Intragastric balloon treatment for obesity: results of a large single center prospective study.

Background: The intragastric balloon is a widely used method in the treatment of obesity indicated for those patients who have failed to achieve and maintain the weight loss with conventional measures or for preparation of patients who are candidates for bariatric surgery.

Methods: From April 2007 to April 2009, 171 consecutive patients (111 females, 60 males; mean age 39.2 ± 10.

How activity of inflammatory bowel disease influences bone loss.

Bone loss is a common problem for individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of our study was to assess bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with IBD and to investigate the role of corticosteroid (CS) use and duration and activity of disease on BMD. Ninety-two patients (56 men and 36 women) with IBD, of whom 32 had ulcerative colitis (UC) and 60 had Crohn's disease (CD), underwent clinical assessment.

Spontaneous regression of Merkel cell carcinoma in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a case report.

Introduction: Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare and aggressive primary cutaneous neuroendocrine malignant tumor. The tumor has a high rate of local recurrence after surgical removal. Spontaneous regression appears to be relatively common in this rare type of tumor.

BMP signaling and podocyte markers are decreased in human diabetic nephropathy in association with CTGF overexpression.

Diabetic nephropathy is characterized by decreased expression of bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7) and decreased podocyte number and differentiation. Extracellular antagonists such as connective tissue growth factor (CTGF; CCN-2) and sclerostin domain-containing-1 (SOSTDC1; USAG-1) are important determinants of BMP signaling activity in glomeruli. We studied BMP signaling activity in glomeruli from diabetic patients and non-diabetic individuals and from control and diabetic CTGF(+/+) and CTGF(+/-) mice.

Prevalence of plagiarism among medical students.

Aim: To determine the prevalence of plagiarism among medical students in writing essays.

Methods: During two academic years, 198 second year medical students attending Medical Informatics course wrote an essay on one of four offered articles. Two of the source articles were available in an electronic form and two in printed form.