Clinical trial: randomized-controlled clinical study comparing the efficacy and safety of a low-volume vs. a high-volume mesalazine foam in active distal ulcerative colitis.

Background: Rectally administered mesalazine (mesalamine; 5-aminosalicylic acid) is the first-line therapy for treatment of distal ulcerative colitis. Recently, a high-volume 5-aminosalicylic acid foam has been shown to be as effective and safe as standard 5-aminosalicylic acid enema.

Aim: To study the efficacy and safety of a low-volume vs.

[Treatment of recurrent hepatitis C virus infection after liver transplantation].

The main indication of liver transplantation is the final stage of liver cirrhosis developed in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The recurrence of HCV infection after transplantation is a common situation. The recurrent hepatitis C is a progressive disease, in 20 percent of patients it produces liver cirrhosis without treatment beside immunosuppression within 5 years.

[Genetic background of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma].

Esophageal cancer is the 9th most frequent malignancy. In more than 90% of all patients with esophageal cancer, the tumour is detected in an advanced stage. Surgery, conventional chemo- and radiotherapy are relatively ineffective.

[The state of the colorectal screening in Hungary: lessons of the pilot programs].

In Hungary, colorectal cancer is the second most common malignant disease. Due to its natural history, colorectal cancer is particularly suitable for screening. At present, epidemiological evidences of the effectiveness of detection of the symptomless colorectal cancer and its precursors are only available for the demonstration of fecal occult blood, endoscopic methods are also in use.

The effect of estrogens on superoxide anion generation by human neutrophil granulocytes: possible consequences of the antioxidant defense.

The present study aimed to test whether, beyond the known antioxidant effect of estradiol, such a property is also possessed by estrone and estriol. For this purpose, an in vitro investigation of the effect of estrone and estriol on superoxide anion production by human neutrophil granulocytes was carried out. Blood samples were obtained from healthy volunteers and neutrophil granulocytes were separated for measurement of superoxide anion generation after incubation with estrone, estriol (10(-7), 10(-6) and 10(-5) M) and 17beta-estradiol (10(-7) M).

Identification of consensus genes and key regulatory elements in 5-fluorouracil resistance in gastric and colon cancer.

Background: 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is widely used in the treatment of gastric and colorectal cancer. Recent microrarray studies associated different gene lists with 5-FU resistance. A major challenge in the genomic era is to find the most validated genes, and to decipher the regulatory networks responsible for the expression changes in a set of co-regulated transcripts.

Carcinogenesis in inflammatory bowel disease.

Patients with longstanding ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) have an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). CRC accounts for approximately 15% of all deaths in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The molecular pathway leading to CRC in IBD appears to differ from the well-known adenoma-to-CRC sequence, given the fact that these cancers appear to arise from either flat dysplastic tissue or dysplasia-associated lesions or masses.

[Theoretical foundations of protein chips and their possible use in medical research and diagnostics].

The confirmation of mRNA expression studies by protein chips is of high recent interest due to the widespread application of expression arrays. In this review the advantages, technical limitations, application fields and the first results of the protein arrays is described. The bottlenecks of the increasing protein array applications are the fast decomposition of proteins, the problem with aspecific binding and the lack of amplification techniques.

Changes of OPG and RANKL concentrations in Crohn's disease after infliximab therapy.

Background: Osteoporosis is a well-known complication of Crohn's disease (CD). Osteoprotegerin (OPG) concentration is elevated in patients with CD compared to healthy controls. Long-term infliximab (IFX) maintenance therapy improves the patients' bone mineral density.

[Whipple's disease: current problems].

Whipple's disease is a rare multisystemic infectious disease of bacterial origin characterized by variable clinical manifestations, and an insidious and chronic relapsing course. Untreated disease can be even fatal. The presence of the characteristic (though not specific) triad of weight loss, chronic diarrhea and arthralgias may raise its suspicion.

[Endoscopy in pregnancy].

Assessing the need of endoscopy and performing the examination is a difficult task which requires an experienced investigator. Though it is prudent to postpone the investigation to the third trimester or rather to the postpartum period; in certain clinical situations like upper gastrointestinal bleeding or biliary pancreatitis it is not possible; endoscopic intervention has to be performed in these cases just like in non-pregnant patients. There is a paucity of data in medical literature to rely on and the retrospective nature of these data makes it even more problematic.

[Relevance of microRNA-s in neoplastic diseases].

MicroRNA molecules consisting of 19-23 nucleotides influence numerous basic physiological and pathophysiological processes as endogenous mediators of RNA interference. These molecules are capable of specifically inhibiting the translation of messenger RNA molecules, but in some cases also promote the degradation of mRNA-s. Altered microRNA expression profiles were noted in several human diseases, most data, however, are known for neoplasms.

