Incidental finding of diffuse cavernous rectal haemangiomatosis during bowel cancer screening.

Background: This case seeks to highlight to endoscopists a rare benign disorder that may be encountered during endoscopy. Clinicians may be tempted to biopsy, which could lead to a catastrophic gastrointestinal haemorrhage.

Case Presentation: A 66-year-old asymptomatic Caucasian male was referred for colonoscopy with a positive faecal occult blood test as part of the UK national bowel cancer screening programme.

Altered colonic mucosal Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid (PUFA) derived lipid mediators in ulcerative colitis: new insight into relationship with disease activity and pathophysiology.

Objectives: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a relapsing inflammatory disorder of unconfirmed aetiology, variable severity and clinical course, characterised by progressive histological inflammation and with elevation of eicosanoids which have a known pathophysiological role in inflammation. Therapeutic interventions targetting eicosanoids (5-aminosalicylates (ASA)) are effective first line and adjunctive treatments in mild-moderate UC for achieving and sustaining clinical remission. However, the variable clinical response to 5-ASA and frequent deterioration in response to cyclo-oxygenase (COX) inhibitors, has prompted an in depth simultaneous evaluation of multiple lipid mediators (including eicosanoids) within the inflammatory milieu in UC.

Altered colonic mucosal availability of n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in ulcerative colitis and the relationship to disease activity.

Background And Aims: The polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) arachidonic acid (AA, n-6) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, n-3) are precursors of eicosanoids and other lipid mediators which have critical roles in inflammation. The mediators formed from the different PUFA have different potencies. We hypothesised that metabolic changes associated with colonic mucosal inflammation would modify the bioavailability of the eicosanoid precursors AA and EPA.

Cytokine mucosal expression in ulcerative colitis, the relationship between cytokine release and disease activity.

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease with conflicting evidence from studies on the roles of TNFα, IL-8, TGFβ and other cytokines and characterised by neutrophil infiltration and tissue destruction.

Aim: To compare cytokine profiles of inflamed and non-inflamed mucosa in patients with distal UC, and matched controls.

Methods: Patients were prospectively recruited, mucosal biopsies at flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) were taken from UC patients within macroscopically inflamed and non-inflamed proximal mucosa, and from age-sex matched controls undergoing FS.