Gastric motility and blood glucose control in diabetes mellitus

Funded Activity Summary

The recent application of novel techniques to evaluate gastrointestinal motor function has established that the rate of which the stomach empties food is slow in up to 50% of people who have insulin-dependent (type 1) or non-insulin dependent (type 2) diabetes. Delayed stomach emptying was thought to be an infrequent complication in diabetes; much less common than damage to the eyes, kidneys or nerves. It is now recognised that disordered stomach emptying may contribute to a number of problems in diabetes, e.g. symptoms such as nausea and bloating and poor control of blood glucose concentrations. In some people symptoms are disabling and affect quality of life adversely. The effects of stomach emptying on blood glucose control is likely to be important, as it is desirable to maintain blood glucose levels within the normal range to minimise the risk of both the development and progression of complications of diabetes. In many people with diabetes, particularly older people with type 2 diabetes, there is a fall in blood pressure after a meal which may result in fainting and falls. The magnitude of the fall in blood pressure is determined by the rate at which the stomach empties; faster emptying results in a greater fall in blood pressure. In the past both slow stomach emptying and symptoms were assumed to result from irreversible nerve damage, however it is now recognised that the blood glucose level itself has a reversible effect on both stomach contractions and symptoms. Our group has been the recipient of ongoing support from the NH and MRC for approximately 15 years to conduct research in this area. As a result we have performed the most comprehensive studies to date and developed new methods to evaluate stomach function in people with diabetes, resulting in international recognition. The studies proposed in this current application represent a logical development from our previous work and have important implications for the management of diabetes.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2000

End Date: 01-01-2002

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $354,947.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Sport and exercise nutrition

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

diabetes mellitus | gastrointestinal symptoms | gastroparesis | glycaemic control | manometry | motility | postprandial hypotension | radioisotopic methods | stomach

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