Achalasia is a swallowing disorder caused by loss of function in the esophageal body and the lower esophageal sphincter (the muscular ring at the junction of the esophagus and the stomach). Normally, when people swallow, the esophageal body will sequentially contact and the sphincter relaxes to allow food and liquid to pass into the stomach. With achalasia, the esophageal body do not contact and the sphincter does not relax, which causes food to be lodged in that area.
Symptoms usually worsen over time, leading to the person not tolerating both solids and liquids diet. These symptoms include :
Many medical experts believe that the degeneration of the nerve cells that signal the brain to relax the esophageal body and the esophageal sphincter causes achalasia. Although the underlying cause of this degeneration is unknown, some have proposed an autoimmune disease or infectious source.
The goal of treating this case is to allow food to pass smoothly, either with drugs, balloon dilation, surgery or endoscopy (botulinum toxin injection). Drugs with calcium channel blockers or those containing nitrate will help reduce the symptoms of achalasia, but the level of effectiveness is low.
