title: A Simple, Realistic Stochastic Model of Gastric Emptying.
abstract: Several models of Gastric Emptying (GE) have been employed in the past to represent the rate of delivery of stomach contents to the duodenum and jejunum. These models have all used a deterministic form (algebraic equations or ordinary differential equations), considering GE as a continuous, smooth process in time. However, GE is known to occur as a sequence of spurts, irregular both in size and in timing. Hence, we formulate a simple stochastic process model, able to represent the irregular decrements of gastric contents after a meal. The model is calibrated on existing literature data and provides consistent predictions of the observed variability in the emptying trajectories. This approach may be useful in metabolic modeling, since it describes well and explains the apparently heterogeneous GE experimental results in situations where common gastric mechanics across subjects would be expected.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.|Center of Excellence in Mathematics, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.
authors.forename: Jiraphat
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yokrattanasak
authors.affiliation: Institute of System Analysis and Informatics (IASI) "A. Ruberti", National Research Council (CNR), Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Gaetano
authors.affiliation: Institute of System Analysis and Informatics (IASI) "A. Ruberti", National Research Council (CNR), Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Panunzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.|Center of Excellence in Mathematics, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.
authors.forename: Pairote
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Satiracoo
authors.affiliation: School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
authors.forename: Wayne M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Lawton
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.|Center of Excellence in Mathematics, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.
authors.forename: Yongwimon
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lenbury
mesh_terms: D004386:Duodenum / Q000502:physiology; D005746:Gastric Emptying / Q000502:physiology*; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents; D006801:Humans; D007583:Jejunum / Q000502:physiology; D013270:Stomach / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors