Gastroparesis is a clinical syndrome characterized by delayed gastric emptying of meal in the absence of mechanical obstruction of gastric outlet. In this article,the pathogenesis,etiology,epidemiology,clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of gastroparesis were reviewed.

To investigate the effects of low dosage of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor Nc-nitro -L-arginine methyl ester ( L-NAME) in two-week treatment on the hyperdynamic circulatory state in rats with cirrhosis. METHODS: Cirrhosis model was induced in male SD rats by injection of 60 % CCL4 oily solution subcutaneously. Cirrhotic rats were treated with L-NAME ( 0.5 mg·kg-1·d-1) by gavage for two weeks. Mean arterial pressure ( AP ), portal pressure(PP), cardiac output ( CO ), cardiac index ( CI ), splanchnic vascular resistance ( SVR ), splanchnic blood flow(SBF) and serum nitrite levels were determined in L-NAME-treated, L-NAME-untreated cirrhotic rats and controls by using 57Co-labled microsphere technique and a fluorometric assay, respectively. RESULTS: Untreated cirrhotic rats had significantly lower MAP, SVR and higher PP, CO, CI, SBF and nitrite concentration than those of the controls (all,P< 0.01 ). In treated cirrhotic rats, L-NAME significantly attenuated the increase of CO, CI, SBF, nitrite concentration and the decrease of MAP and SVR. In treated cirrhotic rats, L-NAME induced a marked decrease of nitrite concentration than untreated cirrhotic rats[(1.471±0.907)μmol/L vs (4.204±1.253) μmol/L, P<0.01]. CONCLUSION: The endogenous NO may play an important role in the changes of hemodynamics pattern in cirrhosis, and hyperdynamic circulatory state in rats with cirrhosis can be ameliorated by oral two-week administration of lower dose of L-NAME.