The Immunological Basis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are chronic ailments, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis being the most important. These diseases present an inflammatory profile and they differ according to pathophysiology, the affected area in the gastrointestinal tract, and the depth of the inflammation in the intestinal wall. The immune characteristics of IBD arise from abnormal responses of the innate and adaptive immune system.

Dietary risk factors for colorectal cancer in Brazil: a case control study.

Background: High meat intake and low consumption of vegetables, fruits and whole grains have been associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer in some relevant cohort studies conducted in distinct ethnic populations. The role of the dietary pattern on the risk of sporadic colorectal adenocarcinoma (SCA) in Brazil is unknown; therefore, it was the aim of the present study.

Methods: The dietary patterns of 169 patients with SCA and 101 controls were analysed by food frequency recall.

Immunochemical fecal occult blood test for detection of advanced colonic adenomas and colorectal cancer: comparison with colonoscopy results.

Background. Fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) have been used for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in several countries. There is lack of information concerning diagnostic performances of this method in Brazil.

Toll-like receptor 4, F4/80 and pro-inflammatory cytokines in intestinal and mesenteric fat tissue of Crohn's disease.

Introduction: Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic intestinal ailment with a multifactorial etiology, whose incidence has increased during the last three decades. Recently, a role for mesenteric fat has been proposed in CD pathophysiology, since fat hypertrophy is detected nearby the affected intestinal area; however, there are few studies on this aspect.

Aim: To evaluate inflammatory activity in intestinal mucosa and mesenteric fat tissue of patients with CD and controls.

Detection of epithelial apoptosis in pelvic ileal pouches for ulcerative colitis and familial adenomatous polyposis.

Background: Ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) is the surgical procedure of choice for patients with refractory ulcerative colitis (UC) and for familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) with many rectal polyps. Pouchitis is one of the more frequent complications after IPAA in UC patients; however, it is rare in FAP.

Objective: Evaluate pro-apoptotic activity in endoscopically and histological normal mucosa of the ileal pouch in patients with UC and FAP.