Gastroparesis and brain–gut connections in children
Official title: New England Gastropareis Consortium: Neurobiology of Gastroparesis
Funded at Massachusetts General Hospital · NIH-11363811 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project is building a national registry of children and teens with gastroparesis or similar nausea and vomiting conditions to learn what makes symptoms and quality of life worse.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | September 25, 2016 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $61,800 |
| NIH project number | 3U01DK112193-09S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11363811 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children and adolescents diagnosed with gastroparesis or Gp-like disorders (including functional dyspepsia, chronic nausea/vomiting syndrome, or cyclic vomiting syndrome) are the intended participants.
✕Less likely to help
People whose symptoms are caused by a mechanical blockage of the stomach or who do not have gastroparesis-like symptoms are unlikely to benefit from this registry.
What this research studies
If your child joins, doctors at participating hospitals will enter medical history, symptom reports, quality-of-life questionnaires, and test results (like gastric emptying studies) into a secure, prospective registry and follow them over time. The team will use pediatric Rome IV criteria to classify conditions such as functional dyspepsia, chronic nausea‑vomiting syndrome, and cyclic vomiting, and will look for differences in symptom patterns and biology, including nervous‑system influences. Data from children and adolescents will be compared with adult findings to identify age-specific causes and outcomes. The goal is to find factors linked to worse symptoms and life impact that could guide better care for kids with these conditions.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could improve diagnosis and help develop treatments tailored for children with gastroparesis and related disorders.
How similar studies have gone: There are prior adult and smaller pediatric registries and this project builds on Pediatric Gp Registry 2, but pediatric gastroparesis remains under-studied and many questions are unresolved.
Where this research is happening
-
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Burton Murray, Helen — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Burton Murray, Helen
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
New England Gastroparesis Consortium: Neurobiology of Gastroparesis
A national project to learn about gastroparesis in children and adults by creating a registry and gathering information from patients to understand symptoms, quality of life, and disease progression.
-
Pediatric and Young Adult Gastroparesis Registry and Disease Course
This project follows children, teens, and young adults with symptoms of gastroparesis to learn how their symptoms change over time and what factors are tied to different disease patterns.
-
Pediatric gastroparesis: building a nationwide patient registry
This grant funds a national registry to study gastroparesis and similar tummy problems in children and teens, with the goal of better understanding how the condition affects their daily lives.
-
Gut-resident macrophages and gastric function in gastroparesis
A study in people with gastroparesis to understand how gut macrophages affect stomach movement and gut barrier health, with the hope of finding new ways to treat the condition.
-
Gastric electrical stimulation for stomach pain in gastroparesis
A new approach tests how adjusting a stomach-stimulating implant may reduce pain for people with gastroparesis.
-
Peptide therapies for gastroparesis in diabetes
A new peptide-based treatment is being tested to help people with gastroparesis linked to diabetes by improving stomach emptying and reducing inflammation.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.