[Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in the Verner-Morrison syndrome (author's transl)].

An early diagnosis of the Verner-Morrison syndrome will greatly enhance the chances of curative resection. There is a striking need for a simple diagnostic test. A number of suggestions have been made for the presumed hormone mediator of this syndrome. Numerous reports have led to a wide acceptance that vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is the responsible mediator for the pharmacologic actions of this peptide are similar to the physiological characteristics noted in the watery diarrhea syndrome. A raised plasma VIP concentration, on the other hand, would suggest the presence of a tumour. These observations argue for the radioimmunoassay measurement of plasma VIP in a patient with the watery diarrhea syndrome.