VAGAL FUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETIC NEUROPATHY

Abstract

Abstract The gastric secretory response to insulin administration has been investigated in eleven diabetic patients in order to study their vagal function. The mean duration of the disease was 16 years. One patient suffered from diarrhoea. The other diabetic patients were free of symptoms from the gastrointestinal tract. From the criteria in the literature for surgical vagotomy, some patients with long duration of the disease and with severe signs of vascular and neurological involvement exhibited impaired vagal function. This supports the theory that impaired vagal function is the cause of disturbances of the gastrointestinal tract in diabetes mellitus.