Motilin, vasoactive intestinal peptide and gastrin in infantile colic

Abstract

Intestinal hyperperistalsis is one part of the clinical picture in infantile colic. Three gut hormones involved in the regulation of gut motility; motilin, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and gastrin, were measured with the RIA method in: 40 infants with infantile colic, (age 2-22 weeks), 42 healthy age-matched infants, 11 children (age 3-36 months) with gastrointestinal disorders, and 20 children (age 3-36 months) with non-gastrointestinal disorder. Basal s-motilin levels were raised in infants with infantile colic (p less than 0.01) and in children with other gastrointestinal disorders (p less than 0.001). Formula-fed infants had higher basal s-motilin levels than the breast-fed infants (p less than 0.05). P-VIP and s-gastrin levels were raised in children with other gastro-intestinal disorders (p less than 0.05), but not in infantile colic. Formula-fed colicky infants had higher s-gastrin levels than the breast-fed colicky infants (p less than 0.05). We suggest that the increased s-motilin level in infantile colic might account in part for the clinical picture of this disorder.