Serum nitrates and vasoactive intestinal peptide in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Background: The normal esophageal motility is a balance between excitatory cholinergic "muscarinic" innervations and noncholinergic nonadrenergic inhibitory innervations. The latter is mediated by nitric oxide (NO) and/or vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP).

Methods: The study included 50 patients with gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), and 10 healthy controls of matched age and sex.