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Biomedical subjects

R I Breuer

Publications and source records attributed to R I Breuer.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

Rectal irrigation with short-chain fatty acids for distal ulcerative colitis. Preliminary report.

Colon cells from patients with ulcerative colitis utilize short-chain fatty acids inefficiently and may be exposed to decreased concentrations of these compounds. To test whether irrigation of the inflamed mucosa with short-chain fatty acids is useful, we conducted a six-week preliminary trial in 12 patients with distal colitis. Each patient used twice daily rectal irrigations with 100 ml of a solution containing acetate (80 mM), propionate (30 mM), and butyrate (40 mM). Two patients stopped at three weeks, one because of no improvement and the other because of complete resolution of symptoms. Of the 10 who completed the trial, nine were judged to be at least much improved and showed a change in a mean disease activity index score from 7.9 +/- 0.3 (SE) to 1.8 +/- 0.6 (SE) (P less than or equal to 0.002) and in a mucosal histology score from 7.7 +/- 0.7 (SE) to 2.6 +/- 0.7 (SE) (P less than or equal to 0.002). Thus, ulcerative colitis patients appear to benefit from increased contact with or higher than usual levels of these critical energy substrates.

Acetates

Bilateral adrenal hemorrhage as a complication of intravenous ACTH infusion in two patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

We report two patients with inflammatory bowel disease in whom intravenous corticotropin therapy was complicated by bilateral adrenal hemorrhage. In one, the initial presentation was acute and unilateral, simulating colonic perforation and/or abscess. The diagnosis was made only at exploratory laparotomy. In the second patient, the presentation was subacute; multiple episodes of adrenal hemorrhage occurred subsequent to the course of corticotropin, and ultimately, hypoadrenalinism developed. Pertinent clinical and computed tomographic findings are reviewed.

Adrenal Gland Diseases

Organic anions and the diarrhea of inflammatory bowel disease.

To determine if organic anions contribute to the diarrhea of inflammatory bowel disease, we measured osmolality, electrolytes, short-chain fatty acids, lactic acid, and some Krebs cycle anions in 24-hr fecal collections from 18 patients with chronic ulcerative colitis, 20 with Crohn's disease of the colon, and 16 normals. Mean lactic acid concentration was significantly elevated in ulcerative and Crohn's colitis, but values correlated with fecal weight only in the former syndrome. In ulcerative colitis, concentrations of each short-chain fatty acid, especially butyrate, were decreased compared with those from normals or Crohn's disease. Lactate and short-chain fatty acids accounted for nearly half the variability in fecal weight in ulcerative colitis. Crohn's patients had elevated mean fecal water osmolality and osmotic gap not observed in ulcerative colitis. Increased lactic acid and/or deficient short-chain fatty acids may modulate the diarrhea of ulcerative colitis. This mechanism seems less important in Crohn's colitis where an additional osmotic component may be significant.

Anions

Pancreatic duct arteriovenous fistula and the metastatic fat necrosis syndrome.

This report summarizes the course of a patient with asymptomatic chronic pancreatitis associated with hemorrhage into the pancreatic duct and metastatic fat necrosis. Retrograde cannulation of the pancreatic duct and superior mesenteric arteriography established the presence of a pseudocyst with a pancreatic duct-arteriovenous (DAV) fistula as the cause of the syndrome. Ligation of feeder vessels with external drainage of the cyst as the initial surgical procedure stopped the bleeding but failed to prevent recurrence of the pancreatic duct-venous fistula. A pancreaticoduodenectomy with resection of the cyst and fistula was required to arrest destruction of distant tissues. Although serum and urine amylase concentrations were markedly elevated, serum lipase levels were normal throughout the patient's course. Elevation of serum lipase does not seem to be a necessary condition for the development of the metastatic fat necrosis syndrome.

Adult

Gastric operations and glucose homeostasis. II. glucagon and secretin.

Alimentary hyperglycemia in patients who have undergone gastric operations may be due, in part, to altered intestinal signals for glucose disposition. We measured glucose, immunoreactive insulin (IRI) pancreatic glucagon (IRG), and glucagon-like immunoreactivity (GLI) after oral glucose in patients with prior antrectomy or vagotomy and pyloroplasty and in normal individuals. All subjects had normal assimilation coefficients for intravenous glucose, which suggests that the responsiveness of the pancreatic beta-cells had not been altered by the surgical procedures. The early hyperglycemic response to oral glucose and the associated elevation of plasma GLI were much greater and the IRI levels slightly higher in both experimental groups in comparison to normal subjects. A decrease in the level of IRG, albeit not statistically significant, was noted in all groups after the ingestion of glucose. In gastrectomy patients, secretin infusion during repeated oral glucose tolerance tests partially corrected the hyperglycemia and lowered plasma GLI and IRI levels. The responses of the vagotomy and pyloroplasty patients and of the normal subjects were not altered by secretin infusion. We conclude that the intolerance or oral glucose after gastric surgery may be related to elevated GLI levels, and that the beneficial effect of secretin may be due to its ability to decrease these levels.

Adult

Urinary crystalloid excretion in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Because of the potential relationship of increased urinary crystalloid excretion and concentration to stone formation, urinary calcium and uric acid excretion patterns were studied prospectively in 65 patients with inflammatory bowel disease and compared with excretion patterns in patients with functional bowel disease (controls) receiving similar dietary prescriptions. Mean 24-hr urinary calcium excretion was higher in both ulcerative colitis (212 mg, p <0.02) and granulomatous bowel disease (168 mg, p = n.s.) than in controls (118 mg). Urinary calcium excretion exceeded 250 mg/24 hr in 11 of 34 patients with inflammatory bowel disease but in none of the controls. Eight of these 34 patients compared with one of 10 controls excreted urine with calcium concentrations greater than 20 mg/100 ml. Mean 24-hr uric acid excretion was slightly higher in granulomatous bowel disease (520 mg) than in ulcerative colitis (450 mg) or functional bowel disease (451 mg). Eight patients with inflammatory bowel disease but no control subject excreted > 700 mg. The mean urinary uric acid concentration was significantly higher in ulcerative colitis (538 mug/ml, p <0.05) and granulomatous bowel disease (558 mug/ml, p <0.02) than in controls (338 mug/ml). The mean morning urine pH was lower (5.5, p <0.01) in ulcerative colitis than in the other groups.These results indicate increased excretion and higher concentration of calcium and uric acid in some patients with inflammatory bowel disease on the usual treatment programmes. Only very long-term prospective studies of such patients can help to document the true contribution of increased crystalloid concentration and excretion to kidney stone formation in inflammatory bowel disease patients.

Adult