Defining and Phenotyping Gastric Abnormalities in Long-Term Type 1 Diabetes Using a Novel Body Surface Gastric...

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Diabetology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Diabetic gastroenteropathy, linked to poor glycemic control in type 1 diabetes (T1D), lacks noninvasive monitoring tools.
• Assessing gastric abnormalities in T1D is crucial for managing patient morbidity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define phenotypes of gastric myoelectrical abnormalities in T1D patients using a novel noninvasive body surface gastric mapping (BSGM) device.
• To correlate these abnormalities with symptoms, glycemic control, and comorbidities.

Main Methods:

• Body surface gastric mapping (BSGM) with the Gastric Alimetry system was used in 32 T1D patients (15 symptomatic) and 32 controls.
• A high-resolution 64-channel array, validated symptom-logging app, and wearable reader were employed.

Main Results:

• Symptomatic T1D patients exhibited more unstable gastric myoelectrical activity compared to controls.
• These patients also showed higher rates of peripheral neuropathy, anxiety/depression, and elevated HbA1c.
• BSGM identified distinct phenotypes, including unstable gastric rhythms and high gastric frequencies, correlating with symptoms like bloating and nausea.

Conclusions:

• Gastric symptoms in T1D correlate with myoelectrical abnormalities detected by BSGM.
• BSGM using Gastric Alimetry offers a promising noninvasive approach for diagnosing and monitoring diabetic gastroenteropathy phenotypes.