Arab Journal of Gastroenterology : the Official Publication of the Pan-Arab Association of Gastroenterology

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Esophageal restenosis is a serious complication after esophageal stent placement, which influences the clinical prognosis of stent implantation and the patient's quality of life. TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway plays an important role in the development of the eosinophilic esophagitis and scar repair after skin trauma. However, the role of TGF-β1/Smads in the development of esophageal restenosis after esophageal stent placement remains unknown. Our study aimed to investigate whether TGF-β1/Smads plays an important role in the development of esophageal restenosis after esophageal stent, and whether the exogenous TGF-β1 inhibitor supplement could ameliorate the esophageal restenosis after esophageal stent...

Brunner's gland hamartoma (BGH) is a rare, benign tumor of the duodenum. It is mostly asymptomatic and usually found incidentally on routine esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). However, some BGHs present with major complications including anemia, bleeding, obstruction, or dysplasia, requiring management and resection of these lesions. Herein, we present two cases of large BGHs of the duodenum, one presenting as severe gastrointestinal bleeding and the other, noted on EGD for iron deficiency anemia, found to have high grade dysplasia...

Artificial Intelligence [AI] has been a trendy topic in recent years, with many developed medical applications. In gastrointestinal endoscopy, AI systems include computer-assisted detection [CADe] for lesion detection as bleedings and polyps and computer-assisted diagnosis [CADx] for optical biopsy and lesion characterization. The technology behind these systems is based on a computer algorithm that is trained for a specific function. This function could be to recognize or characterize target lesions such as colonic polyps...

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: The sensitivity of the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) on gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (EOB-MRI) was suboptimal. This study evaluated the LI-RADS diagnostic performance in HCC when modifying the definition of washout using the transition phase (TP) or hepatobiliary phase (HBP) hypointensity on EOB-MRI. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included patients at high risk of HCC who underwent EOB-MRI from June 2016 to June 2021...

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by accumulation of fat in the liver cells caused by means other than alcohol consumption. It is one of the most common chronic liver diseases worldwide and can lead to severe conditions, such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. NAFLD is often associated with other metabolic disorders, such as obesity and diabetes, and is closely related to lifestyle factors, such as diet and physical activity [1]. The diagnosis as well as management of NAFLD are complex and involve a multidisciplinary approach...

Hydatidosis is an endemic disease in certain areas in the world particularly in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and South America, caused by a cestode known as Echinococcus granulosus. Humans are the accidental intermediate hosts. The liver and the lungs are the most commonly involved organ. If the parasite passes through the pulmonary capillary bed, the hydatid cyst may develop at any site in the body like bone, pancreas, brain, kidney, and orbit. Isolated spleen hydatid cyst is very rare. We hereby report one observation of isolated hydatid cyst of the spleen in a patient living in non-endemic area and without any potential risk...

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Use of Foley catheter in patients with ileostomy, for the decompression of large bowel distal to stoma or for the administration of large bowel enema through colostomy, either to treat constipation or for bowel preparation prior to colonoscopy, is a common practice. Accidental migration of catheter during bowel irrigation through stoma can take place if it is not secured externally to the skin. We present 2 such cases with intra-colonic migration of Foley catheter that occurred during bowel irrigation and were retrieved endoscopically...

Endoscopy is an important method for diagnosing gastrointestinal (GI) diseases. In this study, we provide an overview of the advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the field of GI endoscopy over recent years, including esophagus, stomach, large intestine, and capsule endoscopy (small intestine). AI-assisted endoscopy shows high accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity in the detection and diagnosis of GI diseases at all levels. Hence, AI will make a breakthrough in the field of GI endoscopy in the near future...

Illnesses that afflict a tiny number of individuals are referred to as rare diseases (RDs), sometimes called orphan diseases. The local healthcare systems are constantly under financial, psychological, and medical strain due to low incidence rates, unusual presentations, flawed diagnostic standards, and a lack of treatment alternatives for these RDs. The effective management of the once widely spread viral hepatitis B and C has altered the spectrum of liver diseases in Egypt during the last several years. The detection of uncommon disorders such as autoimmune, cholestatic, and hereditary liver diseases has also been made easier by the increasing knowledge and greater accessibility of specific laboratory testing...

