How achievable are STRIDE-II treatment targets in real-world practice and do they predict long-term treatment outcomes?

Objective: The second iteration of the Selecting Therapeutic Targets in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (STRIDE-II) initiative recommends use of the Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn's disease (SES-CD) as a treatment target for patients with CD. We aimed to assess whether the STRIDE-II endoscopic endpoints are achievable and whether the degree of mucosal healing (MH) affects long-term outcomes.

Design/method: We performed a retrospective observational study between 2015 and 2022.

Transnasal endoscopy: moving from endoscopy to the clinical outpatient-blue sky thinking in oesophageal testing.

Background: COVID-19 has severely affected UK endoscopy services with an estimate 86% loss of activity during the first wave. Subsequent delays in diagnostic and surveillance procedures highlight the need for novel solutions to tackle the resultant backlog. Transnasal endoscopy (TNE) provides an attractive option compared with conventional upper gastrointestinal endoscopy given its limited use of space, no sedation and reduced nursing resources.

Azathioprine with Allopurinol Is a Promising First-Line Therapy for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

Background: Beneficial response to first-line immunosuppressive azathioprine in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is low due to high rates of adverse events. Co-administrating allopurinol has been shown to improve tolerability. However, data on this co-therapy as first-line treatment are scarce.

Effectiveness of vedolizumab dose intensification to achieve inflammatory bowel disease control in cases of suboptimal response.

Background: Despite the proven efficacy of vedolizumab (VDZ) for ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), suboptimal response is commonly encountered. However, data regarding the effectiveness of dose intensification (by interval shortening) to achieve response are limited.

Objectives: We evaluated the effectiveness of dose intensification at achieving response in patients with a previously suboptimal response to VDZ.

Golimumab: early experience and medium-term outcomes from two UK tertiary IBD centres.

Objective: To gain an understanding of the effectiveness of golimumab in a 'real-world' setting.

Design: Retrospective cohort study using prospectively maintained clinical records.

Setting: Two UK tertiary IBD centres.

Prevalence and Risk Factors for Functional Vitamin B12 Deficiency in Patients with Crohn's Disease.

Background: Crohn's disease (CD) is a risk factor for vitamin B12 deficiency due to frequent involvement of the terminal ileum. Conventional screening for B12 deficiency with serum B12 is relatively insensitive and measures total B12 concentration, of which a minority is present in a biologically active form. Holotranscobalamin (holoTC) combined with methylmalonic acid (MMA) is believed to be more accurate in identifying impaired B12 status.

The relevance of transient lower oesophageal sphincter relaxations in the pathophysiology and treatment of GORD.

Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is associated with the passage of gastric contents into the oesophagus resulting in potential oesophageal damage and impaired quality of life. GORD is a frequently encountered problem in today's population, with 25% of people in western populations reporting such symptoms at least once a month. Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) are the drug of choice, with surgery being employed in refractory cases.

Serum silicon concentrations in pregnant women and newborn babies.

Earlier studies in animals have suggested an essential role for Si in connective tissues, but such works have not been replicated per se. Nonetheless, a study conducted in 2000 has reported that Si may be essential during pregnancy for the growing fetus, since serum Si concentrations in infants were approximately 300 % higher than those in older children and adults and serum Si concentrations in pregnant women were approximately 300 % lower than those in age-matched non-pregnant controls. To reproduce these potentially important findings, in the present study, serum Si concentrations were measured in fourteen pregnant women (15-24 weeks of gestation) and compared with those of seventeen non-pregnant, non-lactating female controls.

The comparative absorption of silicon from different foods and food supplements.

Dietary Si (orthosilicic acid; OSA) appears important in connective tissue health, and although the sources and intakes of Si are well established, its absorption is not. Si absorption was measured from eight high-Si-containing sources: alcohol-free beer; OSA solution (positive control); bananas; green beans; supplemental choline-stabilised OSA (ChOSA); supplemental monomethyl silanetriol (MMST); supplemental colloidal silica (CS); magnesium trisilicate British Pharmacopoeia antacid (MTBP). Two of the supplements and the antacid were pre-selected following an in vitro dissolution assay.

Increased longitudinal growth in rats on a silicon-depleted diet.

Silicon-deficiency studies in growing animals in the early 1970s reported stunted growth and profound defects in bone and other connective tissues. However, more recent attempts to replicate these findings have found mild alterations in bone metabolism without any adverse health effects. Thus the biological role of silicon remains unknown.

The relationship between gastro-oesophageal reflux symptoms and achalasia.

Background And Aims: Patients with achalasia can experience heartburn, which may be misinterpreted as gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), leading to a delay in diagnosis and subsequent treatment. We investigated the relationship between gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) and reflux symptoms in a large cohort of patients with achalasia.

Methods: The symptoms of all patients with a manometric diagnosis of achalasia made over the past 15 years were studied.

Efficacy and safety of endoscopic dilation of esophageal strictures in epidermolysis bullosa.

Background: Epidermolysis bullosa is a rare genetically determined disorder of the stratified squamous epithelium. Patients with the most severe forms develop scarring of the esophagus after ingestion of food. This results in dysphagia, which severely compromises the ability to eat.

Dietary silicon intake and absorption.

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that silicon is important in bone formation. The main source of silicon for humans is the diet, but the bioavailability of silicon from solid foods is not well understood.

Objective: We estimated the dietary intake of silicon by adults, separately for men and women and for different age groups.