Proximal versus distal oesophageal motility as assessed by combined impedance and manometry

Roles of High-resolution Manometry in Predicting Incomplete Bolus Transit in Patients With Dysphagia

BACKGROUND

High-resolution manometry (HRM) is used to assess esophageal motility diseases. Abnormalities in a number of HRM parameters have been reported in patients with dysphagia. However, it is unclear whether some of abnormal HRM parameters are predictive of dysphagia. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the roles of HRM parameters in predicting incomplete bolus clearance (IBC) in patients with dysphagia using high-resolution impedance manometry.

METHODS

A total of 644 wet swallows were reviewed and analyzed in 63 patients with symptoms of dysphagia or reflux who underwent a clinical high-resolution impedance manometry test. IBC was defined based on impedance measurement. The relationship of each of abnormal HRM parameters with IBC was analyzed and their roles in predicting IBC were determined.

RESULTS

Patients with symptoms of both dysphagia and reflux showed the highest IBC rate, and patients with symptoms of reflux had the lowest IBC rate. The IBC was more prevalent in the distal esophagus. Premature contractions and peristalsis with large breaks were associated with a higher IBC rate in the proximal esophagus (P<0.05); large breaks, ineffective peristalsis, and abnormalities of the esophageal gastric junction functions were associate with higher IBC rates in the distal esophagus (P<0.05). Abnormalities in a number of motility parameters were able to predict IBC with high specificities and/or high sensitivity, such as pan esophageal pressurization, ineffective peristalsis, and large breaks. Abnormal integrative relaxation pressure of the lower esophageal sphincter with concurrent pan esophageal pressurization, ineffective peristalsis, or large breaks is predictive of IBC with nearly 100% of specificity.

CONCLUSIONS

Abnormalities in a number of HRM parameters are not only useful in diagnosing esophageal motility diseases, but also valuable in predicting IBC during swallowing.

Gastric motility measurement and evaluation based on electrical-mechanical composite mechanism

Gastric motility and emptying are a composite course involving electrical activity and mechanical contraction. In the research of gastric motility, the electrical activity should be closely connected to the subsequent mechanical contraction based on the understanding of electrical-mechanical composite mechanism. Existing simulation research and clinical research suggest that electrogastrogram (EGG) signals can provide physiological time scales, and gastric motility can be extracted from impedance signals. According to the coupling of the myoelectric activity and the mechanical contraction of the stomach, the correlation analysis of multiple signals can be performed. And then the influence of various factors such as the range, time and transmission distance of the gastric contraction can be deeply explored. The method combining gastric impedance and synchronous EGG measurements is effective and promising for evaluating gastric motility.

Differential activation of pontomedullary nuclei by acid perfusion of different regions of the esophagus

The objective of this study was to determine the brain stem nuclei and physiological responses activated by esophageal acidification. The effects of perfusion of the cervical (ESOc), or thoracic (ESOt) esophagus with PBS or HCl on c-fos immunoreactivity of the brain stem or on physiological variables, and the effects of vagotomy were examined in anesthetized cats. We found that acidification of the ESOc increased the number of c-fos positive neurons in the area postrema (AP), vestibular nucleus (VN), parabrachial nucleus (PBN), nucleus ambiguus (NA), dorsal motor nucleus (DMN), and all subnuclei of the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS), but one. Acidification of the ESOt activated neurons in the central (CE), caudal (CD), dorsomedial (DM), dorsolateral (DL), ventromedial (VM) subnuclei of NTS, and the DMN. Vagotomy blocked all c-fos responses to acid perfusion of the whole esophagus (ESOw). Perfusion of the ESOc or ESOt with PBS activated secondary peristalsis (2P), but had no effect on blood pressure, heart rate, or respiratory rate. Perfusion of the ESOc, but not ESOt, with HCl activated pharyngeal swallowing (PS), profuse salivation, or physiological correlates of emesis. Vagotomy blocked all physiological effects of ESOw perfusion. We conclude that acidification of the ESOc and ESOt activate different sets of pontomedullary nuclei and different physiological responses. The NTSce, NTScom, NTSdm, and DMN are associated with activation of 2P, the NTSim and NTSis, are associated with activation of PS, and the AP, VN, and PBN are associated with activation of emesis and perhaps nausea. All responses to esophageal fluid perfusion or acidification are mediated by the vagus nerves.

Use of electrical bioimpedance for gastric motility measurement and evaluation

Electrical bioimpedance technology is a measurement method to extract biomedical information associated with the physiological and pathological states of human body according to the electrical properties of tissue and organs. It has many outstanding advantages such as noninvasiveness, cheapness, convenience and rich function information. According to the electrical properties of the stomach tissue or the food in the stomach and the characteristics of food digestion, electrical bioimpedance methods permit to extract physiological and pathological information associated with gastric motility, investigate gastric contraction, peristalsis, transmission and emptying, and measure and evaluate gastric motility function noninvasively. In this article, we reveiw the development history of electrical bioimpedance technology and the characteristics of gastric motility impedance signal, and introduce the bioimpedance methods for measurement of gastric motility based on the concept of electrical-mechanical coupling. Besides, we also summarize the application of bioimpedance methods in the basic research of gastric motility, in the measurement of gastric motility in patients with functional dyspepsia, in the evaluation of gastric motility in patients with erosive gastritis, and in the detection and screening of gastric cancer. Moreover, we put forward some suggestions on the future development directions of bioimpedance methods for measurement of gastric motility.