Gastric and oesophageal emptying in patients with type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus

M Horowitz, PE Harding, AF Maddox, JM Wishart… - Diabetologia, 1989 - Springer
M Horowitz, PE Harding, AF Maddox, JM Wishart, LMA Akkermans, BE Chatterton…
Diabetologia, 1989Springer
Gastric emptying of a digestible solid and liquid meal and oesophageal emptying of a solid
bolus were measured with scintigraphic techniques in 20 randomly selected Type 2 (non-
insulin-dependent) diabetic patients receiving oral hypoglycaemic therapy and 20 control
subjects. In the diabetic patients, the relationships between oesophageal emptying, gastric
emptying, gastrointestinal symptoms, autonomic nerve function and glycaemic control were
examined. The percentage of the solid meal remaining in the stomach at 100 min (p< 0.001) …
Summary
Gastric emptying of a digestible solid and liquid meal and oesophageal emptying of a solid bolus were measured with scintigraphic techniques in 20 randomly selected Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetic patients receiving oral hypoglycaemic therapy and 20 control subjects. In the diabetic patients, the relationships between oesophageal emptying, gastric emptying, gastrointestinal symptoms, autonomic nerve function and glycaemic control were examined. The percentage of the solid meal remaining in the stomach at 100 min (p<0.001), the 50% gastric emptying time for the liquid meal (p<0.05) and oesophageal emptying (p<0.05) were slower in the diabetic patients compared to the control subjects. Scores for upper gastrointestinal symptoms and autonomic nerve dysfunction did not correlate significantly (p>0.05) with oesophageal, or gastric emptying. The 50% gastric emptying time for the liquid meal was positively related (r=0.58, p<0.01) to the plasma glucose concentration at the time of the performance of the gastric emptying test and the lag period, before any solid food emptied from the stomach, was longer (p<0.05) in subjects with plasma glucose concentrations during the gastric emptying measurement greater than the median, compared to those with glucose concentrations below the median. These results indicate that delayed gastric and oesophageal emptying occur frequently in Type 2 diabetes mellitus and that delayed gastric emptying relates, at least in part, to plasma glucose concentrations.
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