Publications by authors named "Melanie D Beaton"

Objective: To describe celiac disease (CD) screening rates and glycemic outcomes of a gluten-free diet (GFD) in patients with type 1 diabetes who are asymptomatic for CD.

Research Design And Methods: Asymptomatic patients (8-45 years) were screened for CD. Biopsy-confirmed CD participants were randomized to GFD or gluten-containing diet (GCD) to assess changes in HbA and continuous glucose monitoring over 12 months.

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Background: Gender equity has historically been a challenge within gastroenterology.

Aims: The Canadian Association of Gastroenterology (CAG) developed a survey to identify issues pertaining to equity and gender faced by its membership and to determine areas of action.

Methods: In 2014, the survey was emailed to all 1155 CAG members, and the data were analyzed using statistical methods.

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There is little known about the impact of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) on drug metabolism and transport. We examined the pharmacokinetics of oral apixaban (2.5 mg) and rosuvastatin (5 mg) when administered simultaneously in subjects with magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed NAFLD ( = 22) and healthy control subjects ( = 12).

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Aim: To evaluate the effect of sitagliptin placebo on histologic and non-histologic parameters of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Methods: Twelve patients with biopsy-proven NASH were randomized to sitagliptin (100 mg daily) ( = 6) or placebo ( = 6) for 24 wk. The primary outcome was improvement in liver fibrosis after 24 wk.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The study explores how FGF21, a hormone that regulates lipids and glucose, influences CYP3A4 expression in NAFLD, revealing high FGF21 levels correlate with reduced enzyme activity.
  • * Results indicate that FGF21 affects nuclear localization of the pregnane X receptor (PXR), a regulator of CYP3A4, suggesting that the FGF21-PXR pathway contributes to impaired drug metabolism in NAFLD.
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There is no single pharmacologic therapy that has been approved to treat nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in the general population. The backbone of therapy currently includes intensive lifestyle modification with established targets for diet and weight loss. The use of unsweetened, unfiltered coffee along with limiting high fructose corn syrup have emerged as beneficial dietary recommendations.

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Due to high basal interindividual variation in cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) activity and susceptibility to drug interactions, there has been interest in the application of efficient probe drug phenotyping strategies, as well as endogenous biomarkers for assessment of in vivo CYP3A activity. The biomarkers 4β-hydroxycholesterol (4βHC) and 6β-hydroxycortisol (6βHCL) are sensitive to CYP3A induction and inhibition. However, their utility for the assessment of constitutive CYP3A activity remains uncertain.

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Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the leading cause of liver disease in the Western world, given its association with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and dyslipidemia. Medications are widely used in NAFLD to manage comorbid conditions, and there is significant interest in developing new drug therapies to treat the disease. Despite this, little is known about the effects of NAFLD on drug metabolism.

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Introduction: Coeliac disease (CD) is an autoimmune condition characterised by gluten-induced intestinal inflammation, and observed at a 5-10 fold greater prevalence in type 1 diabetes. While universal screening for CD in patients with diabetes is frequently advocated, objective data is limited as to benefits on diabetes control, bone health or quality of life related to the adoption of a gluten-free diet (GFD) in the large proportion of patients with diabetes with asymptomatic CD. The Celiac Disease and Diabetes-Dietary Intervention and Evaluation Trial (CD-DIET) study is a multicenter, randomised controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a GFD in patients with type 1 diabetes with asymptomatic CD.

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Background: In non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NALFD), it has often been assumed that an elevation in serum ferritin is likely related to inflammation rather than iron overload.

Material And Methods: Patients referred with NAFLD were entered into a clinical study of phlebotomy therapy. A liver biopsy with liver iron concentration was done at entry and 6 months after phlebotomy (n = 56) until the patient had a low serum ferritin or developed anemia.

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Purpose: To validate a fully automated adipose segmentation method with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) fat fraction abdominal imaging. We hypothesized that this method is suitable for segmentation of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and intra-abdominal adipose tissue (IAAT) in a wide population range, easy to use, works with a variety of hardware setups, and is highly repeatable.

Materials And Methods: Analysis was performed comparing precision and analysis time of manual and automated segmentation of single-slice imaging, and volumetric imaging (78-88 slices).

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Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is the leading cause of liver disease in western society. It is a cause of end-stage liver disease, with increased mortality secondary to cirrhosis and its complications. It is also recognized that cardiovascular disease is a significant cause of death in these patients.

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Elevated serum ferritin, or hyperferritinemia, is a common finding on routine bloodwork and often prompts referral for further evaluation. In the following review, we outline the various causes of hyperferritinemia and point out that, in the majority of cases, this does not represent true iron overload. Despite much research interest in this area, the precise mechanism of hyperferritinemia and its impact on disease severity in various clinical conditions continues to be debated.

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Attenuated familial adenomatous polyposis (AFAP) is a rare but well-established cause of colorectal carcinoma and multiple polyps. The present paper describes a case of a woman diagnosed with colorectal cancer at 34 years of age and subsequently found to have AFAP by genetic testing. During infancy, the patient underwent surgical correction of esophageal atresia with colonic interposition.

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Hemochromatosis is a common genetic condition and yet there are still a number of misperceptions surrounding the diagnosis and management of this condition. Hemochromatosis affects both men and women. Typical patients do not have alcoholism or viral hepatitis, and often have normal liver enzymes.

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Objectives: The survival of treated, noncirrhotic patients with hereditary hemochromatosis is similar to that of the general population. Less is known about the outcome of cirrhotic hereditary hemochromatosis patients. The present study evaluated the survival of patients with hereditary hemochromatosis and cirrhosis.

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