Heartburn, the main symptom of gastrooesophageal reflux disease (GORD), might be expected to occur infrequently in achalasia, a disorder characterised by a hypertensive lower oesophageal sphincter (LOS) that fails to relax. Nevertheless, it is often described by patients with achalasia. The medical records of 32 patients with untreated achalasia who complained of heartburn, and of 35 similar pa...

AIM The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of Heller myotomy for the treatment of achalasia in a referral center in Tehran, and investigate the clinical characteristics, manometric results and treatment responses among three achalasia subtypes in Iranian patients. BACKGROUND Esophageal achalasia is an unusual swallowing disorder, characterized by high pressure in the lower es...

INTRODUCTION A paper presented a case of esophageal achalasia with both type 2 and type 3 achalasia found in the same patient. CASE OUTLINE High resolution impedance manometry of esophagus was performed. Liquid swallows induced panesophageal pressurization (achalasia type 2), whereas viscous swallows led to compartmentalized pressurization--distal two thirds of esophagus (achalasia type 3). N...

Pseudoachalasia presents typically like achalasia. It account for only 2.4-4% of patients presenting with achalasia-like symptoms. Clinical, radiologic and endoscopic findings resemble those of achalasia but treatment and prognosis are different in these conditions. The aim of this review is to give an overview of the condition and highlight challenges in diagnosis and distinguishing features b...

Achalasia Cardia is a rare neurodegenerative disorder of esophagus resulting in defective peristalsis and impaired relaxation of lower esophageal sphincter. The exact etiopathogenesis of achalasia is not known. Achalasia is associated with significant morbidity and impaired quality of life. The standard of care in patients with achalasia has been pneumatic balloon dilatation and laparoscopic he...

LES pressure increase following diaphragmatic contraction as a pinch-cock action acts as one of the barrier mechanism for gastroesophageal reflux. In achalasia patients, incomplete LES relaxation following wet swallow is one of the characteristic manometric findings, along with loss of peristalsis. On the other hand, it has been reported that swallowing effort or esophageal distention have no e...

Achalasia is a motility disorder of the esophagus, characterized by aperistalsis of the esophageal body and incomplete relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). Treatment of achalasia is currently aimed at decreasing the resting pressure in the LES. Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is an emerging novel endoscopic procedure for the treatment of achalasia with initial data suggesting a...

Achalasia is an uncommon primary motor disorder of the esophagus with an annual incidence of 0.8/100,000. Very few cases of coexistent Barrett’s esophagus (BE) and achalasia in patients without prior surgical myotomy or pneumatic dilation have been reported. We report the case of a 65-year-old female who was diagnosed with achalasia in June 2002. Endoscopy at that time revealed biopsy-confirmed...

OBJECTIVE To review the current management of achalasia, and the controversies regarding the different treatment options. METHODS A review of the literature was performed. The key words used were esophageal achalasia, Heller myotomy, endoscopic balloon dilatation, laparoscopic Heller myotomy, and fundoplication. RESULTS Patients who fail medical therapy (e.g. pharmacologic therapy, botulinu...

c 2017 The Korean Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility J Neurogastroenterol Motil, Vol. 23 No. 4 October, 2017 www.jnmjournal.org TO THE EDITOR: We read with interest the article entitled “Is Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and Achalasia Coincident or Not” published in January 2017, by Jung and Park. The title raises a very interesting question, however, in the end, the question remain...