Active clinical trials for "Esophageal Achalasia"

Would systemic steroids be an effective treatment in early variants of achalasia?

This study is to evaluate outcomes of a less invasive surgical procedure for the treatment of achalasia.

POEM (Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy) is an endoscopic procedure most commonly used to treat achalasia. Achalasia is a disorder resulting from the inability of esophageal muscles to relax.The POEM procedure, performed under general anesthesia, involves inserting an endoscope into the esophagus where a specialized knife is able to cut a new pathway through the esophageal tissue. The knife is then used to incise, and therefore loosen, tight muscles within the esophagus, lower esophageal sphincter, and the upper region of the stomach that are responsible for the symptoms.This study seeks to improve patient's post-operative pain levels by placing ropivacaine (a local anesthetic) into the newly cut pathway that is created in the POEM procedure. It is hypothesized that the topical irrigation of the POEM tunnel with ropivacaine will result in decreased pain scores and a decreased need for additional pain medications.

Aim of this study is to compare the outcomes of a short esophageal myotomy extending from 3 cm cephalad to the EGJ, to 3 cm distal to it with a long esophageal myotomy with an additional proximal extension (at least 6 cm cephalad to the EGJ, to 3 cm distal) for POEM procedures. Principle of POEM is to reduce pressure gradient across LES by Myotomy. Hypothesis is that performing short myotomy will result in similar efficacy in achalasia cardia while reducing the total time taken for the procedure and ultimately will result in less complications.

This research is being done to see if a study drug called amyl nitrite can be helpful with diagnosing different disorders affecting the lower esophageal sphincter in patients with dysphagia (difficulty swallowing foods) undergoing high resolution esophageal manometry (HRM). Dysphagia may be one of the symptoms of a condition known as idiopathic achalasia. Achalasia is a disorder of the esophagus, the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach. This affects the ability of the esophagus to move food toward the stomach. Pseudoachalasia is a secondary form of achalasia, which has very similar symptoms but is caused by different reasons. Because the treatments for achalasia and pseudoachalasia are different, it is important to correctly diagnose each condition. At this time, there is no way to distinguish the two with the current tests used at Johns Hopkins. Amyl nitrite relaxes vascular smooth muscle and has been studied previously as a potential means to separate achalasia from pseudoachalasia. Amyl nitrite is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of cardiac angina. It is not approved for use in motility testing and its use in this study is considered investigational. Investigators hope that the results from the proposed study could have significant clinical implications for patient management by helping doctors distinguish between achalasia and pseudoachalasia and allow them to choose appropriate treatment. Patients with dysphagia (difficulty swallowing foods) undergoing routinely scheduled high resolution esophageal manometry (HRM) may join this study.

Esophageal outflow obstruction is characterized by failure to relax the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), resulting in impaired flow of ingested food into the stomach. The subsequent stasis of ingested food leads to symptoms of dysphagia, regurgitation, chest pain, and weight loss. The core objective of the treatment of esophageal outflow obstruction is to disrupt the LES and reduce its pressure to allow esophageal emptying. Therapeutic options include pharmacologic therapy, Botulinum toxin injection, pneumatic balloon dilation, and surgical myotomy with partial fundoplication. In addition, peroral endoscopy myotomy (POEM) has recently been introduced as a minimally invasive treatment, but there have a few studies regarding long-term outcomes. The aim of this study is to evaluate clinical outcomes of POEM for esophageal outflow obstruction.

Achalasia is a rare esophageal motility disorder, characterized by incomplete lower esophageal sphincter relaxation, increased Lower esophageal sphincter (LES) tone, and aperistalsis of the esophagus. Typical clinical symptoms are dysphagia,regurgitation and chest pain. Traditional treatments include endoscopic balloon dilatation or botulinum toxin injection, laparoscopic Heller myotomy with or without a partial fundoplication. Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) has been developed as a further endoscopic effective and minimal invasive treatment. The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy and safety of POEM in our department, and to assess short-term and long-term efficacy of POEM by using Stooler score, Echardt score, esophageal barium and manometry.

Flavanols, present in dark chocolate, were shown to induce Nitric Oxide synthesis. Since Nitric Oxide facilitates smooth muscle relaxation, it might ease the relaxation of the LES (lower esophageal sphincter)as well. The objective of the present study is to evaluate tha efficacy of dark chocolate in improving LES relaxation in achalasia patients.

The aim of this study is to compare efficacy of POEM and pneumatic dilatation in treatment of achalasia cardia.

Achalasia is a disorder benign esophageal motor, which is characterized by failure to relax the lower esophageal sphincter ( LES) in response to swallowing associated with lack of peristalsis of the esophageal body. Its most common clinical presentation is dysphagia , and occasionally chest pain , regurgitation , aspiration pneumonia and weight loss , resulting in a large impact on daily activities and quality of life of affected individuals . There is currently considered curative treatment for achalasia , dysphagia relief being the primary therapeutic target and is forced to relax the LES by endoscopy or surgery. Thus , the most commonly used endoscopic treatments are forced dilatation of the cardia and botulinum toxin. Laparoscopic Heller myotomy with antireflux procedure with therapy is considered "gold standard " because of excellent results and minimal invasiveness. Currently , pneumatic dilation and surgical treatment with the Heller myotomy with fundoplication are strongly associated with the best therapeutic options available . In recent years, the possibility of using endoluminal access in the treatment of achalasia patients through the technique originally described as Natural orifices Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery ( NOTES) and continuing advances in the submucosal dissection has enabled the concomitant development of a new approach described as perioral endoscopic myotomy . In 2007, Pasricha et al , described the feasibility of endoscopic esophageal myotomy through a submucosal tunnel initially in an animal model . The first performance of this procedure in humans was described by Inoue et al , in 2010 , introducing the concept of transluminal endoscopic surgery through natural orifices , with the objective of minimizing the trauma and all the stress resulting from open surgical procedure . These authors call the procedure as POEM ( Per Oral Endoscopic myotomy ) .