Lidocaine for systemic sclerosis: a double-blind randomized clinical trial.

Background: Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma; SSc) is an orphan disease with the highest case-specific mortality of any connective-tissue disease. Excessive collagen deposit in affected tissues is a key for the disease's pathogenesis and comprises most of the clinical manifestations. Lidocaine seems to be an alternative treatment for scleroderma considering that: a) the patient's having excessive collagen deposits in tissues affected by scleroderma; b) the patient's demonstrating increased activity of the enzyme prolyl hydroxylase, an essential enzyme for the biosynthesis of collagen; and c) lidocaine's reducing the activity of prolyl hydroxylase.

The repercussions of spinal cord injury on the action of the diaphragmatic crura for gastroesophageal reflux containment.

Study Design: Cross-sectional and nonexperimental.

Objective: To detect and compare functional abnormalities in the esophagus and esophagogastric junction in 2 groups with chronic spinal injuries, 1 with injuries at the phrenic innervation level and the other at upper thoracic levels, and to relate these to gastroesophageal reflux containment.

Summary Of Background Data: There are no studies on esophageal manometry with pH metering among spinal cord injury patients.

Incidence of regurgitation after the banded gastric bypass.

Background: Frequent regurgitation is a common complication following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP). This study investigated the risk of becoming a chronic regurgitator, by considering silicone ring size and lower esophageal sphincter (LES) function, and their relationship with weight loss.

Methods: 80 morbidly obese patients were randomly selected to undergo surgery using ring length of 62 mm (40 patients, group A) or 77 mm (40 patients, group B), with 6 months' postoperative follow-up.