Trend of Representation of Women in Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Endoscopy Conferences in Asia.

Objectives: Despite progress in promoting gender equality, gender bias remains a significant obstacle for women and hinders their academic advancement. We aim to survey and critically analyze women's representation in conferences and changes over time in various regions of Asian countries.

Methods: An international survey was conducted with representatives from East Asia (Hong Kong, China, and Japan), South Asia (India and Pakistan), and Southeast Asia (Vietnam and Thailand).

Role of 5-aminosalicylic acid in ulcerative colitis management in 8 Asian territories: a physician survey.

Clinical guidelines typically endorse conventional therapies such as 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) as the mainstay of ulcerative colitis management. However, the degree of adoption and application of guideline recommendations by physicians within Asia remains unclear. This study aims to understand the prescribing patterns of 5-ASA and implementation of current guideline recommendations across Asian clinical practice.

Assessing the efficacy of tocotrienol-rich fraction vitamin E in obese children with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a single-blind, randomized clinical trial.

Background: Childhood obesity is a growing concern, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a significant consequence. Currently, there are no approved drugs to treat NAFLD in children. However, a recent study explored the potential of vitamin E enriched with tocotrienol (TRF) as a powerful antioxidant for NAFLD.

Ten missteps in the management of inflammatory bowel disease in Asia: An expert report by the Asian Pacific Association of Gastroenterology Working Group on Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is rapidly emerging in the Asia Pacific region. However, there are many challenges in the diagnosis and management of this condition. The Asian Pacific Association of Gastroenterology (APAGE) Working Group on IBD conducted a round table meeting to identify 10 common mistakes in the management of IBD in Asia.

A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial on Lactobacillus-containing cultured milk drink as adjuvant therapy for depression in irritable bowel syndrome.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is frequently linked with coexisting mental illnesses. Our previous study discovered that 32.1% of IBS patients had subthreshold depression (SD), placing them at higher risk of developing major depression.

The role of probiotics in improving menstrual health in women with primary dysmenorrhoea: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (the PERIOD study).

Background: Primary dysmenorrhea is associated with poorer quality of life; however, the causal mechanism remains unclear. A vast body of literature supports the use of oral probiotics for relief from the symptoms of endometriosis; however, to our knowledge, no study has prescribed probiotics for primary dysmenorrhea.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of 3-month supplementation with oral probiotics on quality of life and inflammatory markers in women with primary dysmenorrhea.

Methods for identification of the opportunistic gut mycobiome from colorectal adenocarcinoma biopsy tissues.

Colorectal cancer poses a significant threat to global health, necessitating the development of effective early detection techniques. However, the potential of the fungal microbiome as a putative biomarker for the detection of colorectal adenocarcinoma has not been extensively explored. We analyzed the viability of implementing the fungal mycobiome for this purpose.

The Intersection of ChatGPT, Clinical Medicine, and Medical Education.

As we progress deeper into the digital age, the robust development and application of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology, specifically generative language models like ChatGPT (OpenAI), have potential implications in all sectors including medicine. This viewpoint article aims to present the authors' perspective on the integration of AI models such as ChatGPT in clinical medicine and medical education. The unprecedented capacity of ChatGPT to generate human-like responses, refined through Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback, could significantly reshape the pedagogical methodologies within medical education.

Roles of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases signaling pathway in inflammation-related cancer: Impact of rs10889677 variant and buparlisib in colitis-associated cancer.

Background: Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases (PI3K) is a well-known route in inflammation-related cancer. Recent discovery on PI3K-related genes revealed a potential variant that links ulcerative colitis (UC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) with colitis-associated cancer (CAC). PI3K/AKT pathway has been recommended as a potential additional therapeutic option for CRC due to its substantial role in modifying cellular processes.

A Systematic Review on the Increasing Incidence of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Southeast Asia: Looking Beyond the Urbanization Phenomenon.

The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been increasing in Southeast Asia (SEA) in tandem with its economic growth and urbanization over the past 2 decades. Specific characteristics of IBD in SEA are similar to East Asia and the West, such as the declining ratio of ulcerative colitis to Crohn's disease. However, exceptionally low familial aggregation is seen.

Probiotic containing Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17648 as an adjunct treatment for Helicobacter pylori infection: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Despite multiple therapy regimens, the decline in the Helicobacter pylori eradication rate poses a significant challenge to the medical community. Adding Lactobacillus reuteri probiotic as an adjunct treatment has shown some promising results. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17648 in H.

Dietary patterns associated with colorectal cancer risk in the Malaysian population: a case-control study with exploratory factor and regression analysis.

Background: Studies on the relationship between diet and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk using single food or nutrient approach are widely conducted as opposed to dietary pattern approach. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the major dietary patterns and their association with CRC risk among Malaysians.

Methods: Patients aged between 18 and 80 years old from two teaching hospitals in Peninsular Malaysia were recruited through purposive sampling.

Development of the global inflammatory bowel disease visualization of epidemiology studies in the 21 century (GIVES-21).

