Comparing the type and severity of inflammatory bowel disease in relation to IgG4 immunohistochemical staining.

BACKGROUD AND STUDY AIM: The role of immunoglobulin (Ig) G4 in the etiopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and its association with endoscopic and pathological activity are not yet completely understood. The purpose of this study was to determine the possible relationship between IgG4 status and IBD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Endoscopic colon biopsies of 55 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and of 17 patients with Crohn's disease (CD) were examined. Numbers of IgG4-positive plasma cells stained immunohistochemically were counted in a minimum of 5 high power fields (HPFs) for each specimen. The presence of > 10 cells/HPF IgG4-positive PCs was considered positive. RESULTS: he prevalence of IgG4-positive plasma cells in the lamina propria of the colonic mucosa was significantly higher in patients with UC than in those with CD (p :0.01). Additionally, the prevalence of IgG4-positive plasma cells increased in line with endoscopic and pathological activity in UC patients. Conversely, we determined no significant correlation between IgG4 positivity and pathological activity in the CD group. IgG4-positive UC patients also exhibited findings of more severe disease compared to IgG4-negative UC patients. CONCLUSION: Immunohistochemical IgG4 staining may predict disease severity in UC and may be a useful marker for distinguishing between UC and CD.

Helicobacter pylori and cardiovascular disease.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is one of the most common infections in human. The association between H. pylori and gastrointestinal diseases including peptic ulcer, chronic gastritis, mucosa associated tissue lymphoma (MALT) and gastric cancer is well known. However it was also suggested that H. pylori was linked to various extra-gastrointestinal disorders such as diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease. In this review we summarized the association between H. pylori and cardiovascular disease.

Differences in nephrotoxicity risk and renal effects among anti-viral therapies against hepatitis B.

BACKGROUND: Results are conflicting with respect to the renal effects of anti-viral agents used for hepatitis B virus infection. AIM: To compare short and long-term renal effects in real-life settings and to determine risk factors for renal impairment during treatment. METHODS: 2221 treatment-naïve patients were enrolled. Among these, 895 (302 lamivudine, 27 telbivudine, 282 entecavir, 273 tenofovir and 11 adefovir initiated patients) had 'repeated measures' of creatinine (baseline, 1st, 6th, 12th and 24th month of treatment). Telbivudine and adefovir groups were excluded from further analysis because of the low number of patients. We calculated the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formula at each time point. Hypophosphataemia was also recorded. Risk factors for renal impairment were analysed. RESULTS: Tenofovir caused a decline in GFR at each time point when compared to baseline levels. However, lamivudine and entecavir did not change GFR. GFR-shifting from ≥90 to 60-89 mL/min/1.73 m(2) was comparable among groups. The proportion of patients whose baseline creatinine increased more than 25% was comparable among all anti-virals. GFR showed a decline in patients who switched from entecavir to tenofovir. One patient with compensated cirrhosis needed to change from tenofovir because of renal safety. Seven and three patients developed transient hypophosphataemia in the tenofovir and lamivudine groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although tenofovir caused a decline in GFR, differences between the anti-viral agents do not appear to be so impressive. In patients with and without renal risk factors at baseline, there is no impact of anti-virals, including tenofovir.

QT dispersion is not increased in familial Mediterranean fever.

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autoimmune disease inherited as an autosomal recessive trait and is characterized by recurrent attacks of fever and sterile polyserositis. This study examined electrocardiographic ventricular repolarization parameters (QT interval and QT dispersion) in 38 FMF patients and 35 healthy controls. The QT interval was measured manually from the onset of QRS to the end of the T wave (return to the TP baseline). QT dispersion was defined as the difference between the maximum and minimum QT values, and corrected QT was calculated according to the Bazett formula. There were no significant differences between FMF patients and healthy control subjects in any parameter of ventricular repolarization; hence QT dispersion was not affected by FMF. Electrocardiographic assessment of QT interval and QT dispersion are, therefore, of little value for the evaluation of cardiac impairment and risk of arrhythmia in FMF patients.

An obesity drug sibutramine reduces brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels in severely obese patients.

OBJECTIVES: Sibutramine is a selective inhibitor of the reuptake of monoamines. Plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) appear to be inversely associated with body mass index (BMI) in subjects with and without heart failure for reasons that remain unexplained. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible influence of sibutramine treatment on BNP levels in severely obese patients. METHODS: Fifty-two severely obese female patients with BMI > 40 kg/m(2) were included to this study. The women were recommended to follow a weight-reducing daily diet of 25 kcal/kg of ideal body weight. During the treatment period, all patients were to receive 15 mg of sibutramine once a day. Blood chemistry tests were performed before the onset of the medication and after 12 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: None of the subjects was withdrawn from the study because of the adverse effects of sibutramine. Body weight (108.8 +/- 13.3 kg vs. 101.7 +/- 15.6 kg, p < 0.001), BMI (44.6 +/- 4.6 kg/m(2) vs. 41.8 +/- 5.7 kg/m(2), p < 0.001) and BNP [8.6 (0.5-49.5) ng/l vs. 3.1 (0.2-28.6) ng/l, p = 0.018] levels were significantly decreased after 12 weeks of sibutramine treatment. Total cholesterol (5.19 +/- 0.90 mmol/l vs. 4.82 +/- 1.05 mmol/l respectively; p < 0.001), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (3.26 +/- 0.86 mmol/l vs. 2.99 +/- 0.40 mmol/l respectively; p = 0.008), levels were significantly decreased; however, there was no significant alteration in high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and triglyceride levels. CONCLUSION: This study has shown a decrease in BNP levels which may lead to improvement in cardiac outcome after sibutramine treatment. Further randomised studies are needed to be conducted to clarify the relationship between sibutramine and BNP.