[RNA expression as a prognostic tool in idiopathic nephrotic syndrome].

Approximately 90% of children with nephrotic syndrome have idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome includes three histologic types: minimal change disease, mesangial proliferation and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. These diseases have similar clinical presentation but different prognosis.

[Novel therapeutic approaches in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome].

The treatment of irritable bowel syndrome due to the heterogeneous clinical symptoms and coexisting psychiatric disorders is still controversial. Although several agents with different mechanisms of action are widely used in clinical practice, there are only few drugs available with strong evidence of their efficacy, safety and tolerability at present. The etiology of irritable bowel syndrome is considered to be multifactorial: experimental and clinical research on visceral hypersensitivity, motility and brain-gut axis involving its neurotransmitters and receptors created the foundation of novel therapeutic approaches.

ATP-binding cassette transporter ABCG2 (BCRP) and ABCB1 (MDR1) variants are not associated with disease susceptibility, disease phenotype response to medical therapy or need for surgeryin Hungarian patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.

Objective: MDR1 (ABCB1), a member of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, is an attractive candidate gene for the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and perhaps for response to therapy. Since limited data are available on MDR1 and ABCG2 polymorphisms in East European IBD patients, the aim of this study was to investigate ABCG2 and MDR1 variants and responses to medical therapy and/or disease phenotype in Hungarian patients.

Material And Methods: A total of 414 unrelated IBD patients (Crohn's disease (CD): 265, age: 35.

Natalizumab for the treatment of active Crohn's disease: results of the ENCORE Trial.

Background & Aims: A randomized placebo-controlled trial evaluated the efficacy of natalizumab induction therapy in patients with Crohn's disease.

Methods: Patients (N = 509) with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and active inflammation characterized by elevated C-reactive protein concentrations were randomized (1:1) to receive natalizumab 300 mg or placebo intravenously at Weeks 0, 4, and 8. The primary end point was induction of response (> or =70-point decrease from baseline in the Crohn's Disease Activity Index score at Week 8 sustained through Week 12).

[Stem cell theory of colorectal cancer and its connection with molecular-biological data].

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death in Hungary as well as in the developed countries. The high cancer prevalence of the gastrointestinal tract is the result of the rapid turnover of epithelial cells and exposure to dietary toxins. Adult stem cells are in the lime-light of the medicine.

[Clinical pharmacological aspects of the proton pump inhibitor therapy: importance of pharmacogenetic differences in the clinical practice].

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are widely used for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, as well as other acid-related disorders. Omeprazole, lansoprazole, pantoprazole, rabeprazole and esomeprazole effectively suppress gastric acid secretion by blocking the gastric acid pump, H+/K+ -adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase). Understanding the pharmacokinetic properties of PPIs and examining the pharmacogenetic differences may help clinicians to optimize PPI therapy and to perform individual treatment, especially in non-responder patients with GERD or ulcer or after failed eradication therapy.

Seroreactivity to microbial components in Crohn's disease is associated with ileal involvement, noninflammatory disease behavior and NOD2/CARD15 genotype, but not with risk for surgery in a Hungarian cohort of IBD patients.

Background: Antibodies directed against Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ASCA), perinuclear components of neutrophils (pANCA), and porin protein C of Escherichia coli (anti-OmpC) are reported to be associated with disease phenotype and may be of diagnostic importance in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Since limited data are available from Eastern Europe, we assessed the above antibodies in Hungarian IBD patients.

Methods: In all, 653 well-characterized, unrelated consecutive IBD patients (Crohn's disease [CD]: 558, m/f: 263/295, duration: 8.

Antioxidant measurements.

Chemical reactions, including oxidation and reduction of molecules, occur in every cell. These reactions can lead to the production of free radicals. Free radicals react with organic substrates such as lipids, proteins, and DNA.

Plasma carnitine ester profiles in Crohn's disease patients characterized for SLC22A4 C1672T and SLC22A5 G-207C genotypes.

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disorder caused by environmental and genetic factors. The purpose of this study was to analyse the possible influence of functional variants of genes of OCTN cation transporters on the carnitine ester profile of patients with CD. Genotyping for SLC22A4 1672C --> T, SLC22A5-207G --> C mutations and three common NOD2 variants (R702W, G908R and 1007finsC) were performed in 100 adult CD patients and in ninety-four healthy controls by direct sequencing.

Computational analysis reveals 43% antisense transcription in 1182 transcripts in mouse muscle.

It is increasingly evident that there is a widespread antisense transcription in the human and other eukaryotic genomes. However, the concept of general antisense expression is rarely investigated. We retrieved and correlated the expression of sense and antisense sequences of 1182 mouse transcripts to assess the prevalence of antisense transcription.