A Comparison of clinical characteristics between medically-treated patients and surgically-treated patients with ischemic colitis.

Background/aims: Ischemic colitis (IC) is usually a self-limiting disease. But, it can cause necrosis that requires urgent surgical treatment. We sought to evaluate clinical difference in IC patients between medical and surgical treatment groups, and to identify prognostic factors for adverse outcomes.

Inverse association of peripheral blood CD4(+) invariant natural killer T cells with atopy in human asthma.

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells have been reported to play a role in the pathogenesis of murine asthma. However, the role for iNKT cells in the pathogenesis of human asthma is not defined. In this study we aimed to determined how blood iNKT cells are associated with atopy in asthmatic individuals.