LEADING ARTICLE

Stress-related changes in oesophageal permeability: filling the gaps of GORD?

Johan D Söderholm

Correspondence to:
Professor Johan D Söderholm
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Faculty of Health Sciences, SE-581 85 Linköping, Sweden; johda{at}ibk.liu.se

Albeit remaining a controversial issue, it has become increasingly recognised that psychological stress has a major impact on gut mucosal function and affects the course of gastrointestinal disorders. Research during the last decade has shown that stress causes barrier dysfunction of the gastrointestinal mucosa by mechanisms that mainly involve neuropeptides and mast cells. Moreover, accumulating evidence implicates increased permeability as a pathogenic factor in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GORD). Recent data demonstrating that psychological stress may induce a permeability defect in stratified epithelia, including the oesophagus, shed new light on the pathophysiological events leading to heartburn and GORD.

Abbreviations: CRH, corticotropin-releasing hormone; DIS, dilated intercellular spaces; GORD, gastroesophageal reflux disease; IBS, irritable bowel syndrome; NERD, non-erosive reflux disease; RMCPII, rat mast cell protease II

Keywords: barrier function; corticotropin-releasing hormone; mast cells; psychological stress

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Vemulapalli, R. (2008). Diet and Lifestyle Modifications in the Management of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. Nutr Clin Pract 23: 293-298 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Knowles, C H, Aziz, Q (2008). Visceral hypersensitivity in non-erosive reflux disease. Gut 57: 674-683 [Full Text]  
• Matthews, P. J., Knowles, C. H., Chua, Y. C., Delaney, C., Hobson, A. R., Aziz, Q. (2008). Effects of the concentration and frequency of acid infusion on the development and maintenance of esophageal hyperalgesia in a human volunteer model. Am. J. Physiol. Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. 294: G914-G917 [Abstract] [Full Text]