IBS patients can be characterized according to their predominant bowel habits and there are indications that IBS symptoms have to do with abnormal anorectal and colonic motility [24, 25]. At the present time, however, it is not established whether the diversity in stool habits among IBS patients with diarrhea and constipation are all or not manifestations of different disorders.…”

Is colonic electrical activity a similar phenomena to small-bowel electrical activity?

“…These are the LSB, MLSB, and SSB reported by Christensen et al a and Bueno et al 9 Schang and Devroede 1~ used similar definitions (rhythmic spike potentials, sporadic nonpropagating and propagating potentials) and preferred to use the term propagating instead of migrating. On the classification reported by Sarna et al, ~3 ' 23 SSB corresponds to the discrete electrical response activity, LSB to the continuous electrical response activity, and MLSB to contractile electrical complex.…”

“…Definitions concerning potentials used by Christensen et al 8 in in vitro studies and later used in human studies by Bueno et al 9 and Schang and Devroede 1~ were adopted in this work. Three types of spike bursts were considered: 1) MLSB; 2) LSB; 3) SSB.…”

Methods in human alimentary motility.

“…Suction electrodes positioned through a sigmoidoscope have been used in the rectum. Ring electrodes have been used in the oesophagus (Goodman et al, 1966) and long ( 150 cm) polyvinyl tubes supporting 8 groups of 3 electrodes have been placed in the colon using a flexible sigmoidoscope (Bueno et al, 1980). Unfortunately, electrical contact with the mucosa is unpredictable, so that results obtained should be viewed with caution (Daniel, 1975).…”