Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0014848 (achalasia)
 2,804 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Patients with achalasia tolerate considerable distension of the esophagus. Respiratory symptoms usually are due to regurgitation and pulmonary aspiration of retained food rather than to a space-occupying mechanism. We describe a case of previously undiagnosed achalasia presenting in an elderly woman with symptoms consistent with tracheal obstruction of acute onset.
 ...
PMID:Acute airway obstruction and achalasia of the esophagus. 276 48

Respiratory symptoms due to compression of the trachea by the dilated esophagus in achalasia are extremely rare. A patient is presented whose respiratory manifestations included engorged neck veins and a neck swelling that fluctuated with respiration. He also had two malignant tumors in his dilated esophagus, a squamous cell carcinoma and an adenoid cystic carcinoma.
 ...
PMID:Acute thoracic inlet obstruction in achalasia with adenoid cystic and squamous cell carcinoma. 299 91

Achalasia is an uncommon esophageal motor disorder. It has been associated with other diseases such as Parkinson's disease and depressive disorders, but coincidence of achalasia and Down's syndrome is rare. We report five cases of achalasia in Down's syndrome patients seen in our institution. Two of the five cases were diagnosed at pediatric age. Respiratory symptoms and growth retardation were the main clinical manifestations in pediatric patients, whereas adult patients mainly complained of dysphagia. Taking into account the prevalence rate of both disorders, the association seems higher than that expected by chance. The possible etiopathogenic implications of this association, as well as its clinical relevance, are discussed.
 ...
PMID:Achalasia and Down's syndrome: coincidental association or something else? 1036 43

Respiratory symptoms might originate sometimes in the diseases of another thoracic organ than the lungs, the esophagus, which is able to determine sufferings mimicking pulmonary diseases. The authors review a series of esophageal diseases capable of generating respiratory symptoms, as well as the criteria for differential diagnosis: Zenker diverticulum, esophageal fistula, achalasia, cancer of the esophagus, esophageal cyst and gastro-esophageal reflux disease.
 ...
PMID:[Respiratory manifestations in esophageal diseases]. 1749 Dec 8

Dilatation and oesophageal body aperistalsis in achalasia can lead to stasis which in turn can induce repeated microaspiration. It is therefore conceivable that patients with achalasia may also have abnormalities in lungs secondary to repeated episodes of microaspiration. There is a lack of systematic study on involvement of lungs in patients with achalasia. Thirty patients with achalasia underwent pulmonary function tests (spirometry, and carbon mono-oxide diffusion capacity) and high resolution computerized tomography (HRCT) of the chest. The mean age of patients and mean duration of disease were 33.5 +/- 10.9 years and 28.1 +/- 27.3 months respectively. Regurgitation was present in 22 (73.3%) of them. Respiratory symptoms in them were dry cough in 17 (56.6%), and chest pain in 18 (60%). The oesophagus was dilated in 26 (86.6%) and 13 (43.3%) had residue in oesophagus. Sixteen (53.3%) patients had either anatomical changes as seen on HRCT or functional changes as observed on pulmonary function tests. Of those with functional abnormalities, five (16.6%) and one (3.3%) had restrictive and obstructive airways disease respectively. While evidence of tracheo-bronchial compression by dilated oesophagus was present in eight (26.6%), 10 (33.3%) patients had parenchymal lung disease [nodular opacities in five (16.6%), ground glass appearance six (20%), patchy pulmonary fibrosis five (16.6%), air trapping two (6.6%), consolidation and bronchiectasis one (3.3%) each]. There was a significant association between presence of regurgitation and dilatation of oesophagus (P = 0.032). More than half (53.3%) of patients with achalasia have structural and/or functional abnormalities in lungs.
 ...
PMID:Structural and functional abnormalities in lungs in patients with achalasia. 1922 59