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[Behavior of pepsin in childhood and its correlation with gastric acid secretion]
Insights
This study investigated pepsin secretion in children, finding that basal and stimulated peptic outputs mature around age six. Pepsin secretion patterns differ in children with altered gastric acid levels.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Digestive Physiology
- Enzyme Kinetics
Background:
- Limited research exists on gastric pepsin secretion in pediatric populations.
- Understanding pepsin secretion is crucial for diagnosing and managing pediatric gastrointestinal disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize peptic concentration, basal (BPO), and stimulated (SPO) peptic outputs in children.
- To compare pepsin secretion in children with normal, hypersecretory, and hyposecretory gastric acid levels.
Main Methods:
- Studied 54 children aged 15 months to 12 years.
- Categorized participants into normal (20), hypersecretory (20), and hyposecretory (14) gastric acid groups.
- Measured peptic concentration, BPO, and SPO, analyzing correlations with age, weight, and height.
Main Results:
- In normal children, BPO inversely correlated with age; SPO increased with body weight, plateauing after age 6.
- Hypersecretors showed a stronger SPO response to pentagastrin than normals, but acid output did not correlate.
- Hyposecretors exhibited lower BPO and SPO than normal children, with no significant correlations.
Conclusions:
- Gastric principal cells likely achieve functional maturity around age 6.
- Pepsin and acid secretion exhibit distinct regulatory mechanisms in children, particularly under stimulated conditions.
- Altered gastric acid secretion significantly impacts pepsin output in children.
Abstract:
Little attention has been given to the gastric secretion of pepsin in children. The purpose of this paper is to define the behaviour of peptic concentration (UI/ml) and Basal (BPO) and Stimulated (SPO) Peptic Outputs in children with normal and altered gastric acid secretion. 54 children, aged 15 months to 12 years, were studied: 20 of them were normal, 20 had gastric hypersecretion and 14 were hyposecretors. In the normal subjects the BPO is inversely correlated with age, while the SPO increases with the body weight, but this increment diminishes after the age of 6 years. From these data one can assume that the gastric principal cells reach their functional maturity around the age of 6 years. In the hypersecretors peptic and acid secretions are not correlated in basal conditions, while after pentagrastrin stimulation peptic secretion is greater than in normal subjects but not as the acid one. The SPO is correlated with body weight and height. The different behaviour of hydrochloric acid and pepsin is probably due to the use of pentagrastrin, which is a specific stimulant of oxyntic but not of principal cells. In the hyposecretors both BPO and SPO are lower than in normal children and no correlation was found with age, body weight and acid secretion.