Nemaline rods in cricopharyngeal dysphagia.

Cricopharyngeal dysphagia, a disorder of uncertain pathogenesis, is most frequently found in patients with associated gastroesophageal reflux. Seven patients who had dominant cricopharyngeal dysphagia were evaluated. Manometry showed characteristic motor incoordination. Biochemical profiles and endoscopy were normal. Electronmicroscopic examination of the cricopharyngeal muscle biopsy specimens obtained during myotomy showed significant ultrastructural abnormalities. These included numerous and aberrant mitochondria, increased glycogen, lipid inclusions, and phagolysozomes. A striking finding was the presence of numerous nemaline rods in five of seven biopsy specimens examined. The pathologic changes in this muscle in cryopharyngeal dysphagia have not been reported previously. Structural changes are thought to be a secondary response to reflux injury. Nemaline rods form part of the structural abnormality of muscle in patients who have cricopharyngeal dysphasia with no evidence of underlying generalized disease or myopathy.