Gastric/Digestive Issues in T1 Diabetes

Dr. Marina Basina & Dr. Linda Nguyen, Stanford University School of Medicine
Monday, 18 October 2021, 5pm PDT (12am GMT)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85406937371
Co-Moderators:  Joanne Milo (The Savvy Diabetic), Theresa Hastings (DiabetesMine), Rachel Gurlin, PhD, (Insulet)
Please feel free to share this email with your other Type 1 diabetes groups and medical professionals.
(This event may be recorded)
 
GI/Gastric/Digestive STUFF make up some of the most unpleasant complications of T1D and no one really mentions it, no less wants to talk about it. And it absolutely impacts how we T1Ds absorb food and how we need to adapt our bolus strategies.
 
Though gastrointestinal (GI) complications are common in longstanding diabetes, changes in the gut begin as early as 6 months after diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes, even in young children. And the awareness of these complications is low among physicians. Early identification and appropriate management of GI complications are important for improving both diabetic management and quality of life.
 
Dr. Marina Basina is Clinical Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology, Gerontology and Metabolism, Stanford University. She is a clinical endocrinologist and clinical researcher with a focus on diabetes management, thyroid, and adrenal conditions. Her primary interests are in Type 1 Diabetes, Diabetes technology, and Diabetes in pregnancy. Dr. Basina is Board certified in Endocrinology and Internal Medicine. She received numerous teaching awards and the Stanford Hospital award for excellence in patient care.
 
As if she weren’t already busy enough, she is an active member of medical advisory boards for several community diabetes organizations as well as a medical director of inpatient diabetes program at Stanford and a chair of the diabetes task force.
 
Dr. Linda Nguyen is Clinical Professor, Medicine – Gastroenterology & Hepatology at Stanford University, with special interests: Gastroparesis, Chronic Nausea, Cyclic Vomiting, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Autonomic dysfunction, and Brain-gut disorders.
 
She has said, “Food has always been a big part of my life. Imagine what life would be like if eating made you sick? Because we need food to survive and we are social creatures who revolve much of our lives around food, not being able to eat impacts physical, mental and social well-being. It is this intricate interconnection between the brain and the gut which drew me to the field of Neurogastroenterology & Motility. My research includes understanding the role/impact of physiologic testing on clinical care, exploring novel therapies for gastroparesis, and expanding the role of neuromodulation in the treatment of GI motility disorders and pain.”
 
What’s so special about this area of research?
There is growing evidence that there is a strong relationship between Type 1 diabetes and the gut microbiome. I’ve included a few research papers below, for your leisure reading. In fact, the gut microbiome might be a pivotal hub of T1D‐triggering factors. Interesting, huh?
 
I asked Dr. Rayhan Lal, pediatric and adult endocrinologist at Stanford University School of Medicine, as well as a T1D and brother of 2 T1D sisters, about the issues of gastric complications in longstanding diabetes … and here are his comments: It’s such a horrible quality of life and the symptoms are miserable. The other issue is that it doesn’t always correlate with glycemic control in the same way as other microvascular complications. Additionally, gastric emptying time does not always correlate with symptoms so very hard to know how to gauge treatment (it often comes down to surveys with all the usual biases of self-report).
 
This should be a very special, informative, and caring event, free to all. Please feel free to share this email within the diabetes community, so that we may all learn together.
 
 
Some “light” reading
 
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