GASTRIC-EMPTYING AND MOTILITY - ASSESSMENT WITH MR-IMAGING - PRELIMINARY-OBSERVATIONS

PURPOSE: To evaluate a magnetic resonance (MP) imaging method for simu ltaneous assessment of gastric emptying and motility. MATERIALS AND ME THODS: Gastric emptying and motility Were measured in. nine volunteers after ingestion of a liquid meal. A specially designed MR imaging pro tocol was used that allowed simultaneous assessment of gastric emptyin g (spatial resolution, 1.5 mm; corrected for gastric secretion volume) and gastric motility (temporal resolution, 1:2 seconds, spatial resol ution 3.1 mm). To evaluate the ability to detect small changes in gast ric motor activity with findings from this method, the influence of-a prokinetic agent (loxiglumide) on gastric emptying and motility was te sted in five volunteers. RESULTS: Each contraction could be individual ly visualized at MR imaging. Administration of loxiglumide resulted in decreased gastric half-emptying time (mean +/- 1 standard error of th e mean, 88.1 minutes +/- 6.3 for the placebo and 39.1 minutes +/- 6.7 for loxiglumide) and increased gastric motility (contraction frequency , 2.26 contractions:per minute +/- 0.15-for the placebo and 3.04 per m inute +/- 0.04 for loxiglumide). CONCLUSION: MR imaging: makes it feas ible to study gastric emptying and gastric motility and to determine t he influence of drugs on gastric motor activity.