HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Huang, M. H. Articles by Chien, K. Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Huang, M. H. Articles by Chien, K. Y.

The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Vol 95, 281-285, Copyright © 1988 by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery and The Western Thoracic Surgical Association

ARTICLES

Esophageal manometric studies in patients with myasthenia gravis

MH Huang, KL King and KY Chien
Department of Surgery, National Yang-Ming Medical College, Taipei, Republic of China.

Dysphagia is often present early, with varying degrees of involvement, in patients with myasthenia gravis. Twenty-five patients with a clinical status of myasthenia gravis were graded according to a modified Osserman classification and the esophageal manometric results were reported according to their clinical status. The results were also compared with those in 20 normal control subjects. Twenty-four patients (96%) had abnormal motility. The only patient who was in class I had a normal tracing. There was no significant difference in function of the lower esophageal sphincter, but a significant decrease in mean amplitude (15.1 +/- 6.1 versus 29.7 +/- 4.7 mm Hg) and a prolongation in mean duration of the peristaltic wave (7.4 +/- 2.8 versus 4.5 +/- 0.2 seconds) was noted in the upper esophagus. The cricopharyngeal sphincter pressure also showed a significant decrease (23.4 +/- 9.5 versus 43.1 +/- 3.1 mm Hg), but relaxation and coordination were good. The mean amplitudes, mean duration of peristaltic waves, and cricopharyngeal pressures between the myasthenic and control populations were statistically significant, with a p value of 0.001. Besides this, frequent spontaneous contractions, simultaneous contractions, and biphasic repetitive contractions typical of peristaltic dysfunction were also found in myasthenic patients. Motor dysfunction of the esophagus as assessed by manometric study correlates well with Osserman's modified clinical classification.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M Llabres, F J Molina-Martinez, and F Miralles Dysphagia as the sole manifestation of myasthenia gravis J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, September 1, 2005; 76(9): 1297 - 1300. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Ertekin, N. Yüceyar, and I. Aydogdu Clinical and electrophysiological evaluation of dysphagia in myasthenia gravis J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, December 1, 1998; 65(6): 848 - 856. [Abstract] [Full Text]