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: MicroRNA (miRNA) is involved in diverse biological and physiological processes of tumors. Dysregulation of miRNA will induce a series of human diseases. miR-129-2-3p has vital effects in the pathogenesis of various tumors. However, the regulatory function of miR-129-2-3p in colon cancer remains to be clarified. This study investigated the role of miR-129-2-3p targeting BZW1 in proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion of colon cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Here, RT-qPCR was applied to measure the miR-129-2-3p levels in colon cancer tissues...

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: It has been suggested that the combined detection of multiple serum biomarkers can effectively screen out the high-risk population of chronic atrophic gastritis in the general population. Therefore, it is necessary to establish an effective predictive model of chronic atrophic gastritis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Serum biopsies were assessed using five stomach-specific circulating biomarkers pepsinogen I (PGI), PGII, PGI/II ratio, anti- H...

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIM: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, and, more than half of these cases are diagnosed in China. However, effective treatment for HCC is still limited. MATERIAL AND METHODS: C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) was first activated and inhibited in HepG2 cells using a pharmacological method. HepG2 cell proliferation was detected using the CCK-8 method. Metastasis and apoptosis of HepG2 cells were detected using wound healing and flow cytometry...

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Glypican 2 (GPC2) is a member of the glypican gene family and is expressed in multiple kinds of cancer. However, the function and mechanism of GPC2 in colorectal cancer remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to identify the role of GPC2 on tumor cell proliferation and survival in colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ten pairs of colon cancer and matched normal colon tissues were collected in this research. GEPIA was used to analysis the GPC2 gene expression profile in TGCA data base...

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIM: Gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a curative treatment for gastric neoplasm. A scheduled second-look endoscopy could be performed to prevent delayed post-ESD bleeding. However, no studies on the efficacy of second-look endoscopy for the prevention of early delayed post-ESD bleeding have been conducted. So, the aim of this study was to be the first to investigate the efficacy of immediate second-look endoscopy for the prevention of post-ESD bleeding...

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic liver disease, comprising hepatic steatosis, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Periodontal disease (PD) may be a risk factor for the evolution of liver cirrhosis. This study aimed to evaluate the association between NAFLD and PD.We searched in Pubmed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Lilacs databases with descriptors (Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease OR (non-alcoholic AND Fatty Liver AND disease) OR Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis) AND (Periodontal Disease OR Gingivitis OR Periodontitis) from January 2021 to September 2021...

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIM: Fungi have a well-established role in medicine. Herein, we describe the fungal profile and abundance in the gut of healthy Saudi children. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fecal samples from a random sample of 20 school-age Saudi children were collected, stored at -80 °C, and dispatched to the laboratory in the USA where fungal DNAs were isolated and shotgun metagenomic sequencing was performed. Abundance was presented as average percentage of fungal taxa...

Bleeding disorders can exacerbate gastrointestinal bleeding in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) at the time of diagnosis or flares. Factor VII (FVII) deficiency is a life-threatening rare congenital bleeding disorder in childhood. This study describes three adolescent patients with IBD accompanied by acquired FVII deficiency. This is the first case series of patients with IBD accompanied by FVII deficiency. We hypothesized that inflammation, accelerated consumption, disease severity, and weight loss can cause decreased FVII activity in patients diagnosed with IBD...

Intestinal perforation is described in coeliac disease in the setting of refractoriness or Enteropathy-Associated T-cell Lymphoma (EATL). We report the case of a man with untreated coeliac disease who presented intestinal perforation and was diagnosed with EATL over one year later.

BACKGROUNDS AND STUDY AIMS: The fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) is a non-invasive scoring system for estimating liver fibrosis severity as a biomarker of chronic liver disease. We aimed to estimate the prevalence and severity of chronic liver disease at the community level using FIB-4. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted using the Pars Cohort database collected in Valashar, Fars province, Iran. Participants were divided into three groups based on their FIB-4 scores: low risk of liver fibrosis (FIB < 1...