RESUMO
Objective To evaluate the expression of substance P (SP) and caltenin gene related peptide (CGRP) in esophagueal mucosa from patients with non-erosive gnstroesophageal reflux disease (NERD) and reflux esophagitis (RE) and to explore their role in the development of NERD. Methods Fif-ty-one patients with typical symptoms of gnstroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) were evaluated with reflux disease questionnaire (RDQ), PPI test, endoscopy and 24hr esophageal pH monitoring. The patients were then divided into RE group (n = 21), NERD group with acid refluux (NERD+, n = 12) and NERD group without acid reflux (NERD-, n = 18) according to the evaluation results. The expression of SP and CGRP in esophagus mucosa from these patients and 10 healthy control subjects were assayed by immunohistochemis-try, and the stain positive index (PI) was calculated by Color patho-image analysis software and compared. Results The PIs of SP and CGRP in NERD- group were 96.77±31.74 and 24.76±29.15, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of NERD+ group (73.64±31.38, 9.78±10.30, respectively, P < 0.05), RE group (67.56±34.62, 9.61±6.20, respectively, P < 0.05) and control group (59.82± 46.15, 8.64±12.12, respectively, P < 0.05). Conclusion Expressions of SP and CGRP in esophagus mucosa from NERD patients without detectable acid reflux are significantly increased, they may play an im-portant role in esophageal visceral sensitivity.