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Characteristic pathological findings in reflux oesophagitis
Recently, the number of patients with GERD has increased in Japan. However, there have been few reports about the pathological findings in the oesophageal squamous epithelium, and there are differing opinions among pathologists about the findings considered characteristic of chronic reflux oesophagitis.
Dr Daisuke Asaoka and his colleagues from Juntendo University (Japan) used a rat model of chronic acid-reflux oesophagitis to explore the oesophageal mucosal damage macroscopically and microscopically throughout the entire oesophagus, including the upper oesophagus close to the hypopharynx, and to investigate the protective effects of ecabet sodium (ES) on the oesophageal mucosa. This was published on 28 July in the World Journal of Gastroenterology,
Their research revealed that epithelial thickening occurs at the same time as inflammatory cell infiltration in the middle to lower oesophagus in chronic acid-reflux oesophagitis. Furthermore, they demonstrated that inflammatory cells infiltrated the epithelium of the upper oesophagus close to the hypopharynx, where there was no evidence of ulcers. These findings suggested that the reflux of gastric juice can extend to the upper oesophagus close to the hypopharynx.
Moreove, the research also demonstrated that ES inhibited the epithelial thickening of the lower and middle oesophagus, which suggested that ES may play a useful defensive role in the prevention of reflux oesophagitis.
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