[Lactose malabsorption in adult patients at the Hospital das Clínicas de Ribeirão Preto]

A standard oral lactose tolerance test (LTT) was performed in 32 white and 18 non-white hospitalized Brazilian adults. A flat LTT was found in 22 (68,75%) white and in 17 (97,45%) non-white patients indicating a 78% overall rate of lactose malabsorption, Both lactose absorbers and malabsorbers showed a modal milk ingestion of less than a 1 glass/day. Symptoms related to milk consumption or lactose administration were more common among lactose malabsorbers. Estimations of disaccharidase activity in intestinal mucosa specimens obtained by peroral biopsy in 28 patients confirmed a high prevalence of lactose deficiency, and disclosed only one false result, in the patient with a flat LTT and high intestinal lactase levels.

Impaired gastric accommodation to distension and rapid gastric emptying in patients with Chagas' disease

In order to evaluate the contribution of the myenteric plexuses to the control of gastric accommodation to distension and to the rate of gastric emptying of a saline solution in man, we have evaluated these functions in patients with Chagas' disease, which is known to be associated with extensive lesions of the myenteric plexuses. Intragastric pressure was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in Chagas patients (N = 15) than in normal controls (N = 15) for air distension volumes of 100-700 ml. In the range 300-700 ml, the difference between the groups was approximately twofold (P < 0.001). The gastric emptying rate of 500 ml 154 mM NaCl in a second group of Chagas' disease patients (N = 13) was significantly faster than that of the control group (N = 17) at 5 min (P < 0.005) and at 15 min (P < 0.005) after the test meal, but at 25 min the volumes remaining in the stomach were not statistically significant for the two groups (P > 0.10). The impairment of gastric accommodation to distension and consequent rapid gastric emptying demonstrated for chagasic patients emphasizes the role of the myenteric plexuses in gastric reservoir function in man and complements previous evidence obtained in animal studies.

Lower oesophageal sphincter response to pentagastrin in chagasic patients with megaoesophagus and megacolon

Intraluminal manometric studies were performed in 14 chagasic patients with megaoesophagus, 10 chagasic patients with megacolon, and 15 control subjects. Basal lower oesophageal sphincter pressure was 20.27+/-1.16 mmHg (mean+/-SEM) in controls as compared wtih 15.16+/-1.53 mmHg in chagasics with megaoesophagus and 14.38+/-1.50 mmHg in chagasics with megacolon. Dose-response studies to intravenous pentagastrin showed that the chagasic patients exhibited a lower sensitivity to the stimulant than did the controls, as demonstrated by shifting of the dose-response curve to the right and higher individual values of the dose for half maximal contraction (D50). No difference was noted between the calculated maximal contraction (Vmax) of oesophageal sphincter of controls and chagasics. These data are compatible with the hypothesis of an interaction between pentagastrin and cholinergic nervous excitation on oesophageal sphincteric smooth muscle.

[Trial with sulpiride in hospitalized schizophrenic patients]

Um ensaio terapêutico é feito com sulpiride, substância psicotrópica dada como muito ativa e cujas propriedades permitem enquadrá-la entre os neurolépticos e os timoanalépticos. Foram tratados 24 pacientes internados, com idades que variavam entre 17 e 48 anos, de ambos os sexos (17 masculinos e 7 femininos), todos com o diagnóstico clínico de esquizofrenia e internados em hospital psiquiátrico. O tempo de doença variava de 30 dias a 18 anos. O sulpiride foi aplicado em doses diárias em torno de 1200 mg, predominantemente por via oral. O tratamento durou em média 6 semanas permanecendo a maioria dos casos em observação por alguns meses, sob tratamento de manutenção. Os resultados foram em geral favoráveis, principalmente no que tange aos fenômenos psicóticos sensoperceptivos e delirantes. Não foram assinalados efeitos colaterais ou manifestações colaterais molestas.