Articles

Jejunal microvilli atrophy and reduced nutrient transport in rats with advanced liver cirrhosis: improvement by Insulin-like Growth Factor I

Previous results have shown that in rats with non-ascitic cirrhosis there is an altered transport of sugars and amino acids associated with elongated microvilli. These alterations returned to normal with the a...

Authors: Inma Castilla-Cortázar, María Pascual, Elena Urdaneta, Javier Pardo, Juan Enrique Puche, Bárbara Vivas, Amelia Díaz-Casares, María García, Matías Díaz-Sánchez, Isabel Varela-Nieto, Alberto Castilla and Salvador González-Barón

Complete hepatitis B virus genome analysis in HBsAg positive mothers and their infants with fulminant hepatitis B

After perinatal transmission of hepatitis B virus, infants of anti-HBe positive HBsAg carrier mothers may develop fulminant hepatitis B. Previously it has been suggested, that fulminant hepatitis B in adults w...

Authors: Michael Friedt, Patrick Gerner, Philip Wintermeyer and Stefan Wirth

Partially responsive celiac disease resulting from small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and lactose intolerance

Celiac disease is a common cause of chronic diarrhea and malabsorption syndrome all over the world. Though it was considered uncommon in India in past, it is being described frequently recently. Some patients ...

Authors: Uday C Ghoshal, Ujjala Ghoshal, Asha Misra and Gourdas Choudhuri

Inter-observer agreement in the assessment of endoscopic findings in ulcerative colitis

Endoscopic findings are essential in evaluating the disease activity in ulcerative colitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate how endoscopists assess individual endoscopic features of mucosal inflammation ...

Authors: Thomas de Lange, Stig Larsen and Lars Aabakken

Tracing ancestry with methylation patterns: most crypts appear distantly related in normal adult human colon

The ability to discern ancestral relationships between individual human colon crypts is limited. Widely separated crypts likely trace their common ancestors to a time around birth, but closely spaced adult cry...

Authors: Kyoung-Mee Kim and Darryl Shibata

Botulinum toxin injection versus lateral internal sphincterotomy in the treatment of chronic anal fissure: a non-randomized controlled trial

Although lateral internal sphincterotomy is the gold-standard treatment for chronic anal fissure, intrasphincteric injection of botulinum toxin seems to be a reliable new option. The aim of this non-randomized...

Authors: Adnan Giral, Kemal Memişoğlu, Yücel Gültekin, Neşe İmeryüz, Cem Kalaycı, Nefise B Ulusoy and Nurdan Tözün

Erratum to: A novel mutation of the calcium sensing receptor gene is associated with chronic pancreatitis in a family with heterozygous SPINK1 mutations

Authors: Peter Felderbauer, Peter Hoffmann, Henrik Einwächter, Kerem Bulut, Nikolaus Ansorge, Frank Schmitz and Wolfgang E Schmidt

Lactobacillus GG in inducing and maintaining remission of Crohn's disease

Experimental studies have shown that luminal antigens are involved in chronic intestinal inflammatory disorders such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Alteration of the intestinal microflora by antibi...

Authors: Michael Schultz, Antje Timmer, Hans H Herfarth, R Balfour Sartor, Jon A Vanderhoof and Heiko C Rath

Inhibition of gastric H,K-ATPase activity and gastric epithelial cell IL-8 secretion by the pyrrolizine derivative ML 3000

ML 3000 ([2,2-dimethyl-6-(4-chlorophenyl)-7-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrolizine-5-yl]-acetic acid) is an inhibitor of both cyclooxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase in vitro, and shows promise as a novel non-steroidal a...

Authors: Adam J Smolka, James R Goldenring, Sandeep Gupta and Charles E Hammond

Primary care physicians' approach to diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis B and hepatitis C patients

Infections caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are considered to be important health problems worldwide. The purpose of this study was to measure the general practitioners (GPs)' basi...

Authors: Yildiz Peksen, Sevgi Canbaz, Hakan Leblebicioglu, Mustafa Sunbul, Saban Esen and Ahmet Tevfik Sunter

Effect of four-day psyllium supplementation on bowel preparation for colonoscopy:A prospective double blind randomized trial [ISRCTN76623768]

Patients with new onset constipation or presumed hemorrhoid bleeding frequently require the use of both fiber supplements and diagnostic colonoscopy. We sought to determine whether preliminary fiber supplement...

