Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 2, 2026

Whole Cell Electrophysiology of Primary Cultured Murine Enterochromaffin Cells
Published on: September 26, 2018
Pheochromocytoma producing vasoactive intestinal peptide
Stephen L Smith1, A L Jackson Slappy, Thomas P Fox
1Section of General Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla 32224, USA. smith.stephen@mayo.edu
Abstract:
The syndrome of watery diarrhea associated with hypokalemia and achlorhydria was originally described in 1958. Subsequently, this syndrome was shown to be caused by a neuroendocrine tumor secreting vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), and such tumors are almost always pancreatic in origin. We describe the case of a 78-year-old woman with gradual onset of hypokalemia, watery diarrhea, and weight loss. After a left adrenal mass was discovered, the patient chose medical therapy over surgical intervention. Initially her condition responded, then gradually became refractory to medical therapy. She had elevated levels of VIP, pancreatic polypeptide, dopamine, and vanillylmandelic acid. Subsequently, the patient underwent surgical excision of the mass that was found to be a VIP-producing pheochromocytoma. After surgery her diarrhea subsided, and her electrolytes and affected neuroendocrine hormone levels normalized.
Related Concept Videos
Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists
Enteric Nervous System: Regulation of GI Motor Activity
During periods of fasting, the ENS initiates the migrating myoelectric complex, a program...
Drugs Affecting GI Tract Motility: Serotonin Receptor Agonists
Hormones Secreted by the Stomach
Each of these hormones secreted by different enteroendocrine cells plays a unique role in digestion. Here are a few examples:
Hormonal Regulation
Esophageal Achalasia
