Fecal Myeloperoxidase Levels Reflect Disease Activity in Children With Crohn's Disease.

Background: Crohn's disease (CD) is a major form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) which has relapsing and remitting symptoms. Better ways to detect and monitor active disease are required for early diagnosis and optimal outcomes. We assessed fecal myeloperoxidase (fMPO), a neutrophil-derived enzyme that produces hypochlorous acid, as a marker of disease activity in children with CD.

Brain circuits for maternal sensitivity and pain involving anterior cingulate cortex among mothers receiving buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder.

Opioid-induced deficits in maternal behaviors are well-characterized in rodent models. Amid the current epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD), prevalence among pregnant women has risen sharply. Yet, the roles of buprenorphine replacement treatment for OUD (BT/OUD) in the brain functions of postpartum mothers are unclear.

Australasian paediatric gastroenterologist practices of coeliac disease diagnosis before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aim: To explore the perceptions and practices of Australasian paediatric gastroenterologists in diagnosing coeliac disease (CD) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Paediatric gastroenterologists in Australasia were invited via email to complete an anonymous online questionnaire over a 2-week period in 2021.

Results: The questionnaire was completed by 39 respondents: 33 from Australia and six from New Zealand (NZ) equating to a 66% response rate.

Compassion within conflict: Toward a computational theory of social groups informed by maternal brain physiology.

Benevolent intersubjectivity developed in parent-infant interactions and compassion toward friend and foe alike are non-violent interventions to group behavior in conflict. Based on a dyadic active inference framework rooted in specific parental brain mechanisms, we suggest that interventions promoting compassion and intersubjectivity can reduce stress, and that compassionate mediation may resolve conflicts.

Children With Cystic Fibrosis Have Elevated Levels of Fecal Chitinase-3-like-1.

Although chitinase-3-like-1 (CHI3L1), predominately produced by epithelial cells and macrophages, is relevant to pulmonary disease in cystic fibrosis (CF), fecal levels have not yet been assessed in children with CF. Fecal CHI3L1 was measured with a commercial immunoassay using fecal samples provided by children with CF and healthy control (HC) children. Higher median (interquartile range) fecal CHI3L1 levels were seen in the 52 children with CF than in the 35 controls: 15.

Australasian Pediatric Gastroenterologists' Perspectives and Practices of Celiac Disease Diagnosis and Management.

Background: The application of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) celiac disease (CeD) guidelines by pediatric gastroenterologists in Australia and New Zealand (Australasia) is unknown. Similarly, long-term management practices for patients with CeD are also unknown in this region.

Aims: This study aimed to explore the perceptions and practices of Australasian pediatric gastroenterologists in diagnosing and managing patients with CeD.

Patient perceptions of current and potential inflammatory bowel disease diagnostic and monitoring tests.

Background: Less invasive inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) tests are increasingly being incorporated into clinical practice as adjuncts to endoscopy to monitor disease activity and guide optimal care. Little is known about patient perspectives of these tests.

Aims: To assess patient perspectives of the current IBD tests and potential future tests, such as saliva, urine or breath.

Fecal Calprotectin in Combination With Standard Blood Tests in the Diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Children.

Fecal calprotectin (FC) is a useful non-invasive screening test but elevated levels are not specific to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The study aimed to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of FC alone or FC in combination with other standard blood tests in the diagnosis of IBD. Children aged <17 years who had FC (normal range <50 μg/g) measured and underwent endoscopy over 33 months in Christchurch, New Zealand were identified retrospectively (consecutive sampling).

Parent Perspectives of Diagnostic and Monitoring Tests Undertaken by Their Child with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Purpose: To assess parent perspectives of the current and potential future tests for their child with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Methods: New Zealand parents of a child with IBD were invited to complete an anonymous online survey. Experiences relating to their child's blood or faecal tests, medical imaging (abdominal ultrasound [US], abdominal computerised tomography [CT] and magnetic resonance enterography) and colonoscopy were collected.

Compassion As an Intervention to Attune to Universal Suffering of Self and Others in Conflicts: A Translational Framework.

As interpersonal, racial, social, and international conflicts intensify in the world, it is important to safeguard the mental health of individuals affected by them. According to a Buddhist notion "if you want others to be happy, practice compassion; if you want to be happy, practice compassion," compassion practice is an intervention to cultivate conflict-proof well-being. Here, compassion practice refers to a form of concentrated meditation wherein a practitioner attunes to friend, enemy, and someone in between, thinking, "I'm going to help them (equally).

Role of serological tests in the diagnosis of coeliac disease in children in New Zealand.

Aim: To circumvent the need for an endoscopic biopsy to establish the diagnosis of coeliac disease (CD), the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) introduced a non-biopsy pathway for selected children in 2012. This pathway was recently updated to utilise anti-tissue transglutaminase IgA (anti-TTG IgA), 10× upper limit of normal (ULN) and positive endomysial antibodies (EMA). This study focused on the retrospective application of these guidelines in children from two regions of New Zealand.

The Role of Gastrointestinal-Related Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins as Biomarkers in Gastrointestinal Diseases.

The fatty acid-binding proteins play a major role in intracellular transportation of long-chain fatty acids. Nine fatty acid-binding proteins have been identified, with each having individual tissue-specific functions in addition to regulation of fatty acids. This review focuses on the three fatty acid-binding proteins found in the gastrointestinal tract and discusses their role as diagnostic or disease monitoring markers in neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis, acute mesenteric ischemia, celiac disease, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Early postpartum resting-state functional connectivity for mothers receiving buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder: A pilot study.

Between 1999 and 2014, the prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD) among pregnant women quadrupled in the USA. The standard treatment for peripartum women with OUD is buprenorphine. However, the maternal behavior neurocircuit that regulates maternal behavior and mother-infant bonding has not been previously studied for human mothers receiving buprenorphine treatment for OUD (BT).

Effects of opioids on the parental brain in health and disease.

The epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD) directly affects millions of women of child-bearing age. Unfortunately, parenting behaviors - among the most important processes for human survival - are vulnerable to the effects of OUD. The standard of care for pregnant women with OUD is opioid maintenance therapy (OMT), of which the primary objective is to mitigate addiction-related stress.