THE EFFECT OF SLEEP ON THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRANSIT OF PHARMACEUTICAL DOSAGE FORMS

The gastrointestinal (GI) transit of pharmaceutical dosage forms was studied during sleep in eight, healthy, male volunteers. Each ingested five 7-mm radiolabelled tablets and a pressure-sensitive radiotelemetry capsule (RTC) following a light meal on two separate occasions, administered either at night (22:00) or in the morning (08:00). Transit of the tablets was monitored by gamma scintigraphy and the RTC detected contractile activity within the GI tract. Oro-caecal transit of the 7-mm tablets was longer for night-time dosing compared to morning administration. although the difference did not reach statistical significance. Gastric residence time and small intestinal (SI) transit time of the RTC were also extended after night time dosing. Total transit times of the RTC were similar following both morning and night-time administration. These results may be explained by alterations in the periodicity of the fasting migrating myoelectric complex (MMC) at night.