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

Radionuclide esophageal transit (RET) is a noninvasive method of studying esophageal function. The purpose of this study was to evaluate RET as a screening test for motility disorders in symptomatic patients. Esophageal manometry and RET were performed in 16 volunteers and in 34 patients who were referred for motility evaluation. Each RET study consisted of two swallows of labeled water with the patient in the supine position under a gamma camera. Six patients had achalasia, two had scleroderma, two had diffuse esophageal spasms, and five had a nonspecific motor disorder. In each case the RET time was prolonged (greater than 15 s). Ten patients had reflux esophagitis; two of these had both abnormal manometry results and prolonged RET times. There were nine patients with upper gastrointestinal tract symptoms but normal manometry results and the RET test was positive in two patients. There were no false-negative RET results. The agreement between the RET and manometry results in this series was 96% (48/50). This preliminary experience suggests that RET is as sensitive as manometry for identifying motility disorders.
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PMID:Radionuclide esophageal transit. A screening test for esophageal disorders. 371 19

Experimental achalasia dogs produced with Deloyer's method showed higher resting pressure at the gastroesophageal junction and the increase in LES pressure in response to tetragastrin and cholecystokinin. Dose-response curve of the LES to each dose of tetragastrin in achalasia dog shifted to the left. Resting LES pressure in 11 patients with achalasia was 42.73 +/- 23.31 cm H2O. It increased significantly after intramuscular injection of 5 micrograms/kg of tetragastrin and fluoroscopic observation showed the tonic contraction of the lower esophagus and cardia. After the performance of Jekler-Lhotka operation, LES pressure decreased to lower values sufficient to prevent the gastroesophageal reflux. Comparing 5 kinds of hiatal herniorrhaphies in dogs, LES pressure increased postoperatively in the following order: Nissen, Belsey Mark IV, Stensrud, Hill and Harrington methods. Responses to tetragastrin increased after Nissen and Belsey Mark IV methods. In 12 out of 21 clinical cases of sliding esophageal hiatal hernia who had undergone Nissen-Rossetti method adding fundopexy and posterior gastropexy, preoperative esophageal manometry showed HPZ of 24.98 +/- 8.87 cm H2O in peak value and 5.1 +/- 3.46 cm in length. Seven cases showed the biphasic pattern and 5 cases showed the negative response to tetragastrin. Postoperative manometry showed HPZ of 31.42 +/- 18.46 cm H2O in peak value and 4.5 +/- 1.73 cm in length. One case showed the biphasic pattern and 3 cases showed the negative response to tetragastrin.
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PMID:[Gastrointestinal hormones and operations for achalasia of the esophagus and sliding esophageal hiatal hernia: their surgical significance]. 408 31

Thirty-four consecutive patients referred to a gastroenterology clinic with suspected esophageal motility abnormality as a cause of their chest pain or dysphagia, or both, were prospectively studied in an 18-mo period. Peristaltic response to 10 wet (5 ml H2O) swallows was recorded in all studies with a low-compliance infusion system. To provoke symptoms and motility abnormalities after baseline evaluation, all patients had acid infusions (0.1 N HCl) and administration of edrophonium (80 micrograms/kg i.v.), pentagastrin (6 micrograms/kg s.c.), and bethanechol (40 micrograms/kg s.c.). Tracings were coded, read, and interpreted blindly. Baseline tracings were abnormal in 23 of 34 patients (68%), including increased amplitude peristaltic contractions ("nutcracker esophagus") in 10 and nonspecific esophageal motor disorders in 13. Acid infusion produced substernal burning in 3 of 33 patients, in motility change in 1 patient. Edrophonium produced chest pain with manometric changes in 6 of 34 (18%) patients. Pentagastrin produced chest pain with manometric change in 1 patient. Bethanechol produced chest pain with manometric change in 2 patients. One patient with low amplitude had elevation of esophageal baseline and multiple simultaneous contractions but no chest pain (subsequently developed achalasia). It was concluded that (a) abnormal motility is a common finding in a symptomatic group of patients with presumed esophageal motility disorder, (b) the "nutcracker" esophagus is the most frequent defect, and (c) attempted provocation of symptoms with acid or drugs is not generally effective; however, edrophonium is the best tolerated and most effective of currently available drugs.
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PMID:Prospective manometric evaluation with pharmacologic provocation of patients with suspected esophageal motility dysfunction. 683 64

