ISRN Gastroenterology

The aim of this work was to measure peripheral lymphocyte apoptosis during IBD flare and remission. Subjects and Methods. Flow-cytometric assessment of apoptosis of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) was assessed in 30 children with IBD (16 with ulcerative colitis and 14 with Crohn's disease) compared to 22, age and sex matched, healthy children. This was carried out during a flare, whether in newly diagnosed or relapsing patients, and after achievement of remission. Clinical findings, complete blood count, liver transaminases, and kidney functions were assessed...

In traditional Iranian medicine (TIM), several edible fruits and spices are thought to have protective and healing effects on peptic ulcer (PU). The present study was conducted to verify anti-PU activity of these remedies. For this purpose, edible fruits and spices proposed for the management of PU in TIM were collected from TIM sources, and they were searched in modern medical databases to find studies that confirmed their efficacy. Findings from modern investigations support the claims of TIM about the efficacy of many fruits and spices in PU...

Cholangitis, with a clinical spectrum between acute ascending cholangitis and acute fulminant cholangitis, the mildest and the most severe forms, respectively, is the infection of bile ducts with a potential of serious mortality and morbidity. Obstruction of the bile ducts followed by infection, with E. coli being the most commonly isolated agent, is common to all forms of cholangitis. Biliary obstruction is caused by choledocholithiasis mostly. "Choledochal pressure" is the most important factor, determining morbidity...

Background. Although periampullary diverticulum is usually asymptomatic and discovered incidentally in patients during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), it may lead to post-ERCP morbidity. We compared baseline characteristics and clinical data as well as ERCP results in patients with and without periampullary diverticulum. Methods. Clinical, laboratory, and ERCP data of 780 patients referred to the Taleghani Hospital, as a great referral endoscopy center, in Iran were prospectively analyzed...

Acute pancreatitis is a lethal inflammatory condition of pancreas with high mortality rate. There is a pressing need for research to explore active agents and novel mechanisms involving in the treatment of pancreatitis. Clinical studies have shown after the initial acinar cell injury plasma levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines are elevated in patients with acute pancreatitis and the degree of cytokine elevation correlates with disease severity. Diazepam may decrease interleukin release from macrophages, suppress neutrophil activities, and exhibit anti-inflammatory effects...

Introduction. Colorectal cancer (CRC) has a high incidence. Removal of adenomas, the precursor lesion, could be helpful in the prevention of cancer. Aim. To investigate the yearly incidence of CRC in consecutive years. Patients and Methods. All patients diagnosed with CRC in the years 1990 till 2010 were studied. Date of diagnosis, age at time of diagnosis, gender, and localisation of the tumour were assessed. Results. A total of 1575 incident CRC were diagnosed, 865 men (55%) and 710 women (45%). CRC occurred more often in men...

Objective. To identify the efficiency and safety of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with percutaneous ethanol (PEI) for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) more than 3 cm in diameter in comparison with those of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization monotherapy. Methods. All databases were searched up to February 22, 2013. The literature retrieval was conducted through Pubmed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. We also searched Chinese databases, including Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biology Medicine (CBM), Wanfang database, and VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals without language limitations...

Granisetron is a 5-HT3 receptors antagonist used in the management of emesis associated with anticancer chemotherapy. It affects intestinal motility with constipating effect. Since the pathway heme oxygenase/carbon monoxide (HO/CO) is involved in gastrointestinal motility, we evaluated the possible interplay between granisetron and agents affecting HO/CO pathways such as zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZnPPIX), an HO inhibitor, or hemin, an HO-1 inducer. ZnPPIX (10 µM) or hemin (10 µM), but not granisetron (0...

Objective. To evaluate the prognostic significance of microscopically assessed DNA ploidy and other clinical and laboratory parameters in stage IV colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods. 541 patients with histologically proven stage IV CRC treated with palliative chemotherapy at our institution were included in this retrospective analysis, and 9 variables (gender, age, performance status, carcinoembryonic antigen, cancer antigen 19-9, C-Reactive Protein (CRP), anaemia, hypoalbuminaemia, and ploidy (DNA Index)) were assessed for their potential relationship to survival...

This study evaluated the effect of weight loss on pediatric nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Subjects included 81 overweight NAFLD patients referred to two pediatric gastroenterologists from 2000 to 2010. Data on subjects were obtained from review of medical charts. The effect of weight loss was assessed at 1-4 months, 5-8 months, 9-12 months, and beyond one year as the change in weight, BMI z-score (for age-and-sex), and alanine aminotransferase and the relationship between the change in body weight and BMI z-score, and the change in alanine aminotransferase...

