The correlation between Body Mass Index and histological features of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Introduction: NAFLD is strongly associated with metabolic syndrome, and for many years, fatty liver was an exclusive feature of obese patients. The study tries to assess whether the body mass index (BMI) and body circumference is correlated to steatosis, fibrosis, or inflammatory activity of the liver. Methods: 81 patients with recent hepatic biopsy were included in the study and were weighed and measured. The biopsy results were compared to the measurements. Results: The average BMI overall for the whole lot was 30.16. There was a significant difference in BMI across the inflammatory activity categories (p = 0.009): groups with higher necro inflammatory activity tended to have higher BMI values (average values per grade: 0-28, 1-29, 2-33, 3-32, 4-29). There was no significant difference for grades of steatosis (p = 0.871). With regards to waist circumference, the overall average was 90.70cm/35.70in. There was a significant difference across the steatosis categories (p < 0.001): groups with higher steatosis scores had higher waist circumferences (average values per grade: 1-77cm / 30 in, 2-95 cm / 37 in, 3-94 cm / 37 in). There was no significant difference for grades of activity (p = 0.058). Conclusion: BMI and waist circumference are easy to measure, non-invasive parameters, which could be useful in screening patients at higher risk for necro inflammatory activity or severe steatosis.

Cytokines in inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel diseases are chronic afflictions, characterized by active and remission periods. Inflammation is the most common type of response that the human body uses as a defense mechanism against aggressors from the environment. The frequency and degree of inflammation depends on the size of the affected tissues. The gastrointestinal tract is, by far, the most susceptible tissue to inflammatory responses, because of its constant exposure to various antigenic, mutagenic and toxic factors. In inflammatory bowel diseases there is a loss of immune tolerance to intestinal flora that is mediated by various substances, including cytokines. Cytokines represent a key signal in the intestinal immune response. Activated dendritic cells and macrophages secrete cytokines that actively intervene in inflammation regulation, in both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. After their secretion by antigen presented cells, cytokines activate and differentiate T cells, stirring up the adaptive immune response. Cytokines have an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases. The identification of new cytokines, as well as the changing of the pathogenesis paradigms in inflammatory bowel diseases has been done on animal tests and clinical studies. Thus, there is promising evidence basis for future therapy research based on cytokines, and anti-cytokine antibodies.

Idiopathic colonic varices: case report and review of literature.

INTRODUCTION: Colonic varices represent a very rare entity, either an incidental finding at colonoscopy or discovered due to its complication, the lower gastrointestinal bleeding. The most common cause of colonic varices is portal hypertension associated with liver disease or secondary to pancreatic conditions, like chronic pancreatitis or malignancies. The incidence of colonic varices is very low, even in liver cirrhosis where the patients frequently develop varices in the upper gastrointestinal tract, but surprisingly uncommon present with varices localized in the colon. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of idiopathic colonic varices, diagnosed at a routine colonoscopy performed for nespecific abdominal disturbances in a female patient without liver disease or pancreatic conditions responsible for portal hypertension development. CONCLUSIONS: The development of colonic varices in the absence of a certain trigger represents a major issue for practitioners due to its major complication, lower gastrointestinal bleeding.