The role of PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in ulcerative colitis and changes following tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells treatment.

Background/aims: The programmed death 1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) pathway has not been fully evaluated in inflammatory bowel disease. We evaluated PD-1/PD-L1 levels in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and their significance in tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells (TMSCs) treatment.

Methods: Using acute and chronic murine colitis model, we measured the PD-1 and PD-L1 levels in inflamed colonic tissues pre- and post-treatment with TMSCs.

Different modifiable risk factors for the development of non-advanced adenoma, advanced adenomatous lesion, and sessile serrated lesions, on screening colonoscopy.

The development of premalignant colorectal polyps is significantly influenced by various lifestyle and modifiable risk factors. In our study, we used a large cohort of 9025 patients, who underwent screening colonoscopies at a university hospital, to assess the risk factors associated with the development of three different colorectal cancer precursor lesions: non-advanced adenomas (NAs), advanced adenomatous lesions (ADLs), and sessile serrated lesions (SSLs). Among the participants, 3641 had NAs, 836 had ADLs, and 533 had SSLs.

Factors Associated With People's Accessibility to Mental Healthcare Services in Ukraine: Focusing on Household Head Vulnerability.

This study examines the factors associated with access to mental healthcare services among people living in the government-controlled areas (GCAs) of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in Ukraine. The 2020 Ukraine Multi-Sector Needs Assessment conducted by REACH was subjected to frequency analysis, percentage analysis, and binary logistic regression to confirm the factors associated with accessibility to mental healthcare services among Ukrainian household heads. Older household heads, heads with high accessibility to healthcare facilities, and those with low health expenditures were highly likely to have low access to mental healthcare services.

Treatment of inflammatory bowel disease-Asian perspectives: the results of a multinational web-based survey in the 8th Asian Organization for Crohn's and Colitis meeting.

Background/aims: As the characteristics of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) differ between Asians and Westerners, it is necessary to determine adequate therapeutic strategy for Asian IBD patients. We evaluated the current treatment of IBD in Asian countries/regions using a web-based survey.

Methods: The Korean Association for the Study of Intestinal Diseases conducted a multinational web-based survey for current IBD care in Asia between September 16, 2020, and November 13, 2020.

Current status and needs in the primary healthcare system in Yangon, Myanmar: a mixed-method evaluation.

Background: Many low- and middle-income countries and international organisations have invested resources to strengthen primary health care (PHC). This study aimed to identify the challenges and unmet needs in the current PHC by assessing the experiences and perceptions of healthcare workers in three townships (Htan Ta Pin, Hmawbi, and Taikkyi) in Yangon, Myanmar.

Methods: The study was conducted among healthcare professionals and community leaders in three townships.

A Case of Intramural Gastric Wall Abscess, a Rare Disease Successfully Treated with Endoscopic Incision and Drainage.

Gastric wall abscess is a rare condition characterized by a purulent inflammatory process resulting in the formation of a pocket of pus in the stomach. As the mucosa is usually intact, it requires various tools such as endoscopic ultrasonography or computed tomography for the differential diagnosis to rule out more common subepithelial tumors. Even after the diagnosis, the treatment for gastric wall abscess was previously restricted to surgical resection in combination with antibiotics.

Korean clinical practice guidelines on biologics and small molecules for moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis.

Ulcerative colitis (UC), a relapsing-remitting chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), has a variable natural course but potentially severe disease course. Since the development of anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agents has changed the natural disease course of moderate-to-severe UC, therapeutic options for patients who failed conventional treatments are expanding rapidly. IBD clinical trials have demonstrated the potential efficacy and safety of novel biologics such as anti-integrin α4β7 and anti-interleukin-12/23 monoclonal antibodies and small molecules such as a Janus kinase inhibitor.

Clinical Course of COVID-19 in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Korea: a KASID Multicenter Study.

In 2020, the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) began to spread worldwide and remains an ongoing medical challenge. This case series reports on the clinical features and characteristics of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and confirmed COVID-19 infection. From February 2020 to March 2021, nine patients with IBD had confirmed COVID-19 across four hospitals in Korea.

Natural history of inflammatory bowel disease: a comparison between the East and the West.

Over the past decades, there has been a rapid increase in the incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Asia. The natural history of IBD in Asian patients could be different from that in Western patients due to variations in disease phenotypes and genotypes as well as the healthcare environment between the 2 populations. To adequately cope with this disease, it is important to fully understand the potential differences in its natural history among different populations.

Three-dimensional culture method enhances the therapeutic efficacies of tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells in murine chronic colitis model.

Tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells (TMSCs) showed therapeutic effects on acute and chronic murine colitis models, owing to their immunomodulatory properties; therefore, we evaluated enhanced therapeutic effects of TMSCs on a murine colitis model using three-dimensional (3D) culture method. The expression of angiogenic factors, VEGF, and anti-inflammatory cytokines, IL-10, TSG-6, TGF-β, and IDO-1, was significantly higher in the 3D-TMSC-treated group than in the 2D-TMSC-treated group (P < 0.05).

Cost-Effectiveness, Efficacy, and Safety Analysis of Tailored Therapy in Patients with Infection.

Recently in Korea, where triple therapy is accepted as the first-line () eradication treatment, antibiotic resistance to clarithromycin has increased considerably, resulting in eradication rates of less than 80%. We investigated the efficacy of tailored therapy after a clarithromycin resistance test compared with empirical therapy for eradication. The cost-effectiveness of eradication success was evaluated according to the average medical cost per patient.

Comparison of outcomes of cyclosporine A and infliximab for steroid-refractory acute severe ulcerative colitis.

Background And Aim: Data comparing the outcomes of cyclosporin A (CsA) and infliximab (IFX) as rescue therapy for steroid-refractory acute severe ulcerative colitis (SR-ASUC) among Asians are scarce.

Methods: In this single-center study, we retrospectively reviewed 121 patients with SR-ASUC according to the Truelove and Witts' criteria who received CsA or IFX as rescue therapy between 1995 and 2015. The cumulative rates of treatment failure and colectomy at 3 months were compared.

Prevalence and endoscopic treatment outcomes of upper gastrointestinal neoplasms in familial adenomatous polyposis.

Background: Although upper gastrointestinal (GI) neoplasms are not rare in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), few studies have focused on them and the long-term outcomes of their treatment by endoscopy. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the prevalence and endoscopic treatment outcomes of upper GI neoplasms in patients with FAP.

Methods: Among 215 patients diagnosed with FAP between January 1991 and December 2019, 208 who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy were eligible.

Clinical outcomes and long-term prognosis of perianal Crohn's disease in an Asian population.

Background And Aim: The clinical impact of perianal Crohn's disease (CD) (pCD), a well-known poor prognostic factor of CD, has not been fully evaluated in Asian patients. We investigated the outcomes of CD in Korean patients according to the presence of pCD at CD diagnosis.

Methods: Using 2010-2014 data from the national health insurance claims database, we evaluated the disease course of CD according to the presence of pCD at CD diagnosis.

Long-Term Risks of Parkinson's Disease, Surgery, and Colorectal Cancer in Patients With Slow-Transit Constipation.

Background & Aims: Long-term outcomes of constipation have not been evaluated fully. We investigated the incidence of Parkinson's disease, constipation-related surgery, and colorectal cancer (CRC) in patients with constipation and slow-transit constipation (STC), followed up for up to 20 years.

Methods: We collected data from 2165 patients (33.

Real-time detection of colon polyps during colonoscopy using deep learning: systematic validation with four independent datasets.

We developed and validated a deep-learning algorithm for polyp detection. We used a YOLOv2 to develop the algorithm for automatic polyp detection on 8,075 images (503 polyps). We validated the algorithm using three datasets: A: 1,338 images with 1,349 polyps; B: an open, public CVC-clinic database with 612 polyp images; and C: 7 colonoscopy videos with 26 polyps.

Safety and Optimal Timing of BCG Vaccination in Infants Born to Mothers Receiving Anti-TNF Therapy for Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Backgrounds And Aims: We aimed to evaluate the safety of Bacille Calmette-Guérin [BCG] vaccination in infants born to mothers receiving anti-tumour necrosis factor [anti-TNF] therapy for inflammatory bowel disease.

Methods: Adverse events of BCG vaccination were evaluated in 90 infants who were last exposed to anti-TNF agents at a median of gestational week 30.

Results: After receiving BCG vaccination at a median age of 6 months [range, 0.

A Collision Tumor of the Esophagus: Mixed Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Neuroendocrine Carcinoma.

Collision tumors are extremely rare, and currently, no therapeutic protocols are established. A 64-year-old man presented to his physician with complaints of right chest and abdominal pain. The contrast-enhanced CT scan showed a mass measuring 3.

Changes in prevalence and perception of complementary and alternative medicine use in Korean inflammatory bowel disease patients: results of an 8-year follow-up survey.

Background/aims: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a global phenomenon, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. We aimed to assess the change in prevalence and patterns of CAM use, and attitudes towards CAM over an 8-year time interval (2006 vs. 2014) among IBD patients in Korea.

Endoscopic diagnosis and treatment planning for colorectal polyps using a deep-learning model.

We aimed to develop a computer-aided diagnostic system (CAD) for predicting colorectal polyp histology using deep-learning technology and to validate its performance. Near-focus narrow-band imaging (NBI) pictures of colorectal polyps were retrieved from the database of our institution. Of these, 12480 image patches of 624 polyps were used as a training set to develop the CAD.

The efficacy of conditioned medium released by tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells in a chronic murine colitis model.

Tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells (TMSC) have characteristics of MSC and have many advantages. In our previous studies, intraperitoneal (IP) injection of TMSC in acute and chronic colitis mouse models improved the disease activity index, colon length, and the expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines. However, TMSC were not observed to migrate to the inflammation site in the intestine.