Diabetic gastroenteropathy:An underdiagnosed complication

This article is an extensive review that provides an update on the pathophysiology,symptoms,diagnosis,and treatment of diabetic gastroenteropathy.There is no reported prevalence,but it has been described that patients with type 1 diabetes have a cumulative incidence at 10 years of 5.2%,and type 2 patients,1%.Also,in the group of type 1 diabetes,it has been observed that women are more likely to present this condition(5.8%vs 3.5%).Many factors are associate with its development(e.g.,hyperglycemia,vagal dysfunction,loss of expression of neural nitric oxide synthase in the myenteric plexus,alterations in the Cajal interstitial cell network,and oxidative stress).Gastrointestinal discomfort could be perceived 70% higher in diabetic patients,describing that 25%of diabetic patients experience gastrointestinal symptoms.Diabetic enteropathy could affect any portion of the gastrointestinal tract,but esophageal alterations were described in more than 60% of diabetic patients,also 60% of them present constipation,and 20%,diarrhea.Gastric emptying scintigraphy is useful to evaluate gastroparesis,therefore,gastric retention of more than 60%at 2 h has a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 20% for diagnosis;however,other studies such as breath tests,with a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 80%,or the endoscopic capsule contribute to the diagnosis.There is no cure;however,management must be multidisciplinary,focused on slowing the progression of diabetic gastroenteropathy,reducing symptoms,and restoring function;that includes nutritional recommendation,maintain glucose levels kept below 180 mg/dL,use of prokinetics,anti-emetics;nowadays,it has been special interest in surgical treatment,such as pyloroplasty,also gastric electrical stimulation appears to be another alternative.

Letter to editor‘Gastroenteropathy in gastric cancer patients concurrent with diabetes mellitus’

The present letter to the editor is related to the study titled“Diabetic gastroenteropathy:An underdiagnosed complication”.Diabetic gastroenteropathy contributes to a decline in quality of life.In addition,gastroenteropathy is generally observed in patients with concurrent gastric cancer and diabetes mellitus before surgery,and the occurrence of the symptoms might be due not only to cancer but also to the complications of diabetes mellitus.

Gastrointestinal involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus:Insight into pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease characterized by the presence of a plethora of autoantibodies and immune complex formation. Virtually every system and organ can be affected by SLE. Gastrointestinal symptoms are com-mon in SLE patients, and more than half of them are caused by adverse reactions to medications and viral or bacterial infections. Though not as common as lu-pus nephritis, SLE-related gastrointestinal involvement is clinically important because most cases can be life-threatening if not treated promptly. Lupus mesenteric vasculitis is the most common cause, followed by pro-tein-losing enteropathy, intestinal pseudo-obstruction, acute pancreatitis and other rare complications such as celiac disease, inflammatory bowel diseases, etc. No specific autoantibody is identified as being associated with SLE-related gastroenteropathy. Imaging studies, particularly abdominal computed tomography scans, are helpful in diagnosing some SLE-related gastroen-teropathies. Most of these complications have good therapeutic responses to corticosteroids and immu-nosuppressive agents. Supportive measures such as bowel rest, nutritional support, antibiotics and proki-netic medications are helpful in facilitating functional recovery and improving the outcome.

Downregulation of metabotropic glutamate receptors mGluR5 and glutamate transporter EAAC1 in the myenteric plexus of the diabetic rat ileum

Objective： To study the morphologic abnormalities of the myenteric plexus in diabetic rats and to explore the mechanism of their effect on gastrointestinal motility. Methods： Forty rats were randomly divided into a diabetic group and a control group, Gastric emptying and small intestine transit rates were measured and histologic and molecular changes in glutamatergic nerves in the ileal myenteric plexus were observed, mGluR5 receptor and EAAC1 transporter changes in the diabetic rats were studied using fluorescence immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. Results：Eighteen weeks after the establishment of the diabetic rats model, gastric emptying and small intestine transit rates were found to be significantly delayed in the diabetic group when compared with the control group. The density of glutamatergic ganglia and neurons in the ileal myenterie plexus were significantly decreased in the diabetic group when compared with control group（P 〈 0.05） and the mGluR5 receptors and EAAC1 transporters were downregulated in the diabetic rats（P 〈 0.05）. Conclusion： Decreased glutamatergic enteric ganglia and neurons and decreased mGluR5 receptors and EAAC1 transporters in the intestinal myenteric plexus is one of the mechanisms of diabetic gastroenteropathy in rats.