************Up and Coming************

Medtronic Conference-May 17th,

Medtronic is one of the world's leading medical technology
companies, providing lifelong solutions for people with chronic
disease.  They are holding a workshop on May 17th in Orlando ,
Florida for all GI doctors interested in starting to provide Enterra
therapy for their patients.

Medtronic has been working to better patient care when it comes to
Enterra therapy and the approval process for the treatment.

If you would like to see the information they provide regarding
insurance claims, etc go to the following link
www.medtronic.com/neuro/enterra/patient_payment.html You will see G-
PACT's link listed under the "Patient Advocacy Sites"

G-PACT has helped people get approved for the gastric pacer and
works with Medtronic in order to provide top quality assistance.

We are not only very fortunate to be invited to attend but also will
be addressing the attendees at the Medtronic conference about
G-PACT.

G-PACT members attending:
    -Carissa Haston -  President and Co-founder of G-PACT
    -Veronica Pennington -  Vice President and Financial Officer and
      Co-Founder
    -Lila Litter - Administrative Assistant - G-PACT

This will be the first time that we finally get to meet each other
in person as well as working together.  We will be attending the
GPDA conference in the morning and then the Medtronic conference in
the afternoon.  We will be also be meeting with some of the doctors
one-on-one during the weekend.

************ Electrical Stimulation Offers Hope ************

Electrical Stimulation Offers Hope
Article written for G-PACT by Dr. John de Csepel, MD

Dietary and lifestyle changes are an important first step to
treating those with Gastroparesis.  Some have to resort to
medications, unfortunately most people do not derive any benefit or
suffer from their side effects.  Since the FDA approved gastric
electrical stimulation in March 2000, there is hope where there was
none previously.

Gastric electrical stimulation is like a pacemaker for the stomach. 
The device was developed by Medtronic, Inc. and is marketed under
the name Enterra Therapy.  It delivers a low energy pulse
stimulation to the stomach causing it to contract more efficiently.
The surgery can be done using laparoscopic technique, meaning only a
few small incisions, and takes 1 to 2 hours.  Most patients go home
the next day.  Results are seen after 2 to 3 months in over 80% of
patients.

St. Vincent 's Hospital in New York is one of only a few hospitals
nationwide to participate in an important clinical trial to further
determine for the FDA the effectiveness of this new alternative
treatment.

John de Csepel, MD
Chief of Minimally Invasive Surgery
Assistant Professor of Surgery, NYMC
Saint Vincent's Hospital & Medical Center
170 West 12th Street, Cronin #810
New York, NY  10011
(212) 604-2475


We at G-PACT express our gratitude and appreciation to Dr. de Csepel
for taking the time from his busy schedule to write this article for
our newsletter.