Factors affecting gallbladder motility: drugs

Abstract

Various drugs and medications that inhibit or stimulate gallbladder contraction and basal tone in humans are described. Active gallbladder contraction may be achieved using synthetic hormones such as cholecystokinin, caerulein and motilin, cholinomimetic drugs such as bethanecol, prostigmine, and erythromycin due to its motilin-like effect. Furthermore, cisapride and cholestyramine, may have some excitatory activity on the gallbladder muscle. Intravenous amino acids also induce gallbladder contraction through the release of cholecystokinin. Inhibition of gallbladder contraction induced by a meal, or reduction of the basal fasting tone may be achieved by using atropine and other cholinergics, and by inhibitory hormones such as somatostatin, the nitric acid releaser arginine, the calcium channel antagonist nifedipine, and progesterone. Other drugs such as trimebutine, loperamide and ondansetron may negatively affect gallbladder contraction.