Background. Balloon-assisted enteroscopy has been recognized as a useful method for performing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in patients with complex postsurgical anatomy. Objective. To clarify the usefulness of single-balloon enteroscopy for performing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography successfully in patients after Billroth II gastrectomy or Roux-en-Y reconstruction and compare it with that of conventional endoscopy. Patients and Methods. We analyzed 204 endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography procedures performed at Kyoto Second Red Cross Hospital between 1997 and 2011 in 93 patients after Billroth II gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y reconstruction with gastrectomy and choledochojejunostomy...

Introduction. Studied patients with oesophageal cancer do not represent normal daily presentation. Aim. A retrospective study was done in all consecutive patients in order to describe presentation, treatment, and survival. Patients. All patients in a ten-year period were included. Patients were grouped in three groups. Group 1: no metastases and potentially curable, dead, or alive at time of evaluation. Group 2: patients presenting with metastases and treated with palliative chemotherapy, and group 3: patients with or without metastases but untreatable because of low Karnofsky index or important comorbidity rendering treatment not feasible...

Purpose. We examined current osteoporosis prevention practices in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on chronic steroid using the 2003 American Gastroenterological Association guidelines as standard of care. Methods. We identified all IBD patients followed at the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center from January 2003 to December 2010, who had been on daily oral steroids (prednisone ≥5 mg or budesonide ≥6 mg) for ≥3 consecutive months. Associations of calcium and vitamin D (vitD) prescribing and bone mineral density (BMD) testing with patient characteristics were examined by logistic regression...

The gut immune system shares many mediators and receptors with the autonomic nervous system. Good examples thereof are the parasympathetic (vagal) and sympathetic neurotransmitters, for which many immune cell types in a gut context express receptors or enzymes required for their synthesis. For some of these the relevance for immune regulation has been recently defined. Earlier and more recent studies in neuroscience and immunology have indicated the anatomical and cellular basis for bidirectional interactions between the nervous and immune systems...

Aim. The aim of this study was to identify the presence of H. pylori in biopsy specimens from symptomatic patients by PCR. In addition, the rate of cagA, vacA, iceA1, and iceA2 virulence genes was determined. Materials and Methods. One hundred antral gastric biopsy specimens were collected during endoscopy from patients suffering from gastroduodenal symptoms. The samples were collected by the gastroenterologists in their own clinics in Ramallah, Palestine. DNA was extracted from the biopsies and subsequently used for PCR identification of H...

Background/Aim. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of propofol on acid reflux as measured with the Bravo pH monitoring system. Methods. 48-hour pH tracings of 88 children were retrospectively evaluated after placement of the Bravo capsule under propofol. Comparisons between day 1 and day 2, as well as 6-hour corresponding segments from day 1 and day 2, were made. Results. The number of reflux episodes was significantly increased during the first six-hour period on day one as compared to day 2 (P = 0...

Microscopic colitis is a common cause of chronic diarrhea. Over the last years the incidence and the prevalence of microscopic colitis are rising and this rise is largely attributed to a rising awareness, and concomitantly an increasing number of diagnoses are made. Patients with microscopic colitis report watery, nonbloody diarrhea of chronic, intermittent, or chronic recurrent course. Following an unremarkable physical examination the diagnosis of microscopic colitis is made by colonoscopy, which shows essentially a normal colonic mucosa...

Background. Tacrolimus (FK506) is effective for patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). However, there are few reports on tacrolimus therapy (TT) with respect to the relationship with endoscopic and clinicopathologic findings. Methods. Thirty patients with moderate/severe active UC refractory to or dependent on corticosteroid were treated with oral tacrolimus. The expression of ectopic MUC5AC in the colon was pathologically analyzed before and at 12 weeks after TT, evaluating the Mayo score and steroid-sparing effects...

In Europe and the United States, the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma has increased 6-fold in the last 25 years and currently accounts for more than 50% of all esophageal cancers. Barrett's esophagus is the source of Barrett's adenocarcinoma and is characterized by the replacement of squamous epithelium with columnar epithelium in the lower esophagus due to chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Even though the prevalence of GERD has recently been increasing in Japan as well as in Europe and the United States, the clinical situation of Barrett's esophagus and Barrett's adenocarcinoma differs from that in Western countries...

Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is the most common inherited polyposis syndrome. Almost all patients with FAP will develop colorectal cancer if their FAP is not identified and treated at an early stage. Although there are many reports about polypoid lesions and colorectal cancers in FAP patients, little information is available concerning depressed lesions in FAP patients. Several reports suggested that depressed-type lesions are characteristic of FAP and important in the light of their rapid growth and high malignancy...