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Review
. 2023 Sep 7;15(9):e44870.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.44870. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Diabetic Gastroparesis and its Emerging Therapeutic Options: A Narrative Review of the Literature

Shiza A Zahid  1 , Ritu Tated  2 , Midhun Mathew  3 , Daniel Rajkumar  4 , Siddhant B Karnik  5 , Akshara Pramod Roy  6 , Fredy P Jacob  7 , Rishabh Baskara Salian  8 , Waleed Razzaq  9 , Divya Shivakumar  10 , Uzzam Ahmed Khawaja  11
Affiliations
Review

Diabetic Gastroparesis and its Emerging Therapeutic Options: A Narrative Review of the Literature

Shiza A Zahid et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Diabetic gastroparesis (DG) is one of the many complications of diabetes mellitus (DM). Even though this condition surfaces years after uncontrolled disease, it affects the quality of life in several ways and causes significant morbidity. Common symptoms experienced by the patients include postprandial nausea, vomiting, abdominal fullness, and pain. Strict glycemic control is essential to evade the effects of DG. The purpose of this review article is to briefly study the pathophysiology, clinical features, diagnostic modalities, and the effects of DG on different aspects of life. Furthermore, it also focuses on the emerging treatment modalities for DG. Tradipitant and relamorelin are two such treatment options that are gaining noteworthy recognition and are discussed in detail in this review article. As observed through various clinical trials, these drugs help alleviate symptoms like nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and bloating in patients suffering from DG, thereby targeting the most common and bothersome symptoms of the disease. This leads to an improvement in the quality of life, making it a reliable treatment option for this disease. But while pharmacological intervention is vital, psychological support and lifestyle changes are equally important and are the reason why a multidisciplinary approach is required for the treatment of DG.

Keywords: diabetic gastroparesis; glycemic control; psychological intervention; quality of life; relamorelin; tradipitant.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Schematic Demonstration of the Extrinsic (CNS) and Intrinsic (Enteric) nervous system.
Reproduced with permission from Quigley [21]. Copyright 2017 Elsevier.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Connections involved in local enteric reflexes illustrated graphically.
Reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution License from ref [22]. Copyright 2020 Mark A. Fleming II et al.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Role of Ghrelin in gastric motility.
Reproduced with permission from Petri et al [112]. Copyright 2021 Elsevier.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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