Background: There is a rapid increase in the incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in newly industrialized countries, yet epidemiological data is incomplete. We herein report the methodology adopted to study the incidence of IBD in newly industrialized countries and to evaluate the effect of environmental factors including diet on IBD development.

Methods: Global IBD Visualization of Epidemiology Studies in the 21st Century (GIVES-21) is a population-based cohort of newly diagnosed persons with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to be followed prospectively for 12 months.

A Malaysian consensus report on the diagnosis and treatment of infection.

is one of the most common chronic bacterial infections in humans and responsible for 90% of duodenal ulcers and 70-90% of gastric ulcers. Despite this, many misconceptions regarding the appropriate diagnostic method and treatment strategies still exist in the Malaysian clinical practice. Under the initiative of the steering committee, an expert panel consisting of nine key opinion leaders in the field of gastroenterology convened to develop a set of consensus statements that are relevant to the Malaysian healthcare practice.

Joint Asian Pacific Association of Gastroenterology (APAGE)-Asian Pacific Society of Digestive Endoscopy (APSDE) clinical practice guidelines on the use of non-invasive biomarkers for diagnosis of colorectal neoplasia.

Screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) is effective in reducing CRC related mortality. Current screening methods include endoscopy based and biomarker based approaches. This guideline is a joint official statement of the Asian Pacific Association of Gastroenterology (APAGE) and the Asian Pacific Society of Digestive Endoscopy (APSDE), developed in response to the increasing use of, and accumulating supportive evidence for the role of, non-invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis of CRC and its precursor lesions.

The impact of diet and ethnicity on gut microbiota variation in irritable bowel syndrome: A multi-center study.

Background And Aim: The gut microbiota in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is known to vary with diet. We aim to (i) analyze the gut microbiota composition of IBS patients from a multi-ethnic population and (ii) explore the impact of a low FODMAP diet on gastrointestinal symptoms and gut microbiota composition among IBS patients.

Methods: A multi-center study of multi-ethnic Asian patients with IBS was conducted in two phases: (i) an initial cross-sectional gut microbiota composition study of IBS patients and healthy controls, followed by (ii) a single-arm 6-week dietary interventional study of the IBS patients alone, exploring clinical and gut microbiota changes.

Evaluation of intestinal ultrasound for disease activity assessment in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: A cross-sectional study at a tertiary centre in Malaysia.

Background: The use of intestinal ultrasound (IUS) in the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is emerging. We aim to determine the performance of IUS in the assessment of disease activity in IBD.

Methods: This is a prospective cross-sectional study of IUS performed on IBD patients in a tertiary centre.

Dietary Inflammatory Index, Obesity, and the Incidence of Colorectal Cancer: Findings from a Hospital-Based Case-Control Study in Malaysia.

Obesity-mediated inflammation represents a key connection between the intake of foods with high inflammatory potential and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. We aimed to explore the association between energy-adjusted dietary inflammatory index (E-DII) in relation to CRC risk in both obese and non-obese subjects. This study included 99 histopathologically confirmed CRC cases, 73 colonic polyps cases, and 141 healthy controls from tertiary medical centres in both urban and suburban areas in Peninsular Malaysia.

The Effects of Probiotics on Small Intestinal Microbiota Composition, Inflammatory Cytokines and Intestinal Permeability in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has soared globally. As our understanding of the disease grows, the role of the gut-liver axis (GLA) in NAFLD pathophysiology becomes more apparent. Hence, we focused mainly on the small intestinal area to explore the role of GLA.

Multidrug-Resistant Strains: A Five-Year Surveillance Study and Its Genome Characteristics.

Background: The emergence of multidrug-resistant has undermined eradication strategies to prevent the development of gastric cancer. This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of secondary antibiotic resistance of in urban multicultural areas in Malaysia.

Methods: From January 2017 to December 2021, gastric biopsies from 218 patients with a history of eradication failure were sent to our laboratory for antibiotic susceptibility testing.

Targeted Sequencing of Cytokine-Induced PI3K-Related Genes in Ulcerative Colitis, Colorectal Cancer and Colitis-Associated Cancer.

Chronic relapsing inflammatory bowel disease is strongly linked to an increased risk of colitis-associated cancer (CAC). One of the well-known inflammatory carcinogenesis pathways, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), was identified to be a crucial mechanism in long-standing ulcerative colitis (UC). The goal of this study was to identify somatic variants in the cytokine-induced PI3K-related genes in UC, colorectal cancer (CRC) and CAC.

High Dose Oestrogen in Life Threatening Obscure Gastrointestinal Bleeding.

Obscure gastrointestinal bleeding is defined as recurrent or persistent gastrointestinal bleeding in the setting of normal upper and lower endoscopies. There are reported use of numerous pharmacological agents to halt the bleeding, including oestrogen. We report a case of middle age gentleman with multiple comorbidities, presented with life threatening gastrointestinal bleeding.