• C Mansi, V Savarino, S Vigneri, L Sciabà, D Perilli, M R Mele, and G Celle.
• Department of Internal Medicine--Gastroenterology Unit, University of Genoa, Italy.
• Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. 1995 Apr 1; 9 (2): 185-9.

BackgroundAbnormal gall-bladder motility has been reported in diabetics. The objective was to evaluate the effect of chronic D2-dopamine receptor inhibition on gall-bladder emptying in diabetic patients.MethodsUnder double-blind placebo-controlled conditions and according to a crossover design, patients were randomly assigned to receive either 4 weeks treatment with levosulpiride 25 mg t.d.s. or 4 weeks treatment with placebo, with an interval of 15 days. Twenty-three consecutive long-standing, insulin-treated diabetics with autonomic neuropathy were studied.MeasurementsAt the beginning of the study and after levosulpiride or placebo treatment, gall-bladder emptying was measured ultrasonically by evaluating the gall-bladder volume in basal conditions and every 15 min for 90 min after the ingestion of a standard meal. Statistical analysis of the results was performed by means of analysis of variance.ResultsLevosulpiride treatment reduced the basal mean gall-bladder volume from 21.6 +/- 2.3 to 18.6 +/- 2.3 mL (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the residual gall-bladder volume (9.3 +/- 1.4 mL) was significantly reduced compared to the corresponding pre-treatment volume (14.6 +/- 1.5 mL (P < 0.05). In placebo-treated patients, no significant differences were observed in gall-bladder volumes before and after treatment.ConclusionThese results show that chronic oral administration of the D2-dopamine antagonist levosulpiride has a significant effect on gall-bladder motility in diabetic patients.

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