[Adverse effects of long-term proton-pump inhibitor therapy on adults].

In the last few decades, proton-pump inhibitors have become the mainstay of the treatment of acid-related disorders. Despite their efficacy, these drugs are not without risks. Recently several articles have been published on their long-term adverse effects.

Burden of Clostridium difficile infection between 2010 and 2013: Trends and outcomes from an academic center in Eastern Europe.

Aim: To analyze the incidence and possible risk factors in hospitalized patients treated with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI).

Methods: A total of 11751 patients were admitted to our clinic between 1 January 2010 and 1 May 2013. Two hundred and forty-seven inpatients were prospectively diagnosed with CDI.

Influence of local exposure to static magnetic field on pain perception and bone turnover of osteoporotic patients with vertebral deformity - a randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: Static magnetic field (SMF) could improve pain sensation and bone turnover. In a single-center randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study we investigated the effects of SMF exposure on subjective pain and bone turnover.

Materials And Methods: Postmenopausal osteoporotic women (aged 50-70 years) with bone deformity and back pain were randomized to 10 weekly visits of 30-min SMF (n = 6) or treatment with non-magnetized pads (n = 5) on the back.

Is current smoking still an important environmental factor in inflammatory bowel diseases? Results from a population-based incident cohort.

Background: Previous studies suggest that smoking is an important environmental factor in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), with dichotomous effects in ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between smoking and IBD risk in a population-based database from Veszprem Province, which included incident cases diagnosed between January 1, 1977, and December 31, 2008.

Methods: Data from 1420 incident patients were analyzed (UC: 914, age at diagnosis: 38.

Autonomic dysfunction and circadian blood pressure variations in people with impaired glucose tolerance.

Aims: To assess circadian blood pressure variability in people with impaired glucose tolerance and a healthy control population.

Methods: Seventy-five people with impaired glucose tolerance and 40 healthy volunteers (frequency matched on 10-year age bands and sex) underwent a detailed neurological assessment. Autonomic neuropathy was detected by the five standard cardiovascular autonomic tests and heart rate variability was characterized by the triangle index.

The risk of lymphoma and immunomodulators in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases: results from a population-based cohort in Eastern Europe.

Background And Aims: Prior studies suggest a small but significantly increased risk of lymphoma in adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), especially in patients treated with thiopurines. No data was available from Eastern Europe. The aim of this study was to analyze the incidence of lymphomas as related to drug exposure, in a population-based Veszprem province database, which included incident cases diagnosed between January 1, 1977 and December 31, 2008.

[The effect of early immunosuppressive therapy on the rate of resections performed in patients with Chron's disease, in Veszprém county, Hungary, a population-based cohort study].

Unlabelled: Medical therapy for Crohn's disease has changed significantly over the past 20 years with the increasing use of immunosuppressants. In contrast, surgery rates are still high and evidence about the the changes in the outcome of Crohn's disease over the past decades is scarce.

Aims: The objective of this study was to analyze the evolution of the surgical rates and medical therapy in the population-based Veszprém county database.

Has there been a change in the natural history of Crohn's disease? Surgical rates and medical management in a population-based inception cohort from Western Hungary between 1977-2009.

Objectives: Medical therapy for Crohn's disease (CD) has changed significantly over the past 20 years with increasing use of immunosuppressives. In contrast, surgery rates are still high and there is little evidence that disease outcomes for CD have changed over the past decades. The objective of this study was to analyze the evolution of the surgical rates and medical therapy in the population-based Veszprem province database.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein for identification of disease phenotype, active disease, and clinical relapses in Crohn's disease: a marker for patient classification?

Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) is a traditional nonspecific marker of inflammation, with Crohn's disease (CD) being associated with a strong CRP response. Thus far, no clear cutoff values have been determined. The authors' aim was to investigate whether high-sensitivity (hs)-CRP is useful for the identification disease phenotype, active disease, and relapse during follow-up, using a classification based on the hs-CRP value at diagnosis.

