Mechanism of Action
Gastric Emptying Delay
Last updated
Slowing the rate at which the stomach passes its contents into the small intestine. It is measured with dedicated gastric emptying studies, typically scintigraphy or a breath test, rather than inferred from symptoms. Slower emptying blunts the rise in blood glucose after a meal and prolongs the sensation of fullness.
Why it matters here
This is the mechanism behind most of the digestive complaints recorded alongside incretin compounds, so it belongs in the same reading as the reported benefit rather than sitting apart as a footnote. It also bears on the timing of anything else taken by mouth.
What it is not
Delayed gastric emptying is a mechanism, not a side effect. Nausea and fullness are consequences of it, and describing it only as an adverse event misses that the same action contributes to the glucose effect. It is also not Appetite Suppression, though the two produce a similar report from the person experiencing them.
Also called
- gastric emptying
- delayed gastric emptying
- gi motility slowing
GI motility slowing is broader than this term: it covers movement through the whole gut, whereas gastric emptying refers specifically to the stomach handing contents on.
Compounds carrying this term
None on file yet. This term is in the controlled vocabulary but no compound record currently uses it — which is a statement about our coverage, not about the term.