Correlation of Ultrasound Scores with Endoscopic Activity in Crohn's Disease: A Prospective Exploratory Study.

Background And Aims: Intestinal ultrasound [IUS] is widely accepted as a reliable tool to monitor Crohn's disease [CD]. Several IUS scores have been proposed, but none has been formally accepted by international organizations. Our aim here was to compare the available scores regarding their correlation with endoscopic activity.

Ingestible light source for intragastric antibacterial phototherapy: a device safety study on a minipig model.

Helicobacter pylori gastric infections are among the most diffused worldwide, suffering from a rising rate of antibiotic resistance. In this context, some of the authors have previously designed an ingestible device in the form of a luminous capsule to perform antibacterial photodynamic inactivation in the stomach. In this study, the light-emitting capsules were tested to verify the safety of use prior to perform clinical efficacy studies.

Pregnancy outcomes in inflammatory bowel disease: Data from a large cohort survey.

Objectives: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can affect young and reproductively active patients. Our aim was to analyze pregnancy outcomes in a large cohort of women with IBD.

Methods: All women with at least one pregnancy were given a questionnaire regarding the outcome of their pregnancy.

Incidence, risk and protective factors of symptoms after colonoscopy.

Background: Few studies focused on minor adverse events which may develop after colonoscopy.

Aims: To investigate the incidence and factors associated to post-colonoscopy symptoms.

Methods: This is a prospective study conducted in 10 Italian hospitals.

Determinants of symptom burden related to bowel preparation for colonoscopy.

Background: Symptoms developing during bowel preparation are major concerns among subjects who refuse the procedure.

Aims: We aimed to explore the determinants of symptoms occurring during preparation among patients undergoing elective colonoscopy.

Methods: This is a prospective multicenter study conducted in 10 Italian hospitals.

Infectious risk of vedolizumab compared with other biological agents in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

Background And Aims: Vedolizumab is a gut-selective anti-integrin (α4β7) antibody for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease with a well-known optimal safety profile. We aimed to compare its risk of infections with that of anti-TNF drugs and ustekinumab in patients with both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

Methods: All Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis patients undergoing biological treatment at our centre between 2013 and 2019 were retrospectively included.

Impact of colonoscopy on working productivity: a prospective multicenter observational study.

Background And Aims: Patients undergoing colonoscopy are often in the workforce. Therefore, colonoscopy may affect patients' work productivity in terms of missed working days and/or reduced working efficiency. We aimed to investigate the impact of colonoscopy on work productivity and factors influencing this impact.

Two-year effectiveness and safety of golimumab in ulcerative colitis: An IG-IBD study.

Background: Few data exist regarding the long-term effectiveness of golimumab in ulcerative colitis. No data have been reported on real-world continuous clinical response.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the long-term outcomes in a large cohort of patients on golimumab who had ulcerative colitis.

Long-term efficacy and safety of vedolizumab in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases: A real-life experience from a tertiary referral center.

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of vedolizumab in a real-life cohort of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases enrolled at a tertiary referral center.

Methods: Data were retrospectively collected from August 2016 to November 2018. The primary outcomes were clinical response and remission at 14, 24, and 52 weeks, and steroid-free remission rate (SFRR) at 52 weeks.

A Surface Plasmon Resonance-based assay to measure serum concentrations of therapeutic antibodies and anti-drug antibodies.

Therapeutic drug and immunogenicity monitoring (TDIM) is increasingly proposed to guide therapy with biologics, characterised by high inter-individual variability of their blood levels, to permit objective decisions for the management of non-responders and reduce unnecessary interventions with these expensive treatments. However, TDIM has not yet entered clinical practice partly because of uncertainties regarding the accuracy and precision of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Here we report the characterisation of a novel surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based TDIM, applied to the measurement of serum concentrations of infliximab, an antibody against tumour necrosis factor α (anti-TNFα), and anti-infliximab antibodies.

Golimumab in inflammatory bowel diseases: present and future scenarios.