Early clinical remission and normalisation of CRP are the strongest predictors of efficacy, mucosal healing and dose escalation during the first year of adalimumab therapy in Crohn's disease.

Background: Adalimumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting tumour necrosis factor with proven efficacy in the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD).

Aim: To investigate the predictors of medium-term clinical efficacy and mucosal healing during adalimumab therapy, in patients with CD, in specialised centres approved for biological therapy in Hungary.

Methods: Data capture of the 201 CD patients was standardised and prospective (male/female: 112/89, median age: 33.

[Predictors of efficacy, mucosal healing and dose intensification during the first year of adalimumab therapy in patients with luminal and fistulizing Crohn's disease. National data from Hungary].

Unlabelled: Adalimumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting tumor necrosis factor with proven efficacy in the treatment of Crohn's disease in clinical trials. The aim of the present study was to investigate the predictors of medium term clinical efficacy and mucosal healing during adalimumab therapy in patients with Crohn's disease in specialized centers approved for biological therapy in Hungary.

Methods: Data of 201 Crohn's disease patients were prospectively captured (male/female: 112/89, median age: 24 years, duration: 8 years).

[Evaluation of fracture risk in osteoporosis].

Osteoporotic fractures are associated with excess mortality. Effective treatment options are available, which reduce the risk of vertebral and non-vertebral fractures, but the identification of patients with high fracture risk is problematic. Low bone mineral density (BMD)--the basis for the diagnosis of osteoporosis--is an important, but not the only determinant of fracture risk.

Diagnostic accuracy of serum parathyroid hormone levels in kidney transplant recipients with moderate-to-advanced CKD.

Background/aims: Elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH) is used to diagnose high turnover bone disease in chronic kidney disease (CKD). The diagnostic accuracy of PTH in kidney transplant recipients with CKD is unknown.

Methods: We examined kidney transplant recipients with CKD stages 3 (n = 498) and 4 (n = 141) to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the Kidney/Dialysis Outcome Quality Initiative (K/DOQI)-recommended PTH levels in detecting elevated serum β-CrossLaps (CTX) or osteocalcin (OC) levels.

The method of distance measurement and torso length influences the relationship of pulse wave velocity to cardiovascular mortality.

Background: The method of estimating distance traveled by the pulse wave, used in the calculation of pulse wave velocity (PWV), is not standardized. Our objective was to assess whether different methods of distance measurement influenced the association of PWV to cardiovascular mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients.

Methods: Ninety-eight chronic HD patients had their PWV measured using three methods for distance estimation; PWV1: suprasternal notch-to-femoral site minus suprasternal notch-to-carotid site, PWV2: carotid-to-femoral site, PWV3: carotid-to-femoral site minus suprasternal notch-to-carotid site.

Associations between serum leptin level and bone turnover in kidney transplant recipients.

Background And Objectives: Obesity is associated with increased parathyroid hormone (PTH) in the general population and in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). A direct effect of adipose tissue on bone turnover through leptin production has been suggested, but such an association has not been explored in kidney transplant recipients.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: This study examined associations of serum leptin with PTH and with biomarkers of bone turnover (serum beta crosslaps [CTX, a marker of bone resorption] and osteocalcin [OC, a marker of bone formation]) in 978 kidney transplant recipients.

[Significance of arterial stiffness parameters for predicting cardiovascular mortality in hemodialysis patients: a prospective cohort study].

Unlabelled: Previous studies demonstrated that different parameters of arterial stiffness are related to cardiovascular mortality in hemodialysis patients. The relative prognostic value of these parameters has not previously been evaluated in one cohort.

Patients And Methods: Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, carotid augmentation index, carotid pulse pressure and carotid-brachial pulse pressure amplification were measured in 98 patients before and after hemodialysis.

Vitamin D insufficiency and bone fractures in patients on maintenance hemodialysis.

Background: The incidence of fractures is substantially increased in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) compared to the general population. The factors associated with increased bone fracture in this population are not well understood. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with decreased bone mass and higher incidence of fractures in the general population.

Bone mineral density and parathyroid function in patients on maintenance hemodialysis.

