Guest guest Posted March 27, 2000 Report Share Posted March 27, 2000 Fwd: Clarify Bethanecol >Hi, > >I was copied on your communications about bethanecol. I am not too concerned >about hypertrophy with either bethanecol or secretin. Hypertrophy is what >your muscle cells do with exercise, so just getting bigger isn't necessarily >bad. One of the positive things we're seeing early-on with bethanecol is >that some of the longer-term patients are requiring less as time goes on. > >I have read as much as I can find on bethanecol and one published study used >it in children for three years without evident problems. It has been used >extensively in newborns for reflux. Some adults have been on it for many >years for heartburn or urinary retention. We don't know about its specific >application in autistic children, so we need to keep our eyes open. I do >appreciate your caution. > >Could you please forward this into your discussion groups to balance the >thinking? > >Sincerely, > >Woody McGinnis > Dear Willis, Such an irony. Folks who like secretin are attacking bethanecol for the same hypertrophy that secretin causes. I append the following, which was an answer to the first such criticism of bethanecol some time ago. I hope you'll pass it along to help folks understand... Maybe bigger is better... Date: 2/8/00 To: <A HREF= " mailto:dann-l@... " >dann-l@...</A> Friends, Various gastrointestinal hormones stimulate the maintenance and growth of other target tissues in the gut, including the exocrine pancreas, the stomach and the mucosa of the large and small bowel. A good article on this dynamic is found in Endocrinology 1980 106(1): 323-8. It is one of three articles which demonstrate that administration of Secretin to rats over 5 to 15 days results in measureable hypertrophy of the pancreas. This speaks to a recent negative parenthetical comment about pancreatic hypertrophy from administration of Bethanecol to rats over a period of 14 days. The quoted Bethanecol study (Euro J Pharmacol 1994 292(1):47-55) and the Secretin studies are comparable in that they both utilized very high doses. They differ in that Secretin caused both hypertrophy (larger cells) and hyperplasia (more cells, DNA proliferation), while Bethanecol did not produce hyperplasia, but only larger cells. (Secretin was also noted to block the trophic effect of gastrin on the stomach.) In light of the generally diminished health of the GI system in autism, trophic effects may be just what the doctor ordered. (And remember, Secretin and Bethanecol may be exerting trophic effects in the brain, too. Consider the time frames in these studies and the typical lag in behavioral improvements with Secretin.) I think the question is how much stimulation may be excessive. In this hypothetical area hyperplastic influences would be more worrisome to the cytologically-minded than simple hypertrophy. I do not take chronic administration of either Secretin or Bethanecol lightly. I have told the parents that in the case of Bethanecol I want to stick to the lowest dose producing behavioral improvement and that I may not be prepared to treat for more than two months, which I hope will be enough for sustained improvement. I haven't found any animal data on truly long-term administration, and it would be wonderful if any of you had time to help me look. Salud, Woody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.