Authors: Walter A Salwen and Marc D Basson

Mobilization of xanthine oxidase from the gastrointestinal tract in acute pancreatitis

Xanthine oxidoreductase has been proposed to play a role in the development of local and systemic effects of acute pancreatitis. Under physiologic conditions, the enzyme exists mainly as xanthine dehydrogenase...

Authors: Susana Granell, Oriol Bulbena, Meritxell Genesca, Luis Sabater, Juan Sastre, Emilio Gelpi and Daniel Closa

Hepatolithiasis with biliary ascariasis – a case report

Biliary ascariasis is regarded as possible etiological factor for hepatolithiasis. Here we report one case of a patient with hepatolithiasis with biliary ascariasis who developed a liver abscess, which was tre...

Authors: KS Pilankar, AD Amarapurkar, RM Joshi, TS Shetty, AS Khithani and VV Chemburkar

A novel mutation of the calcium sensing receptor gene is associated with chronic pancreatitis in a family with heterozygous SPINK1 mutations

The role of mutations in the serine protease inhibitor Kazal type 1 (SPINK1) gene in chronic pancreatitis is still a matter of debate. Active SPINK1 is thought to antagonize activated trypsin. Cases of SPINK1 mut...

Authors: Peter Felderbauer, Peter Hoffmann, Henrik Einwächter, Kerem Bulut, Nikolaus Ansorge, Frank Schmitz and Wolfgang E Schmidt

Generic and disease-specific health related quality of life in non-cirrhotic, cirrhotic and transplanted liver patients: a cross-sectional study

Studies on Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of chronic liver patients were performed in clinical populations. These studies included various disease stages but small variations in aetiology and no transp...

Authors: Simone M van der Plas, Bettina E Hansen, Josien B de Boer, Theo Stijnen, Jan Passchier, Robert A de Man and Solko W Schalm

Erratum to: Treatment of achalasia: the short-term response to botulinum toxin injection seems to be independent of any kind of pretreatment

Authors: M Storr, P Born, E Frimberger, N Weigert, T Rösch, A Meining, M Classen and HD Allescher

Cytotoxic isolates of Helicobacter pylori from Peptic Ulcer Diseases decrease K⁺-dependent ATPase Activity in HeLa cells

Helicobacter pylori is a Gram negative bacterium that plays a central role in the etiology of chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer diseases. However, not all H. pylori positive cases develop advanced disease. This...

Authors: Awasthi Shanjana and Ayyagari Archana

Cystadenocarcinoma of the appendix: an incidental imaging finding in a patient with adenocarcinomas of the ascending and the sigmoid colon

Primary adenocarcinomas of the appendix are uncommon. Mucoceles that result from mucinous adenocarcinomas of the appendix may be incidentally detected on imaging.

Authors: Michail Pitiakoudis, Paraskevi I Argyropoulou, Alexandra K Tsaroucha, Panos Prassopoulos and Constantinos Simopoulos

Adenoviral expression of a transforming growth factor-β1 antisense mRNA is effective in preventing liver fibrosis in bile-duct ligated rats

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is a key mediator in establishing liver fibrosis. Therefore, TGF-β as a causative agent may serve as a primary target for antifibrotic gene therapy approaches. We have prev...

Authors: Monica Arias, Sibille Sauer-Lehnen, Jens Treptau, Nora Janoschek, Ingo Theuerkauf, Reinhard Buettner, Axel M Gressner and Ralf Weiskirchen

Anorectal motility in patients with achalasia of the esophagus: recognition of an esophago-rectal syndrome

During my study of constipation, I encountered patients who had achalasia of the esophagus (AE) as well. The possibility of an existing relationship between the 2 conditions was studied.

Authors: Ahmed Shafik

Clinical and histological features of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in Iranian patients

Although several studies have been performed on risk factors and natural course of NASH, it seems that NASH tends to be more than a disease confined to strict boundaries. The objective of this study was to ass...

