EFFECTS OF DIABETES-MELLITUS ON GASTROINTESTINAL MOTOR FUNCTION

Disordered gastrointestinal motility occurs frequently, and represents a generally underestimated cause of morbidity in patients with diabet es mellitus. The aetiology of gastrointestinal symptoms, which ate pre sumed to arise primarily as a result of abnormal motor function, is po orly understood. It has been established, however, that changes in bot h gastrointestinal motor function and the perception of sensations ari sing from the gastrointestinal tract, may result from acute changes in the blood glucose concentration. The rate of gastric emptying is an i mportant determinant of postprandial blood glucose homeostasis in norm al subjects and in patients with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes mellitus. I t appears probable that modulation of gastric emptying will prove to b e a therapeutically useful approach to the optimisation of glycaemic c ontrol in patients with diabetes mellitus.