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Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has introduced a bill in the United States Senate to raise awareness of scleroderma and fund research into the disease and its secondary conditions, according to a press release issued by the Scleroderma Foundation.
Women are more likely than men to suffer from gastroparesis, a debilitating condition in which the stomach takes too long to empty its contents, according to the Baltimore Sun. Gastroparesis affects about 25 percent of people with type 1 diabetes and 10 percent of people with type 2 diabetes, as well as people with Parkinson’s disease. But the majority of those with gastroparesis have no underlying condition that seems to cause it.
People who suffer from gastroparesis are finding treatment for their condition is an ongoing battle.
Gastroparesis is a digestive disorder in which the stomach takes too long to empty its contents. Literally, gastroparesis means “stomach paralysis,” and those who suffer from the condition can suffer a host of conditions including bloating, nausea, early fullness while eating meals, heartburn, and epigastric pain. Weight loss and poor absorption of nutrients are also serious are other serious outcomes of the disease.
Diet and nutrition are key for people who suffer from the digestive disorder known as gastroparesis.
The condition in which the stomach takes too long to empty its contents, most often is caused by diabetes but has been associated with infections, endocrine disorders, connective tissue disorders such as scleroderma, autoimmune conditions, neuromuscular diseases, cancer, radiation treatments applied to the chest or abdomen, some forms of chemotherapy, and surgery of the upper intestinal tract. People with eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia may also develop gastroparesis.
Surgeons have implanted a pacemaker in the abdomen of a 16-year-old patient to help treat a debilitating stomach condition that can cause symptoms such as nausea and bloating and result in malnourishment and significant weight loss. This is the first time the procedure has been performed in a child at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, one of the few medical centers that will perform the procedure on pediatric patients.
August is Gastroparesis Awareness Month, and the Gastroparesis Awareness Campaign Organization is hoping to spread worldwide awareness for the debilitating disorder through continued communication with local governments on increasing federal funds for research and public awareness campaigns.
Tranzyme Pharma’s new drug to treat diabetic gastroparesis has been granted a fast-track designation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), allowing it faster access to FDA personnel as it moves through the approval process. The new medication, called TZP-102, has just moved into phase II trials in humans. If the trials run smoothly, the drug should enter phase III trials next year with approval by 2013 at the earliest. The fast-track designation is reserved for drugs that treat serious and unmet medical needs.
