1Division of Clinical Psychology Public Hospital of Zell am See, Zell am See, Austria 2Department of General Surgery Public Hospital of Zell am See, Zell am See, Austria Although gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can be traced back to disorders of the gastroesophageal junction, stress and other relevant psychological factors can play an important role in the process of GERD. It would seem ...

Achalasia and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are on opposite ends of the spectrum of lower esophageal sphincter dysfunction. Heartburn is the main symptom of GERD. However, heartburn and regurgitation are frequently observed in patients who have achalasia. The diagnosis of achalasia might be delayed because these symptoms are misinterpreted as gastroesophageal reflux. Here, we reviewed ...

BACKGROUND Previous studies have evidenced an association between gastroesophageal reflux and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA). It is unknown to what extent these associations vary by population, age, sex, body mass index, and cigarette smoking, or whether duration and frequency of symptoms interact in predicting risk. The Barrett's and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium (BEACON) allowed an in-...

A case of severe reflux esophagitis related to progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) and proximal gastrectomy was successfully treated with oral erythromycin (EM). A 53-year-old woman was troubled with severe heartburn related to PSS for a long period and had undergone proximal gastrectomy for a gastric cancer a few months before. She was not readily made free from heartburn by any anti-ulcer dr...

Gastro-oesophageal reflux (GER) and the symptoms of heartburn and regurgitation are common in pregnancy. These symptoms are transient and mostly resolve postpartum but have a negative impact on quality of life. Here, we present a prospective clinical evaluation of the safety and efficacy of an alginate raft-forming oral suspension that is licensed for use in pregnancy. The study was a multicent...

OBJECTIVES A novel catheter that can measure mucosal admittance (MA), the inverse of impedance, was developed recently. In this pilot study, we aimed to clarify the usefulness of measuring MA for diagnosing gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). METHODS We conducted two prospective studies. In the first study, esophageal MA was evaluated in 120 participants (24 with erosive esophagitis, 82 w...

A relevant percentage of non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) is refractory to proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) treatment. Multichannel intraluminal impedance pH (MII-pH) monitoring should give useful pathophysiological information about refractoriness. Therefore, our aim was to assess whether this technique could be useful to guide a 'tailored' therapy in refractory NERD. We retrospectively recruite...

BACKGROUND Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a chronic disease with a negative impact on the quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the reflux symptoms and the health-related quality of life in a population with GERD. METHODS Data from patients with GERD, according to the Montreal definition, were collected between January and December 2009. The enrolled patients we...

BACKGROUND - Medical literature has shown dyspepsia and heartburn-related symptoms occur among 15% to 40% of the population. These symptoms can occur at any age and are more prevalent in women. OBJECTIVE - Investigate the prevalence of dyspeptic symptoms and heartburn among individuals over 18. METHODS - Individuals over 18 were randomly selected in public venues in Belo Horizonte/MG to par...

Noxious stimuli in the esophagus activate nociceptive receptors on esophageal mucosa, such as transient receptor potential, acid-sensing ion channel and the P2X family, a family of ligand-gated ion channels responsive to ATP, and this generates signals that are transmitted to the central nervous system via either spinal nerves or vagal nerves, resulting in esophageal sensation. Among the noxiou...