Duodenal hypersensitivity to acid in patients with functional dyspepsia-pathogenesis and evaluation

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a subcategory of the functional gastrointestinal disorders according to the Rome III classification of functional gastroduodenal disorders. FD is characterized by the presence of symptoms that are believed to be associated with gastroduodenal lesions, particularly epigastric pain or burning, postprandial fullness, or early satiation, without the evidence of organic disease likely to explain the onset of these symptoms. Generally, multiple factors are considered to be involved in the onset of dyspeptic symptoms in patients with FD. Among these factors, acid is thought to be more important because proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and histamine 2 (H2)-receptor antagonists have been proposed to be effective therapies for a subset of patients with FD. Although manometric methods, scintigraphic methods, electrogastrography and ultrasonography have been used to evaluate enterokinesis, a practical method for evaluating duodenal hypersensitivity to acid has not been reported. Recently, we attempted to evaluate duodenal hypersensitivity to acid and gastric motility by duodenal acidification using transnasal endoscopy. Using this method, we could simultaneously evaluate both dyspeptic symptoms and gastric motility in healthy volunteers. Furthermore, we evaluated duodenal hypersensitivity to acid in healthy volunteers and in patients with FD, and we reported that duodenal acidification induced dyspeptic symptoms more significantly in patients with FD than in healthy volunteers.