Authors: Hossein Bahrami, Nasser Ebrahimi Daryani, Shahram Mirmomen, Farin Kamangar, Babak Haghpanah and Mehdi Djalili

Botulinum toxin in gastric submucosa reduces stimulated HCl production in rats

Botulinum toxin blocks acetylcholine release from nerve endings and acts as a long term, reversible inhibitor of muscle contraction as well as of salivary, sweat gland, adrenal and prostatic secretions. The ai...

Authors: Matteo Runfola, Simone Rossi, Simona Panunzi, Pier Luigi Spada and Daniele Gui

Mice with targeted disruption of p8gene show increased sensitivity to lipopolysaccharide and DNA microarray analysis of livers reveals an aberrant gene expression response

p8 is a DNA-binding protein induced in many tissues in response to LPS treatment. Hence, p8 could be a mediator of LPS-associated effects or, on the contrary, p8 expression may be part of the protective mechan...

Authors: Sophie Vasseur, Albrecht Hoffmeister, Andrés Garcia-Montero, Marc Barthet, Laure Saint-Michel, Patrice Berthézène, Fritz Fiedler, Daniel Closa, Jean Charles Dagorn and Juan Lucio Iovanna

Retreatment of hepatitis C non-responsive to Interferon. A placebo controlled randomized trial of Ribavirin monotherapy versus combination therapy with Ribavirin and Interferon in 121 patients in the Benelux [ISRCTN53821378]

Evidence based medicine depends on unbiased selection of completed randomized controlled trials. For completeness it is important to publish all trials. This report describes the first large randomised control...

Authors: Bart J Veldt, Johannes T Brouwer, Michael Adler, Frederik Nevens, Peter Michielsen, Jean Delwaide, Bettina E Hansen and Solko W Schalm

Influence of rectal prolapse on the asymmetry of the anal sphincter in patients with anal incontinence

Anal sphincter defects have been shown to increase pressure asymmetry within the anal canal in patients with fecal incontinence. However, this correlation is far from perfect, and other factors may play a role...

Authors: Henri Damon, Luc Henry, Sabine Roman, Xavier Barth and François Mion

Endoscopic sclerotherapy compared with no specific treatment for the primary prevention of bleeding from esophageal varices. A randomized controlled multicentre trial [ISRCTN03215899]

Since esophageal variceal bleeding is associated with a high mortality rate, prevention of bleeding might be expected to result in improved survival. The first trials to evaluate prophylactic sclerotherapy fou...

Authors: Henk R van Buuren, Marijke C Rasch, Piet L Batenburg, Clemens JM Bolwerk, Jan J Nicolai, Sjoerd DJ van der Werf, Joost Scherpenisse, Lidia R Arends, Jan van Hattum, Erik AJ Rauws and Solko W Schalm

Analysis of antimicrobial susceptibility and virulence factors in Helicobacter pyloriclinical isolates

In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of primary resistance of Brazilian H. pylori isolates to metronidazole, clarithromycin, amoxicillin, tetracycline, and furazolidone. In addition, the vacA, iceA, cagA an...

Authors: Anita Paula Ortiz Godoy, Marcelo Lima Ribeiro, Yune Helena Borges Benvengo, Lea Vitiello, Maira de Carvalho Bueno Miranda, Sergio Mendonça and José Pedrazzoli Jr

Dapsone induced cholangitis as a part of dapsone syndrome: a case report

Dapsone can rarely cause a hypersensitivity reaction called dapsone syndrome, consisting of fever, hepatitis, exfoliative dermatitis, lymphadenopathy and hemolytic anemia. Dapsone syndrome is a manifestation o...

Authors: Srivenu Itha, Ashish Kumar, Sadhna Dhingra and Gourdas Choudhuri

Over-expression of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase (MEK)-MAPK in hepatocellular carcinoma: Its role in tumor progression and apoptosis

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies in South East Asia. Although activation of the MEK-MAPK is often associated with cellular growth, the role of MEK-MAPK in growth and surviv...

Authors: Hung Huynh, Thi Thanh Tuyen Nguyen, Kah-Hoe Kah-Pierce Chow, Puay Hoon Tan, Khee Chee Soo and Evelyne Tran

A case of sigmoid endometriosis difficult to differentiate from colon cancer

Although endometriosis with sigmoid serosal involvement is not uncommon in women of childbearing age, the mucosal involvement is rare and differential diagnosis from colon cancer may be difficult due to the la...

