Seasonal variability of vitamin D and bone metabolism in infliximab-treated paediatric Crohn's disease.

Background: Paediatric Crohn's disease patients suffer from several complications, including low bone mineral density and inadequate serum levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D.

Aims: The aim of this prospective study was to address the effect of infliximab therapy on bone metabolism, bone mineral density and vitamin D homeostasis. The seasonal variability of serum vitamin D levels in relation to infliximab treatment was also analysed.

Rediscovery of the Anti-Pancreatic Antibodies and Evaluation of their Prognostic Value in a Prospective Clinical Cohort of Crohn's Patients: The Importance of Specific Target Antigens [GP2 and CUZD1].

Backgrounds: Glycoprotein 2[GP2] and CUB zona pellucida-like domain 1[CUZD1] belong to protein families involved in gut innate immunity processes and have recently been identified as specific targets of anti-pancreatic autoantibodies [PAbs] in Crohn's disease[CD]. We aimed to determine the prognostic potential of novel target-specific PAbs regarding long-term disease course of an adult CD patient cohort.

Methods: Sera of 458 consecutive well-characterised IBD patients from a single referral IBD centre were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA] with isoform 4 of recombinant GP2 [anti-MZGP2 and anti-GP2 IgA/IgG] and indirect immunofluorescence test [IIFT] system with GP2 and CUZD1 expressing transfected HEK 293 cells [anti-rPAg2 and rPAg1 IgA/IgG].

The occurrence of metacercariae of Petasiger (Digenea: Echinostomatidae) in an unusual site, within the lateral line scales of cyprinid fishes.

During a regular veterinary inspection of fishes from Lake Balaton, Hungary, echinostomatid metacercariae (Digenea), with collar spines characteristic of species of the genera Petasiger Dietz, 1909 and Paryphostomum Dietz, 1909, were found in the lateral line scales of a roach Rutilus rutilus (Linnaeus), an apparently unique site. In a subsequent examination of 586 fishes from 20 different species, similar infections were found in 11 species. The infection was virtually restricted to the lateral line scales, other scales being infected only incidentally.

mGlu₅-GABAB interplay in animal models of positive, negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia.

Diverse preclinical studies exploiting the modulation of the GABAergic and/or glutamatergic system in brain via metabotropic receptors suggest their potential therapeutic utility. GS39783 and CDPPB, positive allosteric modulators of GABAB and mGlu5 receptors, were previously shown to reverse behavioral phenotypes in animal models to mimic selected (predominantly positive) symptoms of schizophrenia. In the present study we investigated the activity of selected GABAB (GS39783 and CGP7930) and mGlu5 (CDPPB) positive allosteric modulators.

Molecular detection of a putatively novel cyprinid herpesvirus in sichel (Pelecus cultratus) during a mass mortality event in Hungary.

In the early summer of 2014, mass mortality of sichel (Pelecus cultratus) was observed in Lake Balaton, Hungary. Histological examination revealed degenerative changes within the tubular epithelium, mainly in the distal tubules and collecting ducts in the kidneys and multifocal vacuolisation in the brain stem and cerebellum. Routine molecular investigations showed the presence of the DNA of an unknown alloherpesvirus in some specimens.

Lurasidone exerts antidepressant properties in the chronic mild stress model through the regulation of synaptic and neuroplastic mechanisms in the rat prefrontal cortex.

Background: Major depression is associated with several alterations, including reduced neuronal plasticity and impaired synaptic function, which represent an important target of pharmacological intervention.

Methods: In the present study, we have investigated the ability of the antipsychotic drug lurasidone to modulate behavioral and neuroplastic alterations in the chronic mild stress model of depression.

Results: Rats that show reduced sucrose consumption after 2 weeks of chronic mild stress have reduced expression of the pool of Bdnf transcripts with the long 3' untranslated region (3'-UTR) that may be targeted to the synaptic compartment, suggesting the contribution of the neurotrophin to the behavioral dysfunction produced by chronic mild stress.

Diagnostic and clinical significance of Crohn's disease-specific anti-MZGP2 pancreatic antibodies by a novel ELISA.

Background: We developed a new IgA and IgG anti-MZGP2 antibody ELISAs based on recombinant isoform-4 of human zymogen granule protein-2 (GP2), which is the major autoantigen of Crohn's disease (CrD)-specific pancreatic autoantibodies and assessed their clinical relevance in the largest inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) cohort tested to date.

Methods: 832 sera were studied, including 617 consecutive IBD patients from 323 CrD and 294 ulcerative colitis (UC) follow-up in a tertiary centre, and 112 pathological and 103 normal controls.

