[Functional dyspepsia--a stress disease].

Because non-ulcer dyspepsia is associated with stress and motility disturbances it is now called functional dyspepsia. Compared with healthy persons, patients with functional dyspepsia are characterized by poor vagal tone, wider gastric antrum both fasting and postprandially, lack of stress-related repression of antral motility and meal-induced dyspeptic symptoms. Postprandial discomfort is related to antral distension. Poor vagal tone may cause antral distension and dysmotility as well as symptoms in these patients. Treatment programmes or drugs which improve vagal tone may be beneficial.