Impact of oesophageal afferent processing on regulatory and protective reflexes, and perception of symptoms

Funded Activity Summary

Symptoms of acid reflux, heartburn and regurgitation, are extremely common, occurring weekly in 20% of the population. Curiously, about 1-4 of people with heartburn don't have any more acid exposing their oesophagus than do normal people. We do not understand this apparent increased sensitivity. Many patients with reflux present with cough, asthma, hoarseness, sore throat or even lung fibrosis. Regurgitation of acid causes some of these conditions. It is estimated that 60% of adult asthmatics have reflux for example. The purpose of this research is to examine the notion that the sensory nerves coming from the oesophagus are somehow tuned up to fire off too readily. If true this phenomenon may well underlie the inappropriate relaxation of the oesophageal valve mechanisms that normally prevent acid flowing up into the throat and into the airways. Additionally it may explain why so many sufferers seem to be hypersensitive to even small amounts of acid. These studies will better define the nerve pathways involved in heartburn and regurgitation and help us target these diseases with specific drugs in the future.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2003

End Date: 01-01-2005

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $247,500.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Sport and exercise nutrition

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

Diagnostic techniques | Gastro-oesophageal reflux | Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease | Gastrointestinal motility | Neural reflexes | Novel therapies for reflux disease | Pathophysiology | Visceral perception

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