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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.
An electrical stimulation device to speed up the digestion in overweight patients with type 2 diabetes is showing promising results in the improvement of glycemic control, according to Med Page Today. The device works by discharging electrical current into the gastric antrum. It was originally developed as a nonpharmacologic alternative for treatment of gastroparesis, which is often treated with the medication Reglan (metoclopramide).
Some patients with gastroparesis don’t respond to treatment and some may experience severe adverse events from the medication. For example, Reglan recently fell under a black box warning after reports of a serious movement disorder called Tardive Dyskinesia in some patients who took the medication. Given the risks of medication, alternative therapies like the stimulation device seem more attractive.
