| Abstract: | Impaired postprandial gallbladder emptying inceliac disease has been attributed to an absence ofappropriate cholecystokinin release. To determine if aflat jejunal mucosa in celiac patients is related to a reduced cholecystokinin-secretingcapacity, increasing doses of bombesin were infused intosix patients with celiac disease and a flat jejunalmucosa (group A), in seven celiac patients with a normal jejunal mucosa while on a gluten-free diet(group B), and in seven healthy controls (group C).Bombesin induced significant (P < 0.05) increments ofplasma CCK to a maximum value of 1.0 ± 0.3 pM in group A, to 1.5 ± 0.3 pM in group B, andto 1.2 ± 0.3 pM in group C (NS between groups),that were accompanied by significant (P < 0.05)gallbladder emptying responses of 70 ± 4% ingroup A, 47 ± 10% in group B and 65 5% in group C.Dose-response relationships were not different betweengroups. We conclude that there is no major impairment ofgallbladder responsiveness to bombesin or ofcholecystokinin-secreting capacity in patients with a flat jejunal mucosadue to celiac disease. |