Authors: Philippos Dimoulios, Ioannis E Koutroubakis, Maria Tzardi, Pavlos Antoniou, Ioannis M Matalliotakis and Elias A Kouroumalis

Differential gene expression profile in the small intestines of mice lacking pacemaker interstitial cells of Cajal

We previously identified eight known and novel genes differentially expressed in the small intestines of wild type and W/W ^V mice, which have greatly reduced populations of ...

Authors: Yataro Daigo, Ichiro Takayama, Bruce AJ Ponder, Carlos Caldas, Sean M Ward, Kenton M Sanders and Masayuki A Fujino

Antral hyperplastic polyp causing intermittent gastric outlet obstruction: Case report

Hyperplastic polyps are the most common polypoid lesions of the stomach. Rarely, they cause gastric outlet obstruction by prolapsing through the pyloric channel, when they arise in the prepyloric antrum.

Authors: Rasim Gencosmanoglu, Ebru Sen-Oran, Ozlem Kurtkaya-Yapicier and Nurdan Tozun

Quality control in colorectal cancer screening: Systematic microbiological investigation of endoscopes used in the NORCCAP (Norwegian Colorectal Cancer Prevention) trial

Endoscopic colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is currently implemented in many countries. Since endoscopes cannot be sterilised, the transmission of infectious agents through endoscopes has been a matter of con...

Authors: Michael Bretthauer, Anita Jørgensen, Bjørn Erik Kristiansen, Bjørn Hofstad and Geir Hoff

Differential gene expression in the murine gastric fundus lacking interstitial cells of Cajal

The muscle layers of murine gastric fundus have no interstitial cells of Cajal at the level of the myenteric plexus and only possess intramuscular interstitial cells and this tissue does not generate electric ...

Authors: Yataro Daigo, Ichiro Takayama, Bruce AJ Ponder, Carlos Caldas, Sean M Ward, Kenton M Sanders and Masayuki A Fujino

Esophageal and small bowel obstruction by occupational bezoar: report of a case

Phytobezoar may be a cause of bowel obstruction in patients with previous gastric surgery. Most bezoars are concretions of poorly digested food, which are usually formed initially in the stomach. Intestinal ob...

Authors: Michail Pitiakoudis, Alexandra Tsaroucha, Konstantinos Mimidis, Theodoros Constantinidis, Stavros Anagnostoulis, George Stathopoulos and Constantinos Simopoulos

The addition of locust bean gum but not water delayed the gastric emptying rate of a nutrient semisolid meal in healthy subjects

Most of the previous studies regarding the effects of gel-forming fibres have considered the gastric emptying of liquid or solid meals after the addition of pectin or guar gum. The influence of locust bean gum...

Authors: Gassan Darwiche, Ola Björgell and Lars-olof Almér

Mediastinitis complicating a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy: a case report

Since its introduction in the early 1980s, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy has become the most popular method for performing a gastrostomy for long-term enteral feeding. It has been associated, however, wi...

Authors: Kalliopi Papakonstantinou, Athanasios Karagiannis, Maria Tsirantonaki, Anastasios Konstantinidis, Spiros Spirou, Ion Skottis and Andreas Karabinis

A national survey on the patterns of treatment of inflammatory bowel disease in Canada

There is a general lack of information on the care of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in a broad, geographically diverse, non-clinic population. The purposes of this study were (1) to compare a sample drawn f...

Authors: Robert J Hilsden, Marja J Verhoef, Allan Best and Gaia Pocobelli

Spectrum and antibiotic sensitivity of bacteria contaminating the upper gut in patients with malabsorption syndrome from the tropics

Various causes of malabsorption syndrome (MAS) are associated with intestinal stasis that may cause small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). Frequency, nature and antibiotic sensitivity of SIBO in patient...

Authors: Ujjala Ghoshal, Uday C Ghoshal, Piyush Ranjan, Subhash R Naik and Archana Ayyagari

The Canadian celiac health survey – the Ottawa chapter pilot

Celiac disease may manifest with a variety of symptoms which can result in delays in diagnosis. Celiac disease is associated with a number of other medical conditions. The last national survey of members of th...