A man with a mediastinal mass shadow detected on chest roentgenogram was diagnosed as having achalasia by barium swallowing study. Megaesophagus caused by achalasia produced airway obstruction. Maximum expiratory-inspiratory flow volume curve identified that peak flow rate decreased in early expiration, and the ratio of expired to inspired flow at 50 percent of vital capacity was below 0.9, aggravated by 250 ml water intake. Deformation of the tracheal shape was proved easily.
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PMID:Airway obstruction in achalasia. 739 31

Achalasia is considered a primary motility disorder confined to the oesophagus. The lower oesophageal sphincter (LOS) in achalasia is frequently hypertonic and manifests absent or incomplete relaxation in response to deglution. On the other hand, the LOS and the proximal stomach act physiologically as a functional unit whereby relaxation of the LOS during deglution is associated with receptive relaxation of the proximal stomach. Thus, this study investigated the hypothesis that impaired LOS relaxation in patients with achalasia might be associated with impaired relaxation of the proximal stomach. The study consisted of 20 patients with achalasia and 10 healthy controls. Gastric tone variations were quantified using an electronic barostat. Firstly, the study established the basal gastric tone (intragastric volume at the minimal distending pressure+1 mm Hg) and gastric compliance (volume/pressure relation) during isobaric distension (increasing stepwise the intragastric pressure from 0 to 20 mm Hg up to 600 ml). Secondly, the gastric tone response to cold stress (hand immersion into ice water for five minutes) or to control stimuli (water at 37 degrees) was determined. Basal gastric tone mean (SEM) was similar in achalasia and in healthy controls (125 (9) ml v 138 (9) ml, respectively). Compliance was linear and similar in both groups, which also showed similar gastric extension ratios (58 (7) ml/mm Hg v 57 (6) ml/mm Hg). Cold stress induced a gastric relaxatory response that, as a group, was significantly lower in achalasia than in healthy controls (volume: 43 (20) ml v 141 (42) ml; p < 0.05). The responses in each group were not uniform, five of the 20 patients with achalasia showed definite (volume > 100 ml) relaxatory responses whereas four of the 10 healthy controls did not. In conclusion, reflex gastric relaxation is impaired in most patients with achalasia showing that the proximal stomach, and not exclusively the oesophagus, may be effected by the disease.
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PMID:Impaired gastric relaxation in patients with achalasia. 769 93

It has been shown that nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nasal CPAP) significantly reduces nocturnal reflux both in patients with sleep apnea and in patients without sleep apnea but consistent abnormal nocturnal reflux. The mechanism by which CPAP is thought to reduce reflux includes the elevation of the resting lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressure. In this study, we tested the effect of nasal CPAP in two groups of patients with aperistaltic esophagus but with different resting LES pressure. Seven patients with scleroderma esophagus and six patients treated for achalasia were tested over a 48-h period. On the first night, the patients were untreated; on the second night, both groups received applied nasal CPAP at 8 cm H2O pressure. The percentage of time the pH < 4.0, the number of reflux events > 5 min, and the length of the longest reflux event were all significantly reduced in the patients with achalasia (p < 0.03), but not in the scleroderma group (p > 0.20). These results suggest that a residual resting LES pressure greater than that demonstrated by patients with scleroderma (> 10 mm Hg) may be necessary for nasal CPAP to affect nocturnal reflux.
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PMID:The effect of nasal CPAP on nocturnal reflux in patients with aperistaltic esophagus. 808 51

The therapeutic effects on pneumatic dilatation were evaluated quantitatively by radionuclide transit study using 99mTc-Sn colloid in an achalasia patient. After dilatation, transit time (T3/4) with distilled water has improved from 13.5 seconds to 5.5 seconds. Radionuclide transit study using 99mTc-Sn colloid was a preferable method to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment quantitatively in an achalasia.
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PMID:[A case of achalasia evaluated with esophageal scintigraphy in terms of efficacy with endoscopic pneumatic dilatation]. 837

