Relationship between gastric emptying of liquids and serum gastrin, plasma motilin, somatostation concentrations in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objective: To study the mechanism of gastric motor dysfunction (gastroparesis) in type 2 diabetes mellitus(DM). Methods: The gastric half-emptying time of liquids and the serum gastrin, plasma motilin, somatostation concentrations were studied in 32 elderly patients with type 2 DM and 20 normal controls by real-time ultrasonography and radioimmunoassay. Results: Gastric half-emptying time of liquids was delayed in elderly patients with type 2 DM as compared to that of controls (P < 0.01); The serum gastrin concentrations and plasma motilin concentrations increased and plasma somatostation concentrations decreased significantly of type 2 DM Group 1(patients with delayed gastric liquid emptying, n = 19) than that of type 2 DM Group 2(patients with normal gastric liquid emptying, n = 13); There were an excellent correlation between the gastric half-emptying time and gastrin concentrations (r = 0.941), motilin concentrations (r = 0.925), somatostations concentrations (r = -0.938) in elderly patients with type 2 DM. Conclusion: Dysfunctions of gastric motility closely correlated with the increasing of gastrin, motilin secretion and the decreasing of somatostation secretion in patients with type 2 DM. Gastrin, motilin and somatostation play important roles in the pathologenetic mechanisms of gastroparesis.