A Randomized Controlled Trial of Gastric Meal With and Without Prior Jejunal Feeding on GI Symptoms and Response in Patients With Diabetic Gastro-enteropathy, Diabetic Controls and Healthy Volunteers

Diabetic 'Gastroparesis' or 'Gastroenteropathy' is a condition in which patients suffer episodes of nausea, vomiting, abdominal bloating and pain after eating. These symptoms occur in the absence of any structural abnormality of the stomach, rather abnormal gastric function underlies the condition. Up to one in five patients with type I diabetes experience symptoms consistent with this diagnosis. The effects on diabetic control, physical health and emotional quality of life are severe. Patients do not respond reliably to general supportive management or conventional medications. Surgical options have disappointing results. The need for more effective treatment is acknowledged universally.

Feeding into the small bowel beyond the stomach (jejunal feeding) is established management in diabetic patients with gastroenteropathy that are malnourished due to poor oral intake. The benefits have been assumed secondary to improved nutrition and diabetic control; however this assertion has never been studied. Recently we observed that patients with severe gastroenteropathy recovered promptly and could eat normally during and for a few hours after jejunal feeding. These observations suggest that jejunal feeding has 'quasi-pharmacological' effects in patients with gastroenteropathy. One attractive explanation for these observations is that gastroenteropathy represents a failure of oral intake to 'switch' the stomach from the fasted to the fed state. According to this hypothesis, jejunal feeding 'restores' the normal fed state by bypassing the dysfunctional stomach.

This project will assess the effects of feeding on gastrointestinal (GI) sensory and motor function in diabetic gastroenteropathy. Healthy volunteers and diabetic controls without symptoms will also be investigated. Studies will assess:

1. Effects on GI symptoms and function to gastric distension in fasted and fed states
2. Effects on GI symptoms and function to oral vs. nasogastric delivery of a test meal
3. A trial of gastric feeding with and without prior jejunal feeding on GI symptoms and function Non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques will be applied to assess complex gastric response to feeding. In addition the effects of feeding on symptoms and gastric function will be related to alterations in GI hormones and autonomic nervous activity (eg cardiovagal tone) to assess how the integrated response of the GI tract to feeding fails in patients with diabetic gastroenteropathy.

The primary aim of this project is to assess the effectiveness of jejunal feeding in the management of diabetic gastroenteropathy. However, by defining the processes that 'switch' gastric function between the fasted and the fed states and control gastric emptying, we hope also to identify candidate targets for more effective pharmacologic treatment of this severe disease.

• Trial with medical device