Scientists probe the mechanics of swallowing to improve diagnosis

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * The source of the study population will be male and female subjects aged 18-85 years old inclusive (females of childbearing potential should be on highly effective contraceptive methods) and mentally capable to provide informed consent who present to the Northwestern Medicine Digestive Health Center with the chief complaint of dysphagia, regurgitation, chest pain or food impaction, or referral for treatment of achalasia, GERD, scleroderma, or endoscopy negative dysphagia. All subjects must be able to undergo endoscopy with functional lumen imaging probe (FLIP) and transnasal intubation for 4 dimensional-High Resolution Manometry (4D HRM) and 24-hour pH impedance probe. Exclusion Criteria: * Currently participating in a concurrent clinical trial or completed another trial within past 8 weeks. * Active severe esophagitis (Los Angeles esophagitis Grade C and above), Patients may be eligible once esophagitis is healed if they continue to have dysphagia in the context of healed esophagitis. Contact PD/PI: Pandolfino, John Erik Protection of Human Subjects Page 131 * Evidence of mechanical obstruction due to stricture (e.g., peptic/GERD patients, EoE, or other) or previous small bowel or colonic obstruction. * Long-segment Barrett's metaplasia. * Unstable medical illness with ongoing diagnostic work-up and treatment. Patients with well-controlled hypertension, diabetes and a remote history of ischemic heart disease that is deemed stable, as judged by the physician-investigator can be included. EKG will be performed before prucalopride in the 60 patients undergoing Experiment 1a. * Current drug or alcohol abuse or dependency. * Current neurologic or cognitive impairment which would make the patient an unsuitable candidate for a research trial. * Severe mental illness, e.g., uncontrolled major depression with suicidal ideation, active psychosis, diagnosis of schizophrenia-spectrum disorder. * Pregnant patients. * Bleeding diathesis or need for anticoagulation that cannot be stopped for endoscopy.