Epidemiology of Eosinophilic Esophagitis: Really a Novel and Evolving Disease?

Background: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) has been described as a chronic allergen/immune-mediated disease characterized by symptoms of esophageal dysfunction and eosinophilic infiltration of the mucosa.

Summary: Over the past decades, EoE has been increasingly recognized in various geographical areas with a high socioeconomic development (mostly industrialized countries) and has evolved from an unknown to a clinically distinct disease with increasing prevalence and incidence. An average age at diagnosis between 30 and 50 years and a male predominance have been consistently observed.

Efficacy and Safety of Budesonide Orodispersible Tablets for Eosinophilic Esophagitis up to 3 Years: An Open-Label Extension Study.

Background & Aims: Budesonide orodispersible tablets (BOT) have been shown to be safe and effective in phase III double-blind trials of induction and 48-week maintenance therapy of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). We now analyzed the long-term efficacy and safety of BOT in a 96-week open-label extension (OLE) study.

Methods: All patients with EoE in the 48-week double-blind maintenance study were eligible to receive BOT treatment for up to 96 weeks.

Efficacy and Safety of Anthocyanin-Rich Extract in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Bilberries are effective in inducing clinical, endoscopic, and biochemical improvement in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of anthocyanin-rich extract (ACRE), the bioactive ingredient of bilberries, in a controlled clinical trial in moderate-to-severe UC. A multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study with a parallel group was conducted.

Fecal urgency and incontinence in inflammatory bowel disease perceived by physician and patient: Results from the Swiss fecal urgency survey.

Introduction: Although increasingly appreciated, little is known about the prevalence of fecal urgency, fecal incontinence and differences between patients' and physicians' perception in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Methods: We performed an online patient and physician survey to evaluate the assessment, prevalence and impact of fecal urgency and incontinence in IBD.

Results: A total of 593 patients (44.

Noninvasive Disease Assessment in Eosinophilic Esophagitis With Fractionated Exhaled Nitric Oxide, Blood, and Fecal Biomarkers.

Background: Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the esophagus triggered by food and aeroallergens. There is a need for noninvasive biomarkers that reliably detect EoE in patients with cardinal symptoms and predict treatment response to reduce endoscopic evaluations.

Study: Nonasthmatic patients 18 years or above with suspected or diagnosed EoE, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and control individuals with indication for endoscopy were enrolled prospectively between November 2020 and May 2022.

Bone health in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are prone to reduced bone mineral density and elevated overall fracture risk. Osteopenia affects up to 40% of patients with IBD (high regional variability). Besides disease activity, IBD specialists must consider possible side effects of medication and the presence of associated diseases and extraintestinal manifestations.

Post-transplant Inflammatory Bowel Disease Associated with Donor-Derived TIM-3 Deficiency.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) occurring following allogeneic stem cell transplantation (aSCT) is a very rare condition. The underlying pathogenesis needs to be better defined. There is currently no systematic effort to exclude loss- or gain-of-function mutations in immune-related genes in stem cell donors.

[Chronic inflammatory bowel disease in elderly people].

Inflammatory bowel disease is mainly diagnosed in younger patients. However, the number of elderly patients (age > 60 years) affected by Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis is increasing. In the elderly, symptoms often differ from the younger population.

Swiss expert opinion: current approaches in faecal microbiota transplantation in daily practice.

Introduction: Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is an established therapy for recurrent C. difficile infection, and recent studies have reported encouraging results of FMT in patients with ulcerative colitis. Few international consensus guidelines exist for this therapy, and thus FMT policies and practices differ among European countries.

Surface protein and functional analyses identify CD4+CD39+ TCR αβ+ and activated TCR Vδ1+ cells with distinct pro-inflammatory functions in Crohn's disease lesions.

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic immune-mediated disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. Extensive screening studies have revealed the accumulation of immune cell subsets with unique plasticity and immunoregulatory properties in patients with CD. We performed phenotypic and functional studies on inflamed and non-inflamed bioptic tissue to investigate the presence of distinct T cells in the intestinal mucosa of CD patients.

AXL Expression on Homeostatic Resident Liver Macrophages Is Reduced in Cirrhosis Following GAS6 Production by Hepatic Stellate Cells.

Background & Aims: AXL and MERTK expression on circulating monocytes modulated immune responses in patients with cirrhosis (CD14HLA-DRAXL) and acute-on-chronic liver failure (CD14MERTK). AXL expression involved enhanced efferocytosis, sustained phagocytosis, but reduced tumor necrosis factor-α/interleukin-6 production and T-cell activation, suggesting a homeostatic function. Axl was expressed on murine airway in tissues contacting the external environment, but not interstitial lung- and tissue-resident synovial lining macrophages.

Quantitative determination of SLC2A1 variant functional effects in GLUT1 deficiency syndrome.

Objective: The goal of this study is to demonstrate the utility of a growth assay to quantify the functional impact of single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in SLC2A1, the gene responsible for Glut1DS.

Methods: The functional impact of 40 SNVs in SLC2A1 was quantitatively determined in HAP1 cells in which SLC2A1 is required for growth. Donor libraries were introduced into the endogenous SLC2A1 gene in HAP1-Lig4KO cells using CRISPR/Cas9.

Muscle-Specific Ablation of Glucose Transporter 1 (GLUT1) Does Not Impair Basal or Overload-Stimulated Skeletal Muscle Glucose Uptake.

Glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) is believed to solely mediate basal (insulin-independent) glucose uptake in skeletal muscle; yet recent work has demonstrated that mechanical overload, a model of resistance exercise training, increases muscle GLUT1 levels. The primary objective of this study was to determine if GLUT1 is necessary for basal or overload-stimulated muscle glucose uptake. Muscle-specific GLUT1 knockout (mGLUT1KO) mice were generated and examined for changes in body weight, body composition, metabolism, systemic glucose regulation, muscle glucose transporters, and muscle [H]-2-deoxyglucose uptake ± the GLUT1 inhibitor BAY-876.

IL-20 subfamily cytokines impair the oesophageal epithelial barrier by diminishing filaggrin in eosinophilic oesophagitis.

Objective: Disruption of the epithelial barrier plays an essential role in developing eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE), a disease defined by type 2 helper T cell (Th2)-mediated food-associated and aeroallergen-associated chronic inflammation. Although an increased expression of interleukin (IL)-20 subfamily members, IL-19, IL-20 and IL-24, in Th2-mediated diseases has been reported, their function in EoE remains unknown.

Design: Combining transcriptomic, proteomic and functional analyses, we studied the importance of the IL-20 subfamily for EoE using patient-derived oesophageal three-dimensional models and an EoE mouse model.

Liver Cirrhosis Affects the Pharmacokinetics of the Six Substrates of the Basel Phenotyping Cocktail Differently.

Background: Activities of hepatic cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) are relevant for hepatic clearance of drugs and known to be decreased in patients with liver cirrhosis. Several studies have reported the effect of liver cirrhosis on CYP activity, but the results are partially conflicting and for some CYPs lacking.

Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate the CYP activity in patients with liver cirrhosis with different Child stages (A-C) using the Basel phenotyping cocktail approach.

Targeting colonic macrophages improves glycemic control in high-fat diet-induced obesity.

The obesity epidemic continues to worsen worldwide. However, the mechanisms initiating glucose dysregulation in obesity remain poorly understood. We assessed the role that colonic macrophage subpopulations play in glucose homeostasis in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD).

Budesonide orodispersible tablets for induction of remission in patients with active eosinophilic oesophagitis: A 6-week open-label trial of the EOS-2 Programme.

Background: A novel budesonide orodispersible tablet (BOT) has been proven effective in adult patients with active eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE) in a 6-week placebo-controlled trial (EOS-1).

Aims: To report the efficacy of an open-label induction treatment with BOT in a large prospective cohort of EoE patients within the EOS-2 study.

Methods: Patients with clinico-histological active EoE were treated with BOT 1 mg BID for 6 weeks.

Faecal calprotectin increases the diagnostic yield in patients with suspected small bowel disease - a multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Aim Of The Study: Diagnosing small bowel pathology is challenging, and the diagnostic yield of small bowel capsule endoscopy is highly variable. Faecal calprotectin is a non-invasive intestinal inflammation marker that could be used as a selection tool to identify patients who might benefit from small bowel capsule endoscopy and increase its diagnostic yield. This study aimed to investigate the value of faecal calprotectin in detecting small bowel lesions in an unselected patient population.

High Serum Creatine Kinase Levels in Infliximab and Vedolizumab-Treated Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients.

Background: TNF inhibitors are relatively safe drugs, but asymptomatic infliximab-induced high serum creatine kinase (CK) levels have been reported in >30% of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Whether high serum CK levels are a specific effect of treatment with TNF inhibitors has not been studied in detail. CK levels were therefore compared between infliximab- and vedolizumab-treated IBD patients.

Immune system and microbiome in the esophagus: implications for understanding inflammatory diseases.

The gastrointestinal tract is the largest compartment of the body's immune system exposed to microorganisms, structural components and metabolites, antigens derived from the diet, and pathogens. Most studies have focused on immune responses in the stomach, the small intestine, and the colon, but the esophagus has remained an understudied anatomic immune segment. Here, we discuss the esophagus' anatomical and physiological distinctions that may account for inflammatory esophageal diseases.

[The IBD-Control questionnaire: German translation and validation of the standardized questionnaire for Patient Reported Outcome Measurement in inflammatory bowel disease].

Background: Subjectively perceived results of treatment will be in the center of defining treatment success on the way to value-based and patient-centered health care. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) serve as an instrument to measure treatment success. In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), measuring treatment success from a patient's point of view is performed with the validated IBD-Control questionnaire.

Obesity in Humans Is Characterized by Gut Inflammation as Shown by Pro-Inflammatory Intestinal Macrophage Accumulation.

Chronic low-grade inflammation is a hallmark of obesity and associated with cardiovascular complications. However, it remains unclear where this inflammation starts. As the gut is constantly exposed to food, gut microbiota, and metabolites, we hypothesized that mucosal immunity triggers an innate inflammatory response in obesity.