Implementation of Alcohol Use Disorder Training Curriculum Improves Perceived Confidence in Treating Alcohol-Related Liver Disorder Amongst Gastroenterology Fellows.

Background: Alcohol use disorder and alcohol-associated liver disease is increasing in the US, with subsequent and expected increases in morbidity and mortality due to these conditions.

Aims: To determine the impact of an educational intervention regarding alcohol use disorder on gastroenterology fellows.

Methods: A before-after survey study was carried out.

Inpatient outcomes of inflammatory bowel disease in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: analysis of a nationally representative sample.

Purpose: To compare the risks of adverse outcomes, including mortality, gastrointestinal bleeding, and venous thromboembolism, between COVID-19 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and those without IBD.

Methods: We analyzed data from the National Inpatient Sample between January and December 2020. The study included adult patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) who contracted COVID-19.

Iliac Artery-Inferior Vena Cava-Duodenal Fistula: An Unusual Cause of Massive Gastrointestinal Bleeding.

An arteriovenous-enteric fistula is a 3-way connection between the vascular and enteric system and associated with high mortality. We describe a case of iliac artery-inferior vena cava-duodenal fistula in a young female with a retroperitoneal mass presenting with sepsis and hemorrhagic shock with a catastrophic clinical course. These fistulas can be missed on endoscopy/colonoscopy and are usually diagnosed on computed tomography angiogram of the abdomen.

An Unusual Presentation of Segmental Arterial Mediolysis.

Segmental arterial mediolysis (SAM) is a rare nonatherosclerotic and noninflammatory disease that often affects medium to large-sized arteries. We report a case of SAM involving bilateral hepatic arteries in an elderly woman. Although her initial presentation mimicked vasculitis, the clinical course and imaging led to the diagnosis of SAM.

Nectin-1 Is an Entry Mediator for Varicella-Zoster Virus Infection of Human Neurons.

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) maintains lifelong latency in neurons following initial infection and can subsequently be reactivated to result in herpes zoster or severe neurological manifestations such as encephalitis. Mechanisms of VZV neuropathogenesis have been challenging to study due to the strict human tropism of the virus. Although neuronal entry mediators of other herpesviruses, including herpes simplex virus, have been identified, little is known regarding how VZV enters neurons.

Imaging in Encephalitis.

Despite recent advances in diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for infectious and autoimmune encephalitis, the management of patients with suspected or confirmed encephalitis poses a great challenge to physicians. Neuroimaging, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scanning, can play a crucial role in substantiating the diagnosis of encephalitis and eliminating clinical mimics of encephalitis from consideration. Moreover, characteristic neuroimaging patterns can aid in defining specific infectious and autoimmune etiologies.

Role of the JNK Pathway in Varicella-Zoster Virus Lytic Infection and Reactivation.

Mechanisms of neuronal infection by varicella-zoster virus (VZV) have been challenging to study due to the relatively strict human tropism of the virus and the paucity of tractable experimental models. Cellular mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) have been shown to play a role in VZV infection of nonneuronal cells, with distinct consequences for infectivity in different cell types. Here, we utilize several human neuronal culture systems to investigate the role of one such MAPK, the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), in VZV lytic infection and reactivation.