Results: Sensitivity of IgA anti-MZGP2 for CrD in the IBD population was 15% and specificity was 98% (95, 99), while the sensitivity and specificity of IgG anti-MZGP2 were 27% and 97%.

Pathophysiological and clinical approach to cirrhotic cardiomyopathy.

Hyperdynamic circulation, systolic and diastolic left ventricular dysfunction and certain electrophysiological abnormalities have been associated with cirrhosis and known for a long time. These clinical features have been introduced as cirrhotic cardiomyopathy (CCM), which is characterized by blunted myocardial contractile responsiveness to physical, physiological and pharmacological stress. Importantly, cardiac dysfunction can be reversible and can improve due to effective medical treatment and also after liver transplantation.

Differential stress response in rats subjected to chronic mild stress is accompanied by changes in CRH-family gene expression at the pituitary level.

The purpose of this study was to examine molecular markers of the stress response at the pituitary and peripheral levels in animals that responded differently to chronic mild stress (CMS). Rats were subjected to 2-weeks CMS and symptoms of anhedonia was measured by the consumption of 1% sucrose solution. mRNA levels of CRH-family neuropeptides (Crh-corticotropin-releasing hormone, Ucn1-urocortin 1, Ucn2-urocortin 2, Ucn3-urocortin 3), CRH receptors (Crhr1-corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 1, Crhr2-corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 2) and Crhbp (corticotropin-releasing factor binding protein) in the pituitaries of rats were determined with real-time PCR.

Attenuation of anhedonia by cariprazine in the chronic mild stress model of depression.

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether chronic treatment with cariprazine, a dopamine D2 and D3 receptor partial agonist with preferential binding to D3 receptors, shows antidepressant-like effects in the chronic mild stress (CMS)-induced anhedonia model. Male Wistar rats were subjected to the CMS procedure for 7 weeks; nonstressed animals served as controls. For the last 5 weeks of the CMS procedure, rats were injected once daily with vehicle, imipramine (10 mg/kg), aripiprazole (1 and 5 mg/kg), or cariprazine (0.

The antipsychotic-like effects in rodents of the positive allosteric modulator Lu AF21934 involve 5-HT1A receptor signaling: mechanistic studies.

Rationale: Diverse preclinical studies suggest the potential therapeutic utility of the modulation of the glutamatergic system in brain via metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors. Lu AF21934, a positive allosteric modulator of the mGlu4 receptor, was previously shown to reverse behavioral phenotypes in animal models thought to mimic positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia.

Objectives: To begin elucidating the brain circuitry involved in mGlu4 receptor pharmacology and add mechanistic support to Lu AF21934-induced phenotypic responses, the potential involvement of 5-HT1A receptors in these antipsychotic-like effects was explored.

Effects of chronic mild stress on the development of drug dependence in rats.

There is high comorbidity between depression and addiction. Features of addiction relevant to depression have been studied extensively, but less is known about features of depression relevant to addiction. Here, we have studied the effects of chronic mild stress (CMS), a valid animal model of depression, on measures of physical and psychological dependence resulting from subchronic treatment of rats with three drugs of abuse that act through disparate neurobiological mechanisms: morphine, nicotine and diazepam.

Serological studies in inflammatory bowel disease: how important are they?

Purpose Of Review: Serum antibodies have the potential role to assist in the diagnosis, disease stratification and prognostication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Understanding antibody formation might provide insight into the dysregulated immunological response to the gut microbiota in IBD. This review summarizes recent evidence regarding the role of serology in IBD.

New serological markers in pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

The spectrum of serological markers associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is rapidly growing. Due to frequently delayed or missed diagnoses, the application of non-invasive diagnostic tests for IBD, as well as differentiation between ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), would be useful in the pediatric population. In addition, the combination of pancreatic autoantibodies and antibodies against Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies/perinuclear cytoplasmic antibody (pANCA) improved the sensitivity of serological markers in pediatric patients with CD and UC.

Incidence and paris classification of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease.

New epidemiological data suggest that the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing. As a result the burden of disease accounts for more strains to the health care system. The clinical variability queries whether disease characteristics are related to clinical outcome.

Immune dysfunction in cirrhosis.

Innate and adaptive immune dysfunction, also referred to as cirrhosis-associated immune dysfunction syndrome, is a major component of cirrhosis, and plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of both the acute and chronic worsening of liver function. During the evolution of the disease, acute decompensation events associated with organ failure(s), so-called acute-on chronic liver failure, and chronic decompensation with progression of liver fibrosis and also development of disease specific complications, comprise distinct clinical entities with different immunopathology mechanisms. Enhanced bacterial translocation associated with systemic endotoxemia and increased occurrence of systemic bacterial infections have substantial impacts on both clinical situations.

Long-term results of the Sauvé-Kapandji procedure in the rheumatoid wrist.

This retrospective long-term study evaluates the clinical and radiological results of the Sauvé-Kapandji procedure in rheumatoid wrists. Fourteen patients with rheumatoid arthritis who had undergone a Sauvé-Kapandji procedure were examined 10 to 16.5 years after surgery.

1,2,3,4-Tetrahydroisoquinoline produces an antidepressant-like effect in the forced swim test and chronic mild stress model of depression in the rat: Neurochemical correlates.

1,2,3,4-Tetrahydroisoquinoline (TIQ) is an exo- and endogenous amine naturally present in mammalian brain which displays antidepressant-like effect in various animal models: the forced swim test (FST) and chronic mild stress (CMS) paradigm in rats. To elucidate this action we compared the effects of TIQ with imipramine, a classic antidepressant drug and one of the most clinically effective. Applied behavioral tests showed that TIQ produced an antidepressant-like effect with a potency comparable to that of imipramine.

Prolactin and its receptors in the chronic mild stress rat model of depression.

Prolactin (PRL) exhibits many physiological functions with wide effects on the central nervous system including stress responses. Our study aimed to investigate the effect of chronic unpredictable mild stress (CMS) - which is a good animal model of depression - on PRL receptor (PRLR) expression in the rat brain. Rats were exposed to CMS for two weeks and subsequently to CMS in combination with imipramine (IMI) treatment for five consecutive weeks.

Autoregressive cross-lagged models of IMPACT-III and Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Indexes during one year infliximab therapy in pediatric patients with Crohn's disease.

Background: Quality of life (QoL) is an important outcome measure in the evaluation of therapies for inflammatory bowel disease. The primary aim of this study was to determine the effect of one year infliximab treatment on QoL and clinical parameters in pediatric patients with Crohn's diseases (CD).

Methods: Our prospective study involved 51 children with conventional therapy resistant, severe CD (mean age: 15.

IL28B and IL10R -1087 polymorphisms are protective for chronic genotype 1 HCV infection and predictors of response to interferon-based therapy in an East-Central European cohort.

Background: Previous studies have shown that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in IL28B and IL10R are associated with sustained virological response (SVR) in chronic hepatitis C patients treated with pegilated interferon plus ribavirin (P/R). The present study extends our earlier investigations on a large East-Central European cohort. The allele frequencies of IL28B and IL10R in genotype 1 HCV infection were compared with that of healthy controls for the purpose of examining the relationship between the polymorphisms and the SVR to P/R treatment.

[Frequency and characteristics of granulomas in 368 pediatric patients with Crohn's disease].

Introduction: Epitheloid granulomas are one of the best histological criteria for distinguishing Crohn's disease from other inflammatory bowel diseases. However, the role of granuloma in the pathogenesis and clinical characteristics of Crohn's disease is unclear.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the frequency of granulomas and their association with clinical characteristics using the database of the Hungarian Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Registry.

Predictors of relapse in patients with ulcerative colitis in remission after one-year of infliximab therapy.

BACKGROUND. Some of the most important questions relating to the use of biological therapy in inflammatory bowel diseases concern the duration of maintenance therapy. The RASH study revealed that previous use of biological therapy and dose intensification are associated with restarting of biological therapy in Crohn's disease.

Antidepressant-like activity of magnesium in the chronic mild stress model in rats: alterations in the NMDA receptor subunits.

Recent data suggests that the glutamatergic system is involved in the pathophysiology and treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) and that the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor is a potential target for antidepressant drugs. The magnesium ion blocks the ion channel of the NMDA receptor and prevents its excessive activation. Some preclinical and clinical evidence suggests also that magnesium may be useful in the treatment of depression.

The reversal of cognitive, but not negative or positive symptoms of schizophrenia, by the mGlu₂/₃ receptor agonist, LY379268, is 5-HT₁A dependent.

mGlu(2/3) receptor agonists were shown to possess an antipsychotic-like potential in animal studies. Recent clinical investigations revealed that their antipsychotic potential might also manifest in humans. LY379268, the group II mGlu receptor orthosteric agonist, was previously shown to exhibit antipsychotic-like action in animal models of schizophrenia.