Non-microbial approach for Helicobacter pylori as faster track to prevent gastric cancer than simple eradication

Although the International Agency for Research on Cancer declared Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori)as a definite human carcinogen in 1994,the Japanese Society for Helicobacter Research only recently(February 2013)adopted the position that H.pylori infection should be considered as an indication for either amelioration of chronic gastritis or for decreasing gastric cancer mortality.Japanese researchers have found that H.pylori eradication halts progressive mucosal damage and that successful eradication in patients with non-atrophic gastritis most likely prevents subsequent development of gastric cancer.However,those who have already developed atrophic gastritis/gastric atrophy retain potential risk factors for gastric cancer.Because chronic perpetuated progression of H.pylori-associated gastric inflammation is associated with increased morbidity culminating in gastric carcinogenesis,a non-microbial approach to treatment that provides long-term control of gastric inflammation through nutrients and other interventions may be an effective way to decrease this morbidity.This non-microbial approach might represent a new form of prerequisite"rescue"therapy that provides a quicker path to the prevention of gastric cancer as compared to simple eradication.

Artificial intelligence based real-time microcirculation analysis system for laparoscopic colorectal surgery

BACKGROUND Colonic perfusion status can be assessed easily by indocyanine green(ICG)angiography to predict ischemia related anastomotic complications during laparoscopic colorectal surgery.Recently,various parameter-based perfusion analysis have been studied for quantitative evaluation,but the analysis results differ depending on the use of quantitative parameters due to differences in vascular anatomical structure.Therefore,it can help improve the accuracy and consistency by artificial intelligence(AI)based real-time analysis microperfusion(AIRAM).AIM To evaluate the feasibility of AIRAM to predict the risk of anastomotic complication in the patient with laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgery.METHODS The ICG curve was extracted from the region of interest(ROI)set in the ICG fluorescence video of the laparoscopic colorectal surgery.Pre-processing was performed to reduce AI performance degradation caused by external environment such as background,light source reflection,and camera shaking using MATLAB 2019 on an I7-8700k Intel central processing unit(CPU)PC.AI learning and evaluation were performed by dividing into a training patient group(n=50)and a test patient group(n=15).Training ICG curve data sets were classified and machine learned into 25 ICG curve patterns using a self-organizing map(SOM)network.The predictive reliability of anastomotic complications in a trained SOM network is verified using test set.RESULTS AI-based risk and the conventional quantitative parameters including T1/2max,time ratio(TR),and rising slope(RS)were consistent when colonic perfusion was favorable as steep increasing ICG curve pattern.When the ICG graph pattern showed stepped rise,the accuracy of conventional quantitative parameters decreased,but the AI-based classification maintained accuracy consistently.The receiver operating characteristic curves for conventional parameters and AI-based classification were comparable for predicting the anastomotic complication risks.Statistical performance verifications were improved in the AI-based analysis.AI analysis was evaluated as the most accurate parameter to predict the risk of anastomotic complications.The F1 score of the AI-based method increased by 31% for T1/2max,8% for TR,and 8% for RS.The processing time of AIRAM was measured as 48.03 s,which was suitable for real-time processing.CONCLUSION In conclusion,AI-based real-time microcirculation analysis had more accurate and consistent performance than the conventional parameter-based method.

Calcium channel blocker monotherapy versus combination with reninangiotensin system inhibitors on the development of new-onset diabetes mellitus in hypertensive Korean patients

Background In real practice, two or more antihypertensive drugs are needed to achieve target blood pressure. We investigated the comparative beneficial actions of combination therapy of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASI), with calcium channel blockers (CCB) over CCB monotherapy on the development of new-onset diabetes mellitus (NODM) in Korean patients during four-year follow-up periods. Methods A total of 3208 consecutive hypertensive patients without a history of diabetes mellitus who had been prescribed CCB were retrospectively enrolled from January 2004 to December 2012. These patients were divided into the two groups according to the additional use of RASI (the RASI group, n = 1221 and the no RASI group, n = 1987). Primary endpoint was NODM, defined as a fasting blood glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL or hemoglobin A1c ≥ 6.5%. Secondary endpoint was major adverse cardiac events (MACE) defined as total death, myocardial infarction (MI) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Results After propensity score-matched (PSM) analysis, two propensity- matched groups (939 pairs, n = 1878, C-statistic = 0.743) were generated. The incidences of NODM (HR = 1.009, 95% CI: 0.700–1.452, P = 0.962), MACE (HR = 0.877, 95% CI: 0.544–1.413, P = 0.589), total death, MI, PCI were similar between the two groups after PSM during four years. Conclusions The use of RASI in addition to CCB showed comparable incidences of NODM and MACE compared to CCB monotherapy in non-diabetic hypertensive Korean patients during four-year follow-up period. However, large-scaled randomized controlled clinical trials will be required for a more definitive conclusion.

Five-year clinical outcomes of first-generation versus second-generation drug-eluting stents following coronary chronic total occlusion intervention

Background There are limited data comparing long-term clinical outcomes between first-generation (1G) and second-generation (2G) drug-eluting stents (DESs) in patients who underwent successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesion. Methods A total of 840 consecutive patients who underwent PCI with DESs for CTO lesion from January 2004 to November 2015 were enrolled. Finally, a total of 324 eligible CTO patients received 1G-DES (Paclitaxel-eluting stent or Sirolimus-eluting stent, n = 157) or 2G-DES (Zotarolimus-eluting stent or Everolimus-eluting stent, n = 167) were enrolled. The clinical endpoint was the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) defined as all-cause death, recurrent myocardial infarction (re-MI), total repeat revascularization [target lesion revascularization (TLR), target vessel revascularization (TVR), and non-TVR]. We investigated the 5-year major clinical outcomes between 1G-DES and 2G-DES in patient who underwent successful CTO PCI. Results After propensity score matched (PSM) analysis, two well-balanced groups (111 pairs, n = 222, C-statistic = 0.718) were generated. Up to the 5-year follow-up period, the cumulative incidence of all-cause death, re-MI, TLR, TVR and non-TVR were not significantly different between the two groups. Finally, MACE was also similar between the two groups (HR = 1.557, 95% CI: 0.820–2.959, P = 0.176) after PSM. Conclