[Coeliac sprue and gut hormones: pathophysiological and clinical aspects (author's transl)]

In adult coeliac sprue patients, intraduodenal instillation of a hypertonic glucose-citric acid solution may release gastrointestinal hormones of the proximal (secretin, gastric inhibitory polypeptide, motilin) and distal (enteroglucagon, neurotensin) small intestine and, indirectly, of the pancreas (glucagon, insulin, pancreatic polypeptide). Characteristic plasma hormone profiles can be measured radioimmunologically. The reduced secretin response reflects most sensitively the impaired function of the small intestine. Exposure of the distal small bowel to greater nutrient loads leads to markedly and constantly elevated plasma levels of enteroglucagon. Only after complete functional as well as morphologic mucosal restoration, the increased enteroglucagon concentrations return to normal. On the other hand, the neurotensin response, which is likewise enhanced in active coeliac sprue, is sooner corrected during treatment. Gastrointestinal hormones with predominantly neurocrine action, such as vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), are apparently less affected by coeliac sprue. Pancreatic hormones are involved in the pathophysiology of sprue only indirectly, e. g. via diminished glucose absorption.