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Biomedical subjects

M M Heitkemper

Publications and source records attributed to M M Heitkemper.

44 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Does a physically active lifestyle improve symptoms in women with irritable bowel syndrome?

It has been proposed that physical activity moderates physiological or psychological responses to chronic conditions. The purpose of this study was to determine if women with a chronic functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, had less active lifestyles than healthy controls and to test whether active women with irritable bowel syndrome had less severe recalled or daily reports of GI, psychological, and somatic symptoms than inactive women with irritable bowel syndrome. Questionnaires were used to measure GI and psychological distress and somatic symptoms in 89 women who participated in this study. A daily symptom and activity diary was kept for one menstrual cycle. Women with irritable bowel syndrome were significantly less likely to be active (48%) than control women (71%) (X2 = 3.4, p = .05). Within the irritable bowel syndrome group, active women were less likely to report a feeling of incomplete evacuation following a bowel movement than inactive women (p < .04), yet active women did not have less severe recalled psychological or somatic symptoms than inactive women. Active women with irritable bowel syndrome reported less severe daily somatic symptoms, which were accounted for by a lower level of fatigue (p = .003), but not daily GI or psychological symptoms. These results suggest that physical activity may produce select symptom improvement in women with irritable bowel syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Systemic responses to different enteral feeding schedules in rats.

The purpose of this study was to describe selected temporal systemic responses to different enteral feeding schedules using an animal model, as one prerequisite for determining optimal delivery times for human enteral feedings. The effect of feeding schedules and time of day were examined relative to body weight and plasma glucose, insulin, glucagon, and corticosterone levels. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (N = 80) were used in a 4 x 4 randomized block design. Rats started the feeding schedules on Day 11 post-gastrostomy tube placement. The following feeding schedules, often used by humans, were tested: 24-hour enteral; 24-hour oral; 12-hour (rest time) enteral; and 12-hour (rest time) oral. Plasma was collected on Day 20. Despite very different feeding schedules, there were no statistical differences in weight gain, or plasma glucose and glucagon levels. Levels of insulin and corticosterone were significantly influenced by time of day and/or feeding group. Temporal pattern disruption was greatest in the rest-time fed enteral group. Both route and timing of enteral delivery modified metabolic hormone patterns.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Role of diets in modifying gastrointestinal neurotransmitter enzyme activity.

Manipulation of diet, by altering the composition or quantity, can produce alterations in the central nervous system as evidenced by changes in memory or behavior. The present study was designed to examine the effects of fasting/starvation or a choline deficient diet on the enzymes that synthesize and degrade acetylcholine and norepinephrine, both neurotransmitters in the gastrointestinal tract. This study was conducted on three groups of male rats: control nontreated, choline deficient diet for 14 days, and fasting/starvation (water only) for 3 days. Enzyme activities were determined throughout the length of the gut. The lack of dietary choline produced a decrease in adrenergic enzyme activity but had little effect on cholinergic enzyme activities. Starvation decreased adrenergic enzyme activities and increased activity of the acetylcholine synthesizing enzyme in most segments of the gastrointestinal tract. Starvation was also a stressor, as evidenced by elevated levels of plasma and adrenal corticosterone. The implication from these experiments is that dietary manipulation may produce functional changes (i.e., motility and secretion) in the gastrointestinal tract as a result of altering neurotransmitter enzyme activities.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Gastrointestinal symptoms and bowel patterns across the menstrual cycle in dysmenorrhea.

Gastrointestinal (GI) functional indicators and symptoms across the menstrual cycle were examined in three groups of women: dysmenorrheic (n = 15), non-pill-taking nondysmenorrheic (n = 10), and nondysmenorrheic taking birth control pills (BCPs) (n = 9). Group assignment was based on the reported presence or absence of moderate to severe menstrual cramps in a GI Health Diary which subjects kept for two menstrual cycles. Stool consistencies and frequencies and GI symptoms were also recorded in this diary. Menstrual cycle phase significantly, p = .03, influenced stool consistencies for the sample as a whole with the loosest stools at menses. Reports of stomach pain were higher, p less than .001, at menses than at other cycle phases in all groups, and nausea, p less than .001, and decreased food intake, p less than .01, were more frequently reported by dysmenorrheic women at menses. More dysmenorrheic women had a history of menses-related GI symptoms. Both cycle phase and group differences were significant, p less than .05, for menstrual distress, with negative affect, pain, behavior changes, and autonomic reactions reported more frequently at menses by dysmenorrheic women.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of diet temperature on tolerance of enteral feedings.

Nasogastric tube feedings administered at three temperatures were studied for effect on gastric motility, total gastrointestinal transit time, diarrhea, and subjective sensations in normal volunteers. Following a period of base-line observation, six volunteers received tube feedings at one of three temperatures: cold (8-11 degrees C), room (23-26 degrees C), or warm (36-39 degrees C). There was no significant difference between the temperature of the feeding and gastric motility patterns in selected postfeeding periods. Administration of diets at all three temperatures resulted in a similar decrease in the frequency of gastric contraction and similar patterns of return of gastric activity. After cold feedings two subjects experienced cramping accompanied by diarrhea. No gastrointestinal disturbances were reported following warmer infusions.

Cold Temperature↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dietary fiber and distressing gastrointestinal symptoms in midlife women.

In this descriptive study, 20 midlife women experiencing chronic distressing gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms recorded GI symptom severity in a symptom diary for a 30-day period and dietary intake in a 9-day food record. A wide variability in GI symptom severity was noted. Significant negative relationships were present between dietary fiber intake and abdominal pain, awakening with abdominal pain, nausea, awakening with nausea, and awakening with rectal pain. No significant relationships were noted between amount of caffeine or alcohol intake and distressing GI symptoms.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Intestinal transit and body weight responses to ovarian hormones and dietary fiber in rats.

A two-part experimental design was used to study the effects of ovarian hormone cessation, hormone supplementation, and dietary fiber composition on body weight, appetite, and intestinal transit. In Part 1, effects of ovarian hormone status on body weight and baseline and stimulated intestinal transit were measured in chow-fed rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were ovariectomized (OVX), then injected daily (22 days) with estrogen (E), progesterone (P), the combination (E + P), or placebo. Controls were sham operated and placebo injected. Among OVX rats, E and E + P had the least body weight gain (9%, 6%); placebo and P had the greatest (36%, 34%). In OVX-P, baseline intestinal transit (measured in anesthetized rats as distance traveled by a charcoal marker) was relatively low, but vagal stimulation via centrally administered thyrotropin-releasing hormone evoked an increase significantly larger than that in other groups. In Part 2, experiments probed the interacting effects of ovarian hormone cessation and dietary fiber composition on body weight and baseline intestinal transit. Caloric intake was measured to determine the contribution of altered appetite. Rats were OVX or sham operated, then fed liquid diets with or without dietary fiber (25 days). OVX fiber-fed rats had significantly higher caloric intake, weight gain, and baseline intestinal transit than other groups. Caloric intake did not fully account for group differences. These results demonstrate modulation of GI function by ovarian hormones and dietary fiber.

Animals↗