Effects of morphine and atropine on motility and transit in the human ileum

We examined motility of the ileocecal region, pressures at the ileocecal sphincter, and ileal flow after therapeutic doses of morphine and atropine. Using a factorial design in two cells of 8 (2(3] subjects, drugs were given during fasting and postcibally. Morphine (100 micrograms/kg body wt as a bolus intravenously) and atropine (7 micrograms/kg body wt as a bolus) stimulated migrating bursts of phasic activity (similar to phase III of the migrating motor complex). Morphine initially stimulated ileal flow, but atropine could not be shown to have this effect. Atropine reduced markedly the occurrence of sporadic pressure waves in the ileum, but morphine did not. Whereas atropine delayed mouth-to-ileum transit of polyethylene glycol, given in a mixed meal, morphine did not. Naloxone, in the dosage used (40 micrograms/kg body wt as a bolus, followed by 10 micrograms/kg body wt X h) had no independent effects on motility or flow, but did blunt the stimulatory effects of morphine and atropine on migrating motor complexes. We could not demonstrate an effect of any drug on the transit of lactulose from terminal ileum to cecum. Neither morphine nor atropine had impressive effects on tone at the ileocecal sphincter. These observations, while not specifying the mechanisms for constipation after opiates or anticholinergics, highlight the complexities of small bowel transit in humans and point out that the antidiarrheal effects of drugs are probably multifactorial.