P, Drewes AM, Gregersen H. The functional lumen imaging probe (FLIP) for evaluation of the esophagogastric junction. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 292: G377-G384, 2007. First published August 31, 2006; doi:10.1152/ajpgi.00311.2006.-There is a need for new methods to study the dynamics of the esophagogastric junction (EGJ). The aims were to verify the efficacy and usefulness of a "functional lumen imaging probe" (FLIP) for the evaluation of the EGJ. Eight healthy volunteers (6 men), median age 26 (21-35) yr, and two achalasia patients underwent the FLIP procedure. The EGJ was located by manometry. The FLIP measured eight cross-sectional areas (CSAs) 4 mm apart together with the pressure inside a saline-filled cylindrical bag. The data showed the geometric profile of the EGJ reconstructed in a video animation of its dynamic activity. A plot of curve-fitted data for the smallest CSA vs. pressure after balloon distension indicated that the pressure increased from 18 cmH 2O at a CSA of 38 mm 2 to a pressure of 37 cmH2O at a CSA of 230 mm 2 for the healthy controls. In one achalasia patient (unsuccessfully treated with dilations), the CSA never rose above the minimal measurable value despite the pressure increasing to 50 cmH2O. In another achalasia patient (successfully treated with dilations), the pressure only reached 15 cmH2O despite opening to a CSA of 250 mm 2 . In conclusion, FLIP represents the first dynamic technique to profile the function and anatomy of the EGJ. The method can be used practically to evaluate difficult cases of EGJ dysfunction and may provide a role in evaluating patients before and after therapies for diseases affecting the EGJ such as achalasia and gastroesophageal reflux disease. esophagus; competence; distensibility; cross-sectional area; functional imaging THE LOWER ESOPHAGEAL SPHINCTER (LES) is not solely responsible for impeding the flow between the esophagus and the stomach. The crural diaphragm encircles ϳ2 cm of the esophagogastric junction (EGJ), and the sling or oblique fibers of the stomach also contribute to the mechanism (15, 21). Esophageal and gastric motility, pressures in the abdominal and thoracic cavities, and the exact location of the EGJ all play a role in defining its function. The anatomy and behavior of the EGJ also change with time and body posture (20). The EGJ is a very dynamic mechanical structure. A lot of knowledge about the anatomy of the EGJ has been assembled over the last 40 years, but much of our limited understanding of the behavior has been related to manometric studies. Intraluminal pressure recording is the current gold standard for determining the motility characteristics of the esophagus. Although manometry provides useful information on the location of the EGJ and on phasic motility within the lumens of the digestive tract, it may be more restrictive in what it can tell us about sphincteric regions and their dynamics.Two classic diseases involving the EGJ are gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and achalasia. Achalasia is an esophageal ...

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Key Points• The aim was to explore the effect of combined electrical and physiological modulation of vagal tone on musculoskeletal pain thresholds and gastroduodenal motility.• Eighteen healthy subjects were included in a subject-blinded, sham-controlled, cross-over study with an active protocol including transcutaneous electrical vagal nerve stimulation and deep slow breathing.• Recording of cardiac derived parameters including cardiac vagal tone, moderate pain thresholds to muscle and bone pressure algometry, conditioned pain modulation using a cold pressor test, and a liquid meal ultrasonographic gastroduodenal motility test were performed.• Cardiac vagal tone, thresholds to bone pain, frequency of antral contractions, and gastroduodenal motility index all increased during active treatment compared to sham.• The presented noninvasive approach with combined electrical and physiological modulation of vagal tone enhances gastroduodenal motility and reduces somatic pain sensitivity.• These findings warrant further investigation in patients with disorders characterized with chronic pain and gastrointestinal dysmotility such as functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome. AbstractBackground The parasympathetic nervous system, whose main neural substrate is the vagus nerve, exerts a fundamental antinociceptive role and influences gastrointestinal sensori-motor function. Our research question was to whether combined electrical and physiological modulation of vagal tone, using transcutaneous electrical vagal nerve stimulation (t-VNS) and deep slow breathing (DSB) respectively, could increase musculoskeletal pain thresholds and enhance gastroduodenal motility in healthy subjects. Methods Eighteen healthy subjects were randomized to a subject-blinded, sham-controlled, cross-over study with an active protocol including stimulation of auricular branch of the vagus nerve, and breathing at full inspiratory capacity and forced full expiration. Recording of cardiac derived parameters including cardiac vagal tone, moderate pain thresholds to muscle, and bone pressure algometry, conditioned pain modulation using a cold pressor test and a liquid meal ultrasonographic gastroduodenal motility test were performed. Key Results Cardiac vagal tone increased during active treatment with t-VNS and DSB

Opioids are the most commonly prescribed medications to treat severe pain in the Western world. It has been estimated that up to 90% of American patients presenting to specialized pain centres are treated with opioids. Along with their analgesic properties, opioids have the potential to produce substantial side effects, such as nausea, cognitive impairment, addiction and urinary retention. In the gut, opioids exert their action on the enteric nervous system, where they bind to the myenteric and submucosal plexuses, causing dysmotility, decreased fluid secretion and sphincter dysfunction, which all leads to opioid-induced bowel dysfunction (OIBD). In the clinic, this is reported as nausea, vomiting, gastro-oesophageal reflux-related symptoms, constipation, etc. One of the most severe symptoms is constipation, which can be assessed using different scales for subjective assessment. Objective methods such as radiography and colonic transit time can also be used, together with manometry and evaluation of anorectal function to explore the pathophysiology. Dose-limiting adverse symptoms of OIBD can lead to insufficient pain treatment. Even though several treatment strategies are available, the side effects are still a major challenge. Traditional laxatives are normally prescribed but they are often insufficient to alleviate symptoms, especially those from the upper gastrointestinal tract. Newer prokinetics, such as prucalopride and lubiprostone, may be more effective in alleviating OIBD. Another treatment approach is co-administration of opioid antagonists, which either cannot cross the blood-brain barrier or selectively target opioid receptors in the gastrointestinal tract. However, although these new agents have proved to be more efficacious than placebo, clinical trials still need to prove their superiority to standard co-prescribed laxative regimes.

Gastrointestinal (GI) sensory-motor abnormalities are common in patients with diabetes mellitus and may involve any part of the GI tract. Abnormalities are frequently sub-clinical, and fortunately only rarely do severe and life-threatening problems occur. The pathogenesis of abnormal upper GI sensory-motor function in diabetes is incompletely understood and is most likely multi-factorial of origin. Diabetic autonomic neuropathy as well as acute suboptimal control of diabetes has been shown to impair GI motor and sensory function. Morphological and biomechanical remodeling of the GI wall develops during the duration of diabetes, and may contribute to motor and sensory dysfunction. In this review sensory and motility disorders of the upper GI tract in diabetes is discussed; and the morphological changes and biomechanical remodeling related to the sensory-motor dysfunction is also addressed.

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Patients with active ulcerative colitis have hypersensitivity and increased tone of the smooth muscles, which may explain the symptoms. Drugs that affect smooth muscle contraction may be helpful in difficult cases.