Natural progression of the lower esophageal mucosal ring.

Among 390 patients with endoscopically verified lower esophageal mucosal ring (LEMR), 22 cases were identified with previous or subsequent radiologic examinations of the esophagogastric region. Among these, it was found that 2 cases of LEMR had developed from a normal esophagus. In 3 patients, there was increasing stenosis of the LEMR. In 8 cases, the LEMR was transformed into an esophageal stricture. In 10 of the 13 cases, esophagitis of varying degree was present endoscopically. In the 9 patients exhibiting no change in the LEMR, only 1 patient had esophagitis. The data suggest that there is a potential progression from normal esophagus to lower esophageal ring to esophageal stricture that occurs in association with reflux esophagitis.