T-helper 2 cytokines, transforming growth factor β1, and eosinophil products induce fibrogenesis and alter muscle motility in patients with eosinophilic esophagitis.

Background & Aims: Patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) often become dysphagic from the combination of organ fibrosis and motor abnormalities. We investigated mechanisms of dysphagia, assessing the response of human esophageal fibroblasts (HEFs), human esophageal muscle cells (HEMCs), and esophageal muscle strips to eosinophil-derived products.

Methods: Biopsy specimens were collected via endoscopy from the upper, middle, and lower thirds of the esophagus of 18 patients with EoE and 21 individuals undergoing endoscopy for other reasons (controls).

Lynch syndrome-associated neoplasms: a discussion on histopathology and immunohistochemistry.

It was a century ago that Warthin, a pathologist, first described the clinical condition now known as Lynch syndrome. One hundred years later, our understanding of this syndrome has advanced significantly. Much of the progress took place over the last 25 years and was marked by a series of interacting developments from the disciplines of clinical oncology, pathology, and molecular genetics, with each development serving to guide or enhance the next.

Isolated supraclavicular lymph node metastasis in pancreatic adenocarcinoma: a report of three cases and review of the literature.

Context: Supraclavicular lymph nodes represent a rare site of metastasis in pancreatic cancer. We report three cases of pancreatic adenocarcinoma with metastases to supraclavicular lymph nodes.

Case Report: A 51-year-old male was diagnosed with locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma on computed tomography (CT) scan.

Treatment of gastric antral vascular ectasia (watermelon stomach) with endoscopic band ligation.

Background: Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) is characterized by mucosal and submucosal vascular ectasia causing recurrent GI hemorrhage. Treatment of GAVE with endoscopic thermal therapy (ETT) requires multiple sessions for destruction of vascular ectasia and control of bleeding. Endoscopic band ligation (EBL) has become the standard treatment of varices because it effectively obliterates the submucosal plexus of esophageal varices with an acceptably low rate of complications.

Interobserver agreement in hepatitis C grading and staging and in the Banff grading schema for acute cellular rejection: the "hepatitis C 3" multi-institutional trial experience.

Context: Establishing adequate interobserver agreement is crucial not only for standardization of patient care but also to ensure validity of findings in multi-institutional trials.

Objective: To evaluate interobserver agreement in assessing chronic hepatitis C (HCV) and acute cellular rejection (ACR) among 17 hepatopathologists involved in the "Hepatitis C 3" trial.

Design: The trial is a randomized multicenter (17 institutions) study involving 312 patients undergoing transplantation for HCV.