Background: The relationship between parathyroid function, an important determinant of bone turnover, and bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with chronic kidney disease is not fully understood. We wanted to analyze the association between BMD and parathyroid function in hemodialysis patients in details.

Methods: In a cross-sectional design, data from 270 patients (age 55 ± 15 years, 60% men, all Caucasian) on maintenance hemodialysis were analyzed.

Arterial stiffness in hemodialysis: which parameter to measure to predict cardiovascular mortality?

In previous studies, different parameters of arterial stiffness were related to cardiovascular mortality in hemodialysis patients, but their relative prognostic value has not previously been evaluated in 1 cohort. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), the carotid augmentation index, carotid pulse pressure (CPP) and carotid-brachial pulse pressure amplification (AMP) were measured in 98 patients before and after hemodialysis. Patients were followed for a median of 29 months (1-34) and the association of these parameters with cardiovascular mortality were assessed using log-rank tests and Cox proportional hazards regressions.

Calcium, phosphate and parathyroid metabolism in kidney transplanted patients.

Introduction: Impaired kidney function is common in kidney-transplanted patients and complications of chronic kidney disease (CKD), such as mineral and bone disorders (MBD) are also prevalent in this population. Similarly to other stages of CKD, increasing evidence supports the association between MBD and cardiovascular risk after kidney transplantation as well. Still, little is known about the prevalence, clinical correlates of MBD and its management in transplanted patients.

Live imaging reveals that the Drosophila actin-binding ERM protein, moesin, co-localizes with the mitotic spindle.

Members of the vertebrate ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) protein family crosslink the actin cytoskeleton and the cell membrane and are, therefore, considered cytoplasmic regulators of cell adhesion, cell movement and membrane trafficking. Here we demonstrate that besides its cytoplasmic functions Drosophila moesin, the only ERM protein in Drosophila melanogaster, exhibits a dynamic cell cycle-dependent nuclear localization. In a small fraction of cells and at a low level, moesin can be detected in interphase nuclei in regions complementary to the chromatin; its level rapidly increases during prophase and it co-localizes with the actin network surrounding the mitotic spindles throughout mitosis.

[Osteoprotegerin: regulator, protector and marker].

Experimental and clinical trials in the field of bone biology helped to clarify the role of receptors, which belong to the tumor necrosis factor family, such as osteoprotegerin and receptor activator of nuclear factor kappaB (RANK), in the regulation of bone remodeling. The ligand of the receptor activator of nuclear factor kappaB (RANKL) is a stimulator of bone resorption, while osteoprotegerin is the soluble "decoy" receptor to RANKL, protecting thereby bone from resorption. Pathological states of bone remodeling (like osteoporosis) are associated with imbalance in the activity of osteoprotegerin and the receptor activator of nuclear factor kappaB.

Serum osteoprotegerin level, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity and cardiovascular survival in haemodialysis patients.

Background: Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a marker and regulator of arterial calcification, and it is related to cardiovascular survival in haemodialysis patients. The link between OPG and aortic stiffening--a consequence of arterial calcification--has not been previously evaluated in this population, and it is not known whether OPG-related mortality risk is mediated by arterial stiffening.

Methods: At baseline, OPG and aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) were measured in 98 chronic haemodialysis patients who were followed for a median of 24 months.

Application of the dual-tagging gene trap method combined with a novel automatic selection system to identify genes involved in germ cell development in Drosophila melanogaster.

The passage of highly specialized germ cells to future generations is essential for the maintenance of species. To date, conventional genetic screens identified relatively few genes that are involved in germ cell development. We aimed to identify germ line specific genes on the X chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster by the application of a new method: the dual-tagging gene-trap system (GT).

Independent effect of endogenous dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate levels and birth weight on bone turnover parameters in young adults.

Data indicate that bone turnover is higher in young adults born with a low birth weight (LBW). Moreover, several data support the presence of altered adrenal hormone production in this population. The aim of our study was to investigate whether there is any connection between altered bone homeostasis and adrenal hormone levels.