Background: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is one of the most common conditions in clinical practice. In spite of its prevalence, FD is associated with major uncertainties in terms of its definition, underlying pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.Methods: A Delphi consensus was initiated with 41 experts from 22 European countries who conducted a literature summary and voting process on 87 statements. Quality of evidence was evaluated using the grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE) criteria. Consensus (defined as >80% agreement) was reached for 36 statements.Results: The panel agreed with the definition in terms of its cardinal symptoms (early satiation, postprandial fullness, epigastric pain, and epigastric burning), its subdivision into epigastric pain syndrome and postprandial distress syndrome, and the presence of accessory symptoms (upper abdominal bloating, nausea, belching), and overlapping conditions. Also, well accepted are the female predominance of FD, its impact on quality of life and health costs, and acute gastrointestinal infections, and anxiety as risk factors. In terms of pathophysiological mechanisms, the consensus supports a role for impaired gastric accommodation, delayed gastric emptying, hypersensitivity to gastric distention, Helicobacter pylori infection, and altered central processing of signals from the gastroduodenal region. There is consensus that endoscopy is mandatory for establishing a firm diagnosis of FD, but that in primary care, patients without alarm symptoms or risk factors can be managed without endoscopy. There is consensus that H. pylori status should be determined in every patient with dyspeptic symptoms and H. pylori positive patients should receive eradication therapy. Also, proton pump inhibitor therapy is considered an effective therapy for FD, but no other treatment approach reached a consensus. The long‐term prognosis and life expectancy are favorable.Conclusions and Inferences: A multinational group of European experts summarized the current state of consensus on the definition, diagnosis and management of FD.

Background: Gastroparesis is a condition characterized by epigastric symptoms and delayed gastric emptying (GE) rate in the absence of any mechanical obstruction. The condition is challenging in clinical practice by the lack of guidance concerning diagnosis and management of gastroparesis.Methods: A Delphi consensus was undertaken by 40 experts from 19 European countries who conducted a literature summary and voting process on 89 statements. Quality of evidence was evaluated using grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation criteria. Consensus (defined as ≥80% agreement) was reached for 25 statements.Results: The European consensus defined gastroparesis as the presence of symptoms associated with delayed GE in the absence of mechanical obstruction. Nausea and vomiting were identified as cardinal symptoms, with often coexisting postprandial distress syndrome symptoms of dyspepsia. The true epidemiology of gastroparesis is not known in detail, but diabetes, gastric surgery, certain neurological and connective tissue diseases, and the use of certain drugs recognized as risk factors. While the panel agreed that severely impaired gastric motor function is present in these patients, there was no consensus on underlying pathophysiology. The panel agreed that an upper endoscopy and a GE test are required for diagnosis. Only dietary therapy, dopamine‐2 antagonists and 5‐HT₄ receptor agonists were considered appropriate therapies, in addition to nutritional support in case of severe weight loss. No consensus was reached on the use of proton pump inhibitors, other classes of antiemetics or prokinetics, neuromodulators, complimentary, psychological, or more invasive therapies. Finally, there was consensus that gastroparesis adversely impacts on quality of life and healthcare costs and that the long‐term prognosis of gastroparesis depends on the cause.Conclusions and Inferences: A multinational group of European experts summarized the current state of consensus on definition, symptom characteristics, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of gastroparesis.

Background: Different peripheral pathways are implicated in the regulation of the food ingestion‐digestion cycle.Methods: Narrative review on gastrointestinal mechanisms involved in satiety and hunger signalling.Results: Combined mechano‐ and chemoreceptors, peripherally released peptide hormones and neural pathways provide feedback to the brain to determine sensations of hunger (increase energy intake) or satiation (cessation of energy intake) and regulate the human metabolism. The gastric accommodation reflex, which consists of a transient relaxation of the proximal stomach during food intake, has been identified as a major determinant of meal volume, through activation of tension‐sensitive gastric mechanoreceptors. Motilin, whose release is the trigger of gastric Phase 3, has been identified as the major determinant of return of hunger after a meal. In addition, the release of several peptide hormones such as glucagon‐like peptide 1 (GLP‐1), cholecystokinin as well as motilin and ghrelin contributes to gut‐brain signalling with relevance to control of hunger and satiety. A number of nutrients, such as bitter tastants, as well as pharmacological agents, such as endocannabinoid receptor antagonists and GLP‐1 analogues act on these pathways to influence hunger, satiation and food intake.Conclusion: Gastrointestinal mechanisms such as gastric accommodation and motilin release are key determinants of satiety and hunger.

Functional dyspepsia (FD) and gastroparesis (GP) are common disorders of the upper gastrointestinal tract. The pathophysiology of these conditions is likely to be heterogenous, and factors such as altered motility, sensitivity and response to nutrition have been identified as putative underlying mechanisms. Motility, sensitivity as well as responses to nutrition can be influenced or mediated by peptide hormones and serotonin released from the gastrointestinal mucosa. This review summarizes the role of GI peptides in functional dyspepsia and gastroparesis. In most studies, the levels of somatostatin, ghrelin, and motilin did not differ between healthy volunteers and FD or GP patients, but higher symptom burden was often correlated with higher peptide levels. Ghrelin and motilin receptor agonists showed promising results in improvement of the gastric emptying, but the link with improvement of symptoms is less predictable. Serotonin agonists have a potential to improve symptoms in both FD and idiopathic gastroparesis. Drugs acting on the GLP-1 and on the PYY receptors deserve further investigation. There is a need for systematic large scale studies.