Symptoms and gastric function in dyspepsia — goodbye to gastroparesis?

Functional, or non-ulcer, dyspepsia is a common and clinically challenging problem.' Attempts to develop guidelines for the assessment and management of this disorder have been hampered by several factors. Foremost among these have been the absence of an objective definition for this disorder, and the rudimentary status of our understanlng of its basic pathophysiology. With regard to the latter, several hypotheses have been advanced. These have included acid pepsin-related injury, duodeno-gastric reflux, gastritis (with or without helicobacter pylori infection), psychopathology, dysmotility, impaired visceral sensation and abnormal perception. Recent research efforts have focused, in particular, on the possible roles of dysmotility and altered perception.