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Hypoglycemic Effects of Intraluminal Intestinal Electrical Stimulation in Healthy Volunteers

Obesity Surgery volume 21, pages 224–230 (2011)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Intestinal electrical stimulation (IES) has been shown to delay gastric emptying and reduce nutrient absorption in humans. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of IES using an intraluminal method on postprandial blood glucose.

Methods

An oral glucose tolerance test with 150 g of glucose was performed in 10 healthy volunteers with and without IES (13 pulses/min, 300 ms and 5 mA). An intraluminal catheter with a pair of ring electrodes was incubated into the duodenum under endoscopy and used for IES. Gastric emptying was performed simultaneously using an established ultrasonic technique.

Results

(1) IES significantly decreased the postprandial glucose level from 15 min to 90 min after the glucose load. (2) The serum insulin level at 30 min but not other times after the meal was lower in the IES session than that in the control session (p = 0.06). (3) The half-time of gastric emptying with IES was increased from 27 ± 4.8 min in the control session to 36 ± 8.5 min with IES (p < 0.01). (4) The symptoms score of dyspepsia were almost the same between the two sessions except that IES induced a slightly higher nausea symptom score.

Conclusions

IES decreases postprandial blood glucose possibly by delaying gastric emptying and other unknown mechanisms and the intraluminal method of IES may serve as an excellent screening and research tool for various applications of IES. Further clinical studies are needed to explore therapeutic potentials of IES for diabetes.

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Disclosures

No financial support was received from outside sources for the study.

Contributions

Jinsong Liu performed the research, analyzed the data, and wrote the paper. Yifei Xiang performed the research and measured the gastric emptying. Xian Qiao measured the blood glucose. Yu Dai performed the plasma insulin detection. Jiande Chen designed the research study, analyzed, the data and wrote the paper.

Competing Interests

The authors have no competing interests.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology, Union Hospital of Huazhong Science and Technology University, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China

    Jinsong Liu, Yifei Xiang & Xian Qiao

  2. Division of Nuclear Medicine, Union Hospital of Huazhong Science and Technology University, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China

    Yu Dai

  3. Division of Gastroenterology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA

    Jiande D. Z. Chen

  4. GI Research, Route 0655, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, 77555-0655, USA

    Jiande D. Z. Chen

Authors
  1. Jinsong Liu
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  2. Yifei Xiang
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  3. Xian Qiao
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  4. Yu Dai
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  5. Jiande D. Z. Chen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiande D. Z. Chen.

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Liu, J., Xiang, Y., Qiao, X. et al. Hypoglycemic Effects of Intraluminal Intestinal Electrical Stimulation in Healthy Volunteers. OBES SURG 21, 224–230 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-010-0326-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-010-0326-5

Keywords

  • Intestinal electrical stimulation
  • Blood glucose
  • Hyperglycemia
  • Diabetes
  • Insulin resistance
  • Gastric emptying