Vitamin D Receptor Level in Biopsy Specimen of Patients with Ulcerative Colitis: Results from a Center in Western Anatolia.

BACKGROUND: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic, inflammatory bowel diseases characterized by uncontrolled inflammatory condition of the colon and rectal mucosa marked by recurrent periods of remission and exacerbation. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is a member of the steroid receptor family that mediates the effects of vitamin D by regulating transcription of multiple cellular genes. We aimed to evaluate vitamin d receptor level in biopsy specimen of patients with UC in this study. METHODS: VDR levels were retrospectively studied in colon biopsy specimens of UC patients. The Spearman's rho correlation analysis, The Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann Whitney U, and chi-square tests were used for statistical analysis. The p values below 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Study included 112 UC patients (65 male and 47 female) and 30 controls (19 female and 11 male) who had normal results in biopsy examinations carried out due to various reasons. VDR levels of UC patients were statistically lower than control subjects, and was not associated with duration of the disease and place of involvement. CONCLUSIONS: VDR is an important receptor in the pathogenesis of UC, and optimizing vitamin D levels could have a therapeutic role in UC.

Primary Amyloidosis with Gastric Involvement.

Amyloidosis can involve all the segments of the gastrointestinal system (GIS) from mouth to anal canal. We present a case of amyloidosis that is detected by gastric biopsy taken in esophagogas-troduodenoscopy (EGD) performed to investigate the etiology of weight loss, nausea and vomiting. It is worth emphasizing that random gastric biopsy is important in gastric evaluations. How to cite this article: Borazan S, Coskun A, Yavasoglu I, Yeniçerioglu Y, Meteoglu i, Yasa MH, Karaoglu AOÖ. Primary Amyloidosis with Gastric Involvement. Euroasian J Hepato-Gastroenterol 2014;4(2):107-109.