Extreme but asymptomatic hypergastrinemia with gastroparesis in a young woman with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Overt diabetic gastroparesis is a rare long-term complication of diabetes, probably resulting from autonomic neuropathy of vagus nerve. It is now clear that neural damage plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Some studies showed high basal gastrin levels in patients with diabetic gastroparesis, but the clinical meaning of this observation is still unclear. We report the case of a young woman with Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM) who was referred to evaluate nausea and vomiting associated to ketoacidosis. Our hypothesis of autonomic neuropathy with gastroparesis was confirmed. We observed a progressive increase in fasting gastrin concentration (20-fold normal values) in the absence of any clinical and laboratory signs of Zollinger-Ellison (ZE) syndrome. The increasing vomiting induced a severe state of cachexia, which required total parenteral nutrition for a long period. All therapeutic approaches were unsuccessful, and the patient rapidly died, suggesting a possible link between the severity of the clinical picture and the gastrin plasma levels.