Effect of amitriptyline on gastrointestinal function and brain-gut peptides: A double-blind trial

Table 4 Baseline and after treatment with amitriptyline

Variable	Baseline (n = 28)	Amitriptyline (n = 28)	P value
Cross-sectional area of the proximal stomach (cm2)
200 mL	17.95 ± 3.62	16.51 ± 3.78	0.22
400 mL	29.97 ± 6.35	27.14 ± 5.71	0.09
600 mL	40.78 ± 9.54	34.11 ± 6.11	0.06
800 mL	46.34 ± 9.67	39.58 ± 7.35	0.06
Difficulty in drinking water VAS
200 mL	0.93 ± 0.59	0.93 ± 0.65	0.99
400 mL	1.82 ± 0.54	1.93 ± 0.46	0.36
600 mL	3.36 ± 0.72	2.98 ± 0.85	0.01
800 mL	5.46 ± 0.73	4.57 ± 0.98	0.001
Gastric emptying
5 min	79.55 ± 6.35	78.40 ± 11.71	0.96
10 min	63.89 ± 8.39	66.72 ± 11.63	0.17
OCTT (min)	85.18 ± 19.60	109.29 ± 29.68	0.001
Plasma levels (pg/mL)
MTL	471.75 ± 127.02	461.88 ± 129.66	0.11
Ghrelin	452.50 ± 173.46	526.87 ± 158.44	0.001
NPY	901.17 ± 144.91	965.64 ± 165.63	0.001

Values are represented as mean ± SD. Symptom scores on 10-cm visual analogue scale. OCTT: Orocecal transit time; MTL: Motilin; NPY: Neuropeptide Y; VAS: Visual analogue scale.