COMMENTARY
ACHALASIA
Novel mechanism for impaired nitrergic relaxation in achalasia
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr G E Boeckxstaens
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Academic Medical Centre, Meibergdreef 9, 1105AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands; g.e.boeckxstaens@amc.uva.nl
New insights into the pathogenesis of achalasia indicate that incubation with serum from patients with achalasia leads to altered neurochemical coding of the myenteric plexus and impairs the nitrergic response to nerve stimulation
Keywords: achalasia; myenteric plexus; neurochemical plasticity; NOS; human fundus
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Incomplete relaxation of the lower oesophageal sphincter (LOS) following deglutition and absence of oesophageal peristalsis, in most cases accompanied by an increased resting tone of the LOS, are the manometric hallmarks of idiopathic achalasia.1–3 The net result of these motor abnormalities is stasis of saliva and food in the oesophagus leading to the typical symptoms of achalasia: dysphagia for both solids and liquids, regurgitation of undigested food, respiratory complications (nocturnal cough and aspiration), chest pain, and weight loss.4 The treatment of this relatively rare disorder (incidence of approximately 1/100 000 per year) mainly aims at reducing the resistance to flow at the oesophagogastric junction. This can be achieved by reduction of LOS pressure by pharmacological drugs (nitrates, Ca2+ channel blockers, botulinum toxin), by forceful dilation using endoscopic techniques, or by surgical myotomy.5 With the introduction of minimally invasive techniques, the surgical approach in particular has recently gained a significant
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
Relevant Article
- Serum from achalasia patients alters neurochemical coding in the myenteric plexus and nitric oxide mediated motor response in normal human fundus
- S Bruley des Varannes, J Chevalier, S Pimont, J-C Le Neel, M Klotz, K-H Schafer, J-P Galmiche, and M Neunlist
Gut 2006 55: 319-326.[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
- Full Text
- Full Text (PDF)
- Competing interest statement
- Alert me when this article is cited
- Alert me if a correction is posted
- Citation Map
Services
- Email this link to a friend
- Similar articles in this journal
- Similar articles in PubMed
- Add article to my folders
- Download to citation manager
- Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Google Scholar
PubMed
Topic Collections
Bookmark with
Register for free content
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.
