Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology

BACKGROUND: There is an unmet need for safe and effective medicines to treat children with Crohn's disease. Recently, investigations have shown an association between endogenous opioid peptides and inflammatory cells. AIMS: The aims of this study were to evaluate the safety and tolerability of an opioid antagonist, naltrexone, in children with moderate to severe Crohn's disease. METHODS: A pilot clinical trial was conducted in children with moderate to severe Crohn's disease...

GOALS: To evaluate the incidence of extraesophageal malignancies among patients with Barrett esophagus (BE). BACKGROUND: Gastroesophageal reflux disease has been reported to be associated with upper aerodigestive malignancies. BE is considered a consequence of long-standing gastroesophageal reflux disease; however, the association of BE with extraesophageal malignancies is controversial. STUDY: The database of the largest health service provider in Israel was queried for all patients diagnosed with BE between 2000 and 2010...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

The prevalence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has become a focus of increased attention, as the C. difficile epidemic continues to grow. Although first documented more than 20 years ago, only in recent years has the relationship between these 2 entities been better clarified, and recent epidemiologic studies have shown that IBD patients are at increased susceptibility for CDI compared with the general population. Despite this increased attention, much still remains unknown, and the overlapping clinical presentations of CDI and IBD pose barriers to diagnosis and standardized treatment...

BACKGROUND/GOALS: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is common in cirrhotic patients and has high associated mortality. SBP is preventable with antibiotic prophylaxis. The aim of this study was to identify patients at high risk to develop SBP based on their peripheral blood CD4 T-cell function. METHODS: Fifty-seven patients with cirrhosis and ascites were followed for the development of SBP. All patients had CD4 assay performed through phytohemagglutinin stimulation of peripheral blood, which was quantified by measuring adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release by luciferin/luciferase assay...