title: The hypersensitive esophagus: pathophysiology, evaluation, and treatment options.
abstract: Visceral hypersensitivity plays a key role in the pathogenesis of esophageal functional disorders such as functional heartburn and chest pain of presumed esophageal origin (noncardiac chest pain). About 80% of patients with unexplained noncardiac chest pain exhibit lower esophageal sensory thresholds when compared to controls during esophageal sensory testing (ie, esophageal barostat, impedance planimetry). Such information has led to prescription of peripherally and/or centrally acting therapies for the management of these patients. This review summarizes and highlights recent and significant findings regarding the pathophysiology, evaluation, and treatment of the hypersensitive esophagus, a central factor in functional esophageal disorders.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Fisiologia Digestiva y Motilidad Gastrointestinal, Instituto de Investigaciones Medico Biologicas, Iturbide s/n, Col. Flores Magon, Veracruz, Veracruz, CP 91400, Mexico. joremes@uv.mx
authors.forename: Jose M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Remes-Troche
mesh_terms: D002637:Chest Pain / Q000209:etiology; D004935:Esophageal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015154:Esophageal Motility Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D004947:Esophagus / Q000294:innervation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans