Favorable impact of a novel endoscopic auxiliary system (NEAS) on fluoroscopy-guided lithotripsy for difficult bile duct stones: A pilot study.

Objectives: Laser lithotripsy under fluoroscopic guidance is difficult to perform and risky due to its invisibility. In this study we aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of a novel endoscopic auxiliary system (NEAS)-assisted lithotripsy under fluoroscopy for treating difficult common bile duct (CBD) stones.

Methods: Patients with difficult CBD stones who were treated with NEAS-assisted laser lithotripsy (NEAS group) or conventional mechanical lithotripsy (ML) under fluoroscopy (ML group) were retrospectively evaluated.

The feasibility of cap-assisted routine adult colonoscope for therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in patients with Roux-en-Y reconstruction after total gastrectomy.

Objectives: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in patients with Roux-en-Y reconstruction after total gastrectomy is difficult to be performed using routine tools. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of cap-assisted routine adult colonoscope (CARAC) for ERCP in these patients.

Methods: Sixteen consecutive patients with indications of ERCP who had previously undergone total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y reconstruction at two tertiary care endoscopy centers were identified.

Tetraspanin CD9 is involved in pancreatic damage during caerulein-induced acute pancreatitis in mice.

Objective: Pancreatic acinar cell necrosis and subsequent inflammatory response aggravate acute pancreatitis (AP). Tetraspanin CD9 has been reported to mediate inflammatory signaling by regulating molecular organization at the cell surface. This study aimed to investigate the role of CD9 in caerulein-induced AP (CIP) in mice.

L-cysteine administration attenuates pancreatic fibrosis induced by TNBS in rats by inhibiting the activation of pancreatic stellate cell.

Background And Aims: Recent studies have shown that activated pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) play a major role in pancreatic fibrogenesis. We aimed to study the effect of L-cysteine administration on fibrosis in chronic pancreatitis (CP) induced by trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) in rats and on the function of cultured PSCs.

Methods: CP was induced by TNBS infusion into rat pancreatic ducts.

No spatial memory deficit exists in Kunming mice that recently recovered from motor defects following 3-nitropropionic acid intoxication.

Objective: Numerous studies have described both motor defects and cognitive impairments in several strains of rodents following 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP) intoxication. In the present study, we investigated spatial recognition memory in Kunming mice that just recovered from motor defects induced by 3-NP.

Methods: Mouse model was made by systemic subacute 3-NP treatment, and spatial recognition memory was measured through the Y-maze Test, a simple two-trial recognition test.