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The effect of two α 2 ‐adrenoreceptor agonists and an antagonist on gastric emptying and mouth to caecum transit time in humans
Author(s) -
BAXTER A. J.,
EDWARDS C. A.,
HOLDEN S.,
CUNNINGHAM K. M.,
WELCH I. McL.,
READ N. W.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
alimentary pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.308
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1365-2036
pISSN - 0269-2813
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2036.1987.tb00652.x
Subject(s) - clonidine , idazoxan , gastric emptying , medicine , antagonist , endocrinology , caecum , motility , migrating motor complex , basal (medicine) , stomach , prazosin , biology , receptor , insulin , genetics
SUMMARY Experiments were performed to investigate the effect of two α 2 ‐adrenoreceptor agonists, clonidine and lidamidine, and a specific α 2 ‐adrenoreceptor antagonist, idazoxan, on gastric emptying and mouth to caecum transit time (MCTT) of a radiolabelled meal in 27 healthy male subjects. Lidamidine (20 mg p.o.) and clonidine (0.3 mg p.o.), given alone had no significant effect on gastric emptying or MCTT suggesting that the anti‐diarrhoeal action of clonidine and lidamidine are unlikely to be explained by a slowing of small intestinal transit. Idazoxan (20 mg p.o.) reversed the effect of clonidine in 10 subjects, who showed a delay in MCTT after taking clonidine, but did not alter MCTT under basal conditions. These results suggest that although the sympathetic nervous system can influence upper gastrointestinal motility by an action on α 2 ‐adrenoreceptors, this action does not exert a tonic influence on upper gastrointestinal motility under basal conditions.