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Impaired Gastric Emptying and Altered Intragastric Meal Distribution in Diabetes Mellitus Related to Autonomic Neuropathy?

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Abstract

Previous studies in diabetic patients suggested a relationship between delayed gastric emptying and increased ingesta retention in either proximal or distal stomach, but the determinants underlying these abnormalities remained obscure. We aimed at assessing the impact of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy, blood glucose concentration, long-term glycemic control, and other factors in 34 type I and 43 type II diabetic patients (ages 21–67 and 34–81 years, respectively). Emptying was slower (P < 0.04) in type I diabetic patients than in 20 healthy control subjects (ages 23–63 years). Patients with autonomic neuropathy (N = 45) had slower gastric emptying (P < 0.02) and retained more in the distal stomach (P < 0.0001) than patients without neuropathy (N = 32). Multiple regression analyses revealed that slow emptying and increased distal retention were significantly associated with autonomic neuropathy (P < 0.043, P < 0.0002), whereas blood glucose, glycemic control, diabetes duration, age, and other factors had no discernible influence. Thus, both slow emptying and increased distal ingesta retention seem primarily referable to autonomic neuropathy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychophysiology Unit, Department of Surgery, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Georg Stacher, Johannes Lenglinger, Christa Schneider & Giselheid Stacher-Janotta

  2. Institute of Biomedical Engineering & Physics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Helmar Bergmann

  3. Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Vienna, Austria

    Helmar Bergmann

  4. Institute of Medical Statistics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Werner Brannath

  5. Division of Medicine I, Krankenanstalt Rudolfstiftung, Vienna, Austria

    Andreas Festa

  6. Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Susi Meghdadi

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  1. Georg Stacher
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  2. Johannes Lenglinger
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  4. Christa Schneider
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  6. Andreas Festa
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  8. Giselheid Stacher-Janotta
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Stacher, G., Lenglinger, J., Bergmann, H. et al. Impaired Gastric Emptying and Altered Intragastric Meal Distribution in Diabetes Mellitus Related to Autonomic Neuropathy?. Dig Dis Sci 48, 1027–1034 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023779224320

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023779224320

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