Sex Differences in Experimentally Induced Colitis in Mice: a Role for Estrogens.

Sex differences have been found in the incidence and progression of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The reported differences in observational studies are controversial, and the effects of sex hormones on the pathogenesis of IBD are not clear. The aim of this study was to analyze sex differences in the progression of experimentally induced colitis.

Intracardiac ectopic thyroid (struma cordis).

A 67-year-old male with a history of gastrointestinal malignancy was found to have a tumor in the right ventricular outflow tract. The tumor was surgically removed, and the histological diagnosis was thyroid struma. We review the literature on this rare cardiac tumor.

Identification of expanded-criteria donor kidney grafts at lower risk of delayed graft function.

Background: Organ shortage leads to the increased use of expanded-criteria donor (ECD) kidneys, which contribute to a higher risk of delayed graft function (DGF) after transplantation. The aim of this study was to determine factors that may better predict the risk of DGF.

Methods: Histologic assessments of donor renal biopsy were used with other clinical variables to predict the risk of DGF after kidney transplantation.

Therapeutic DNA vaccination and RNA interference in inflammatory bowel disease.

Angiogenesis plays a significant role in numerous diseases. Recently, dysbalanced angiogenesis was found to be a component of pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Therefore, inhibition of angiogenesis is a novel therapeutic strategy that alleviates the inflammation and clinical outcomes of IBD.