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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.
When Joey* was two months old, he was prescribed Reglan (known generically as metoclopramide) and took the medication for two years. When Joey turned 5, he began blinking his eyes uncontrollably. Less than two years later, he was still blinking uncontrollably but he also began jerking his head. “The doctors at first thought my son had Tourette’s syndrome,” says Joey’s mother on a post on iGuard about Reglan. “But now after knowing the side effects of Reglan they are starting to think he has permanent Tardive Dyskinesia.”
People who suffer from heartburn, GERD or diabetic gastroparesis are often prescribed metoclopramide, known in the U.S. by the brand name Reglan, to treat their condition. Recent warnings issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), however, may make those individuals consider natural alternatives before turning to pharmaceuticals.
The elderly are particularly susceptible to drug-induced delirium or dementia and serious side effects from medications, especially painkillers, antidepressants, antihistamines, sleeping pills, urinary incontinence drugs, and the nausea medication often prescribed to diabetics, Reglan (metoclopramide), according to Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. Among the brand-named drugs most likely to cause delirium or dementia are Benadryl, Ambien, Lunesta, Detrol and Reglan.
Prokinetic drugs, such as Reglan (metoclopramide) are those that increase the movement of ingested material through the gastrointestingal tract. They are usually prescribed to treat diabetic gastroparesis, heartburn and nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients. Unfortunately, some prokinetic drugs may produce a number of serious side effects.
