Gastric emptying of solids but not liquids is decreased in rats with chronic renal failure

Severe gastric complications occur in uremic patients, yet few studies have addressed the effect of chronic renal failure (RF) on gastric physiology. In the present study, we investigated: (1) the effect of RF on gastric emptying of liquids and solids in awake rats, (2) the motor function in the gastric corpus, and (3) the role of nitric oxide in any alterations in gastric motor function in uremic rats. RF was induced by partial kidney infarction. RF had no effect on gastric emptying of liquids but significantly inhibited gastric emptying of solids by 68%.N-Nitro-l-arginine, an inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, had no effect on the reduced gastric emptying of solids in RF rats. RF rats showed an altered pattern of gastric motility compared to sham-operated rats. These data suggest that RF induced an inhibition of gastric emptying of solids, but not liquids. However, NO does not seem to play a role in this inhibition.This work was supported by NIH grant DDK 41004 (H.E.R.) and the CURE/UCLA Digestive Disease Core Center DDK 41031 (Animal and Gastrointestinal Blood Flow Cores). E.Q. was the recipient of a Fogarty International Fellowship Award (NIH 1 FO5 TWO4443-01) and a grant from the Conserja de Education, Cultura y Deportes of the Canary Islands Autonomous Government. J.B. was supported by a grant from Fondacio La Caixa, Spain.