Authors: Ann Cranney, Marion Zarkadas, Ian D Graham and Connie Switzer

A comparison of Child-Pugh, APACHE II and APACHE III scoring systems in predicting hospital mortality of patients with liver cirrhosis

The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic accuracy of Child-Pugh and APACHE II and III scoring systems in predicting short-term, hospital mortality of patients with liver cirrhosis.

Authors: Constantinos Chatzicostas, Maria Roussomoustakaki, Georgios Notas, Ioannis G Vlachonikolis, Demetrios Samonakis, John Romanos, Emmanouel Vardas and Elias A Kouroumalis

Primary gastric tuberculosis – report of 5 cases

Gastric tuberculosis is rare, and usually associated with pulmonary tuberculosis or an immunodeficient state. Here, we report five cases of gastric tuberculosis in immunocompetent patients without evidence of ...

Authors: Deepak N Amarapurkar, Nikhil D Patel and Anjali D Amarapurkar

Colon biopsies for evaluation of acute graft-versus-host disease (A-GVHD) in allogeneic bone marrow transplant patients

Proper histomorphological interpretation of intestinal acute graft versus host disease (A-GVHD) associated with allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is critical for clinical managaement. However, studi...

Authors: Vinod B Shidham, Chung-Che Chang, Ganesh Shidham, Farrukh Ghazala, Paul F Lindholm, Bal Kampalath, Varghese George and Richard Komorowski

The course of traumatic pancreatitis in a patient with pancreas divisum: a case report

The peculiar anatomy of pancreatic ducts in pancreas divisum (PD) may interfere with the development of acute chronic pancreatitis. In the presented case, PD influenced the evolution of lesions after pancreati...

Authors: Evangelia G Chryssou, Panos Prassopoulos, John Mouzas, Thomas G Maris and Nicholas Gourtsoyiannis

Transfection of IL-10 expression vectors into endothelial cultures attenuates α4β7-dependent lymphocyte adhesion mediated by MAdCAM-1

Enhanced expression of MAdCAM-1 (mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule-1) is associated with the onset and progression of inflammatory bowel disease. The clinical significance of elevated MAdCAM-1 expressio...

Authors: Makoto Sasaki, Paul Jordan, Jeff Houghton, Xianmin Meng, Makoto Itoh, Takashi Joh and J Steven Alexander

Dieulafoy's lesion of duodenum: a case report

Dieulafoy's lesion is an uncommon but important cause of recurrent upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Extragastric location of Dieulafoy's lesion is rare. We report two cases of Dieulafoy's lesion of the duodenu...

Authors: Mohammed Ibrarullah and Gajanan D Wagholikar

Solitary pancreatic tuberculous abscess mimicking pancreatic cystadenocarcinoma: a case report

The incidence of pancreatic tuberculosis is extremely rare, and it frequently misdiagnosed as pancreatic neoplasms. The nonsurgical diagnosis of this entity continues to be a challenge.

Authors: Quanda Liu, Zhenping He and Ping Bie

Expression of cytokine and chemokine mRNA and secretion of tumor necrosis factor-α by gallbladder epithelial cells: Response to bacterial lipopolysaccharides

In addition to immune cells, many other cell types are known to produce cytokines. Cultured normal mouse gallbladder epithelial cells, used as a model system for gallbladder epithelium, were examined for their...

Authors: Christopher E Savard, Thane A Blinman, Ho-Soon Choi, Sung-Koo Lee, Stephen J Pandol and Sum P Lee

Adenosine preconditioning attenuates hepatic reperfusion injury in the rat by preventing the down-regulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase

Previous work has suggested that in the liver, adenosine preconditioning is mediated by nitric oxide. Whether the endothelial isoform of nitric oxide synthase plays a part in this mechanism has however not yet...

Authors: Ferdinand Serracino-Inglott, Ioannis T Virlos, Nagy A Habib, Robin CN Williamson and Robert T Mathie

The liver is a common non-exocrine target in primary Sjögren's syndrome: A retrospective review

The autoimmune destruction of exocrine glands that defines primary Sjögren's syndrome (1°SS) often extends to non-exocrine organs including the liver. We aimed to determine the prevalence of liver disease in p...

Authors: Mariana J Kaplan and Robert W Ike