[A preliminary study on substance P and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide contents in intestinal mucosa of chronic diarrhea with splenic weakness].

By means of radioimmunoassay, the mucosal substance P (SP) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) concentration in distal ileum, transverse colon and sigmoid colon in 30 patients of chronic diarrhea with splenic weakness was determined and compared with that in 28 patients of chronic diarrhea without splenic weakness and in 15 controls without chronic diarrhea. In patients of chronic diarrhea with splenic weakness, the SP contents in the mucosa of distal ileum (120.95 +/- 90.70 pg/mg wet weight) was significantly increased compared with that in controls without diarrhea (47.86 +/- 35.49 pg/mg wet weight) and in chronic diarrhea without splenic weakness (52.50 +/- 42.49 pg/mg wet weight), P less than 0.01 and 0.01 less than P less than 0.05 respectively. The VIP contents of sigmoid mucosa in patients of chronic diarrhea with splenic weakness (510.63 +/- 265.22 pg/mg wet weight) was markedly increased in comparison of that in controls without chronic diarrhea (308.67 +/- 204.49 pg/mg wet weight), 0.01 less than P less than 0.05, and was not significantly augmented compared with that in chronic diarrhea without splenic weakness (398.97 +/- 240.80 pg/mg wet weight), but the tendency of increase was present. Our results suggested that the increased SP and VIP in patients of chronic diarrhea with splenic weakness might be closely related to the symptom of chronic diarrhea. According to the general function of VIP, the authors predicted that VIP might play a more important role in the pathogenetic action of chronic diarrhea with splenic weakness.