Lemann Index for assessing bowel damage in Crohn's disease: a real world study.

Background & Aims: The Lemann Index (LI), an endpoint to measure cumulative structural bowel damage in Crohn's disease (CD), has been recently updated and validated. We applied this to investigate predictors of bowel damage in a real-world cohort.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study (2008-2022) involving two tertiary referral IBD centers in the US.

Management of refractory inflammatory bowel disease.

Purpose Of Review: Nearly one-third of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) do not achieve remission despite our best therapies. When this happens, it is critical to understand the reason for treatment failure. Once nonresponse is confirmed, these patients should be referred to an IBD centre for multidisciplinary care.

Fulminant Guillain-Barré Syndrome and Spontaneous Intraventricular Hemorrhage: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute, immune-mediated inflammatory peripheral polyneuropathy that is characterized by flaccid paralysis. A few cases have reported that GBS can be caused by head trauma or neurosurgery, but it has never been associated with intraventricular hemorrhage. Here, we report an uncommon case of fulminant GBS that occurred after spontaneous intraventricular hemorrhage.

Epigenetic Regulation and Its Therapeutic Potential in Pulmonary Hypertension.

Recent advances in epigenetics have made a tremendous impact on our knowledge of biological phenomena and the environmental stressors on complex diseases. Understanding the mechanism of epigenetic reprogramming during the occurrence of pulmonary hypertension (PH) is important for advanced studies and clinical therapy. In this article, we review the discovery of novel epigenetic mechanisms associated with PH including DNA methylation, histone modification, and noncoding RNA interference.

Using Image-Based Flow Cytometry to Assess Monocyte Oxidized LDL Phagocytosis Capacity.

The examination of monocyte phagocytosis of modified lipoproteins is important to the understanding of plaque deposition and the development of atherosclerosis. Current methods lack the high-throughput image-based analysis capabilities, which may yield novel information concerning monocyte activity in disease processes. Specifically, this method identifies monocyte phagocytosis of oxidized LDL along with a change in adhesion molecules and scavenger receptors.

Assessment of Granulocyte Subset Activation: New Information from Image-Based Flow Cytometry.

Analysis of granulocyte function can provide important information about the state of the body's innate immune system. Existing flow cytometry methods that lack image-based analysis capabilities fail to fully evaluate granulocyte function. In the present method, we combine simultaneous detection of phagocytosis and oxidative burst in granulocytes to identify unique subsets of activated granulocytes.

Using Image-Based Flow Cytometry with a FISH-Based FlowRNA Assay to Simultaneously Detect Intracellular TNF-α Protein and mRNA in Monocytes Following LPS Stimulation.

Existing methods of assessing monocyte inflammatory cytokine (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α) response to in vitro lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation lack the ability to simultaneously detect intracellular mRNA and protein. This procedure takes advantage of new methodologies and instrumentation to simultaneously measure intracellular TNF-α mRNA and protein in CD14(+) monocytes after 1, 3, and 6 h of LPS stimulation. By assessing multiple timepoints, we are able to discern how LPS stimulation affects the temporal relationship between TNF-α mRNA and protein.

Using image-based flow cytometry to measure monocyte oxidized LDL phagocytosis: A potential risk factor for CVD?

Obesity and cardiovascular disease is a worldwide health concern that has been a major focus in research for several decades. Among these diseases, atherosclerosis is one of the leading causes of death and disability nationwide. Circulating monocytes are believed to be primary cells responsible for foam cell formation.

Natural cocoa consumption: Potential to reduce atherogenic factors?

Short-term consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa has been demonstrated to improve various facets of vascular health. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of 4 weeks of natural cocoa consumption on selected cardiovascular disease (CVD) biomarkers in young (19-35 years) women of differing body mass indices (BMI; normal, overweight or obese). Subjects (n = 24) consumed a natural cocoa-containing product (12.

Image-based flow cytometry technique to evaluate changes in granulocyte function in vitro.

Granulocytes play a key role in the body's innate immune response to bacterial and viral infections. While methods exist to measure granulocyte function, in general these are limited in terms of the information they can provide. For example, most existing assays merely provide a percentage of how many granulocytes are activated following a single, fixed length incubation.