An original method is described for graphic display of sounds arising from the cardia during the swallowing of saliva or water. Two dynamic microphones were placed on the skin of epigastric xyphoid area and simultaneously on the latero-cervical position. The following conditions must be filled: position of the subject (upright or lying), correct application of microphone with pressure (2 kPa), specially for the xyphoid situation. For graphic restitutions from magnetic signal, a time-recording paper was used, on line or off line, with an analogical device including Butterworth band active filter (optimal frequency range 0.8-1.2 kHz), amplifier and integrator (tau = 2 s). Occurrence of typical cardia sounds were 86-97 % for saliva and 95-100 % for water in two normal subjects for the evaluation of reproducibility (one man and one woman 35 and 47 years old respectively, n = 234 sequences, interval 20 s). Using the distance between the upper and lower microphones, the esophageal time transit can be measured. The signal was more unconstantly recorded for saliva 40 +/- 44 % in adults (n = 10) and 76 +/- 17 % in children (n = 7), than for 80 et 87 % for water respectively. The optimal interval between two swallows appeared to be 15-25 s. In patients with presumption of achalasia (n = 8), the two phonic signals were recorded during esophageal pressure measurement. The presence of esophageal sounds seems to be the sign of absence of achalasia.
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PMID:[Monitoring of the permeability of the inferior esophageal sphincter using sound signals]. 872 82

The purpose of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the radiologic findings in young adults with dysphagia undergoing barium swallow and to compare these with the final clinical diagnosis. Clinical history, barium swallow, endoscopy (21 patients), manometry (18 patients), 24 h pH monitoring (4 patients), and outcome of treatments were studied and compared in 43 patients aged 14-30 years (mean 24 years). There were 26 men and 17 women. Duration of symptoms varied between 2 weeks and 22 years and included globus (n = 22), obstruction (n = 31), water brash (n = 6), classic reflux symptoms (n = 10), atypical reflux symptoms (n = 9), slow eating (n = 6), and vomiting (n = 11). The final diagnosis was achalasia (n = 2), arteria lusoria (n = 1), esophagitis (n = 1), esophageal dysfunction (n = 11), esophageal stricture (n = 5), gastroesophageal reflux disease (n = 8), and pharyngeal dysfunction (n = 2). Thirteen patients were assessed to be normal. The result of the barium swallow was in agreement with the final diagnosis in all but 3 patients who were assessed as normal, and the final diagnosis was esophagitis (n = 1), dysmotility (n = 1), and reflux disease (n = 1). Anatomic and functional abnormalities are common in young adults with dysphagia. Barium swallow reveals the explanation of the symptoms in 70% of such patients. Radiology therefore should be the method of choice for the investigation of dysphagic young adults.
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PMID:Clinical and radiologic evaluation reveals high prevalence of abnormalities in young adults with dysphagia. 971 50

We evaluated the relationship between radionuclide esophageal transit studies and barium swallow appearances in a group of patients following forceful balloon dilatation for the treatment of achalasia of the cardia. Paired erect radionuclide esophageal transit studies and erect barium swallows of a group of patients who had undergone pneumatic balloon dilatation for the treatment of achalasia were analyzed. Indices derived from the radionuclide transit study were the percentage of maximum activity remaining in the esophagus 30 s after swallowing a dilute volume of tracer (A30 s) and the percentage of retained activity remaining at 100 s after washout with a bolus of water (A100 s). Indices derived from the barium swallow were a subjective grading of the degree of esophageal dilatation on a 4-point scale and a similar grading of the maximum distensibility of the gastroesophageal channel. Twenty five pairs of radionuclide and barium studies in 18 patients were analyzed. There was statistically significant correlation between the amount of retained activity on the radionuclide studies and degree of esophageal dilatation on the barium studies (r = 0.69 for A30 s, r = 0.56 for A100 s, P = < 0.01). There was no correlation between the amount of retained activity on the radionuclide studies and the degree of distension of the gastroesophageal channel on barium studies. The relationship between the radionuclide esophageal transit curve and barium appearances of the esophagus following pneumatic balloon dilatation for the treatment of achalasia is complex. The transit study provides unreliable information about the distensibility of the gastroesophageal channel and should not be relied upon in isolation for assessment of the efficacy of treatment.
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PMID:A comparison of barium swallow and erect esophageal transit scintigraphy following balloon dilatation for achalasia. 984 1


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