Jejunitis and brown bowel syndrome with multifocal carcinogenesis of the small bowel.

This is the first report describing a case where prolonged, severe malabsorption from brown bowel syndrome progressed to multifocally spread small bowel adenocarcinoma. This case involves a female patient who was initially diagnosed with chronic jejunitis associated with primary diffuse lymphangiectasia at the age of 26 years. The course of the disease was clinically, endoscopically, and histologically followed for 21 years until her death at the age 47 due to multifocal, metastasizing adenocarcinoma of the small bowel.

Brown bowel syndrome: a rare complication in diseases associated with long-standing malabsorption.

Background/aims: Longtime chronic malabsorption may among other things cause a lack of liposoluble vitamins. Vitamin E deficiency can lead to formation of lipofuscin aggregates. Its deficiency is also associated with an increased lipofuscinosis of the bowel, i.

Colon capsule endoscopy: detection of colonic polyps compared with conventional colonoscopy and visualization of extracolonic pathologies.

Background: Conventional colonoscopy (CC) is the gold standard for diagnostic examination of the colon. However, the overall acceptance of this procedure is low due to patient fears of complications or embarrassment. Colon capsule endoscopy (CCE) represents a minimally invasive, patient-friendly procedure that offers complete visualization of the entire intestine.

Capsule endoscopy in patients with cardiac pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators - a retrospective multicenter investigation.

Background & Aims: Capsule endoscopy (CE) is an established tool for the investigation of the small intestine. The Food and Drug Administration, Given Imaging and Olympus have not recommended the use of capsule endoscopy in patients with cardiac pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the safety of capsule endoscopy systems (Given Imaging and Olympus) when applied in patients with different types of pacemakers/ICDs in vivo.

Mast cell tryptase in sera of patients with Crohn's disease and mastocytosis.

Introduction: The pathogenesis of Crohn's disease is unclear, but an abnormal immune response seems to play an important role. This study investigated whether serum tryptase could be shown in Crohn's disease as a marker of disease.

Materials And Methods: Mast cell tryptase was detected in sera of 48 patients with active Crohn's disease, 31 patients with inactive Crohn's disease, 17 patients with mastocytosis, and 50 controls.

Long-term partial remission of autoimmune thrombocytopenia in a patient treated with the anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha antibody infliximab for refractory fistulizing Crohn's disease.

Background: Up to the present date, the treatment of recurrent chronic fistulas occurring with Crohn's disease represents a challenging task for both internists and surgeons alike.

Methods: Conservative methods of treatment using steroids, dietotherapy, antibiotics or immunosuppressive agents are not particularly effective in treating fistulas. Treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) antibodies results in more remissions of fistulas.

Serum levels of hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor in patients with liver metastases from breast cancer.

Objective: Recent studies have shown that the pleiotropic cytokine hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) and its receptor c-Met play major roles in the malignant progression of numerous tumors. For patients with breast cancer liver metastases, increased serum levels of HGF/SF have been reported. We studied the relationship between the clinical course of the disease and the serum levels of HGF/SF in such patients.

Prognostic factors for patients with liver metastases from breast cancer.

Background: The prognosis of patients with liver metastases from breast cancer is commonly poor. After initial diagnosis of hepatic metastases, a median survival time of 1-20 months can be expected. The definition of prognostic factors for such patients may influence therapeutic decisions.

Serum levels of soluble E-selectin are associated with the clinical course of metastatic disease in patients with liver metastases from breast cancer.

Increasing evidence indicates that the expression of the endothelial adhesion molecule E-selectin is associated with progression and metastasis of breast cancer. Patients with liver metastases also show increased serum levels of the soluble form of E-selectin. It was our aim to compare serum levels of soluble E-selectin (sES) in such patients with the biology of the primary tumor and the course of the metastatic disease under therapy.

Endoscopic stenting of the common bile duct allows successful treatment of a breast cancer patient with excessive liver metastases.

The treatment of a jaundiced patient with hyperbilirubinaemia due to breast cancer liver metastases is still a challenging problem. The associated hepatic dysfunction often represents a limiting factor for delivering standard dose chemotherapy. We report on the successful treatment of a jaundiced patient with excessive, recurrent liver metastases from breast cancer, using a combined chemotherapy of mitomycin and 5-fluorouracil after endoscopic stenting of the common bile duct.