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World J Gastroenterol. Sep 28, 2026; 32(36): 118689
Published online Sep 28, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.118689
Published online Sep 28, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.118689
Serum anti-enteric neuronal antibodies in patients with achalasia and their association with clinical profiles
Yao-Wen Hu, Pan Tang, Tao Guo, Zhi-Feng Wang, Xiu-Cai Fang, Li-Ming Zhu, Gui-Jun Fei, Yang Chen, Xiao-Qing Li, Department of Gastroenterology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China
Co-first authors: Yao-Wen Hu and Pan Tang.
Author contributions: Hu YW and Tang P contributed equally to this study, as they are co-first authors; Hu YW, Tang P, and Li XQ contributed to conceptualization and design; Hu YW, Tang P, Guo T, Wang ZF, Fang XC, Zhu LM, and Fei GJ contributed to data collection; Hu YW, Tang P, Guo T, Wang ZF, and Chen Y contributed to data analysis and interpretation; Li XQ conceived and supervised the study; and all authors contributed to manuscript drafting and revision and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81970476.
Institutional review board statement: The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Peking Union Medical College Hospital (approval No. I-25PJ0734).
Clinical trial registration statement: The study was registered on the official website of clinical trials (https://clinicaltrials.gov, No. NCT07451301).
Informed consent statement: All participants provided written informed consent before enrolment in the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 Statement.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author at lixiaoqing20060417@126.com.
Corresponding author: Xiao-Qing Li, MD, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No. 1 Shuaifuyuan, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100730, China.
Received: January 19, 2026
Revised: March 10, 2026
Accepted: April 15, 2026
Published online: September 28, 2026
Processing time: 216 Days and 23.2 Hours
Revised: March 10, 2026
Accepted: April 15, 2026
Published online: September 28, 2026
Processing time: 216 Days and 23.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Serum anti-enteric neuronal antibodies (AENA) are significantly more prevalent in patients with achalasia than in healthy subjects. This study identifies a novel dose-dependent association between AENA intensity and endoscopic disease severity, as assessed by the CARS (contents, anatomy, resistance, and stasis) score. Strong AENA positivity correlates with greater esophageal dilation and higher integrated relaxation pressure. Furthermore, AENA positivity is associated with less favorable symptomatic improvement after peroral endoscopic myotomy. These findings suggest that AENA status may serve as a valuable biomarker for identifying a more severe disease phenotype with poorer early treatment outcomes.