Although TIF resulted in an improved GERD-related quality of life and produced a short-term improvement of the antireflux barrier in a selected group of GERD patients, no long-term objective reflux control was achieved.
TIF reduced the number of postprandial TLESRs, the number of TLESRs associated with reflux and EGJ distensibility. This resulted in a reduction of the number and proximal extent of reflux episodes and improvement of acid exposure in the upright position. The anti-reflux effect of TIF showed to be selective for liquid-containing reflux only, thereby preserving the ability of venting gastric air.
Reduction in acid reflux by endoscopic fundoplication or PPI therapy leads to an increase in baseline impedance in GERD patients, likely to reflect recovery of mucosal integrity. The impact of non-acid reflux events on esophageal mucosal integrity may be limited as no difference in the increase in baseline impedance was observed after both treatment options. The lack of association between impedance baseline and heartburn severity indicates that other factors may contribute to heartburn perception in GERD.
Vagus nerve injury occurs in up to 20% of patients after ARS. Reflux control 6 months after surgery was not affected by vagus nerve injury. However, long-term follow-up showed a negative effect on reflux symptom control and re-operation rate in patients with vagus nerve injury.
In the absence of visible mucosal damage, it is hypothesized that the esophageal mucosal barrier is functionally impaired in patients with non-erosive reflux disease (NERD). The aim of the present study was to perform an exploratory analysis of the mucosal barrier in NERD compared to erosive esophagitis (EE) and controls. A second aim was to explore TRPV1 gene transcription in relation to the mucosal barrier function and heartburn symptoms. In this prospective study, 10 NERD patients, 11 patients with active erosive esophagitis and 10 healthy volunteers were included. Biopsies from non-eroded mucosa were obtained for (1) ex vivo analyses (Ussing chamber) of transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and permeability (2) gene transcription of tight-junction proteins and transient receptor potential vanilloid subfamily member 1 (TRPV1). No differences in TEER or permeability were found between NERD and healthy volunteers, whereas TEER was lower in patients with erosive esophagitis. TRPV1 gene transcription was not significantly different between EE, NERD and controls. Conclusions: esophageal mucosal barrier function and TRPV1 transcription is not significantly altered in NERD patients. Future research is needed to explore other potential mechanisms that may account for the high symptom burden in these patients.
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