Golimumab is the third anti-TNF agent approved for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. Despite initial success demonstrated by PURSUIT trials, only few real-life studies have been published evaluating its efficacy and safety in clinical practice. Its subcutaneous route and monthly administration represent an advantage in patient compliance, respectively, vs infliximab (intravenous) and adalimumab (two doses per month).

Clinical efficacy and safety of golimumab in biologically experienced and naive patients with active ulcerative colitis: A real-life experience from two Italian IBD centers.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of golimumab in biological naive and experienced patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) treated at two Italian IBD centers.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed our prospectively maintained UC database from March 2015 to March 2017. Patients received golimumab 200 mg at week 0, 100 mg at week 2, then 50 mg or 100 mg every 4 weeks.

Disease Course and Colectomy Rate of Ulcerative Colitis: A Follow-up Cohort Study of a Referral Center in Tuscany.

Background: The disease course and colectomy rate of ulcerative colitis (UC) vary largely in population-based and referral center cohorts. We retrospectively evaluated our cohort to determine the disease course and risk factors for colectomy.

Methods: A cohort of 1723 ulcerative colitis patients (986 males; mean age, 34.

Mongersen, an oral SMAD7 antisense oligonucleotide, and Crohn's disease.

Background: Crohn's disease-related inflammation is characterized by reduced activity of the immunosuppressive cytokine transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) due to high levels of SMAD7, an inhibitor of TGF-β1 signaling. Preclinical studies and a phase 1 study have shown that an oral SMAD7 antisense oligonucleotide, mongersen, targets ileal and colonic SMAD7.

Methods: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial, we evaluated the efficacy of mongersen for the treatment of persons with active Crohn's disease.

Ustekinumab: moving the target from psoriasis to Crohn's disease.

Crohn's disease (CD) is an inflammatory bowel disease whose precise etiology is still unknown, and therefore a causal therapy is not yet available. Studies showing the overexpression of IL-12 and IL-23, polymorphisms in genes encoding those cytokines and their receptors and genome-wide association studies have linked Crohn's pathogenesis with IL-12/23 pathway. Ustekinumab is a novel therapeutic IgG₁ kappa monoclonal antibody that modulates Th1 and Th17 function, by blocking the p40 subunit of both IL-12 and IL-23 and preventing the interaction with their receptors on T cells, natural killer cells and antigen-presenting cells with established efficacy in psoriasis.

Mucosal healing in inflammatory bowel disease: treatment efficacy and predictive factors.

In recent years mucosal healing has emerged as an important therapeutic goal for patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Growing evidence suggests that achieving mucosal healing can improve patient outcomes and, potentially, alter the course of the disease. Drugs currently used in the management of inflammatory bowel disease are potentially able of inducing and maintaining mucosal healing, but the effect size is difficult to assess because of different definitions of mucosal healing, differences in study designs, and timing of endoscopic evaluation.

PPARγ in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is member of a family of nuclear receptors that interacts with nuclear proteins acting as coactivators and corepressors. The colon is a major tissue which expresses PPARγ in epithelial cells and, to a lesser degree, in macrophages and lymphocytes and plays a role in the regulation of intestinal inflammation. Indeed, both natural and synthetic PPARγ ligands have beneficial effects in different models of experimental colitis, with possible implication in the therapy of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

A predictive model identifies patients most likely to have inadequate bowel preparation for colonoscopy.

Background & Aims: An inadequate level of bowel preparation can affect the efficacy and safety of colonoscopy. Although some factors have been associated with outcome, there is no strategy to identify patients at high risk for inadequate preparation. We searched for factors associated with an inadequate level of preparation and tested the validity of a predictive clinical rule based on these factors.

Predictive factors of mortality from nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage: a multicenter study.

Objectives: From an Italian Registry of patients with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage (UGIH), we assessed the clinical outcomes and explored the roles of clinical, endoscopic, and therapeutic factors on 30-day mortality in a real life setting.

Methods: Prospective analysis of consecutive patients endoscoped for UGIH at 23 community and tertiary care institutions from 2003 to 2004. Covariates and outcomes were defined a priori and 30-day follow-up obtained.