Gastroparesis is a condition of delayed gastric emptying in the absence of mechanical obstruction, lasting for at least 3 months. Gastroparesis causes symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, bloating, early satiety, and abdominal pain. Delayed or ineffective gastric emptying occurs due to abnormal gastrointestinal motor function, a complex sequence of events involving the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, gastric smooth muscle cells, pacemaker cells within the stomach and intestine, and the pyloric sphincter. Patients with gastroparesis also show alterations in mucosal immune cell infiltration and cytokine expression.
The most common etiology of gastroparesis is idiopathic, followed by diabetic, postsurgical, and postinfectious causes. The incidence of gastroparesis has been increasing over the last few decades, attributed to increases in diabetes, obesity, and causative medications. Clinically, many patients have symptoms overlapping with functional dyspepsia, and the two disorders commonly co-occur; diagnostic testing is essential to document the presence of gastroparesis. Treating gastroparesis is limited by medication tolerance and decreasing effectiveness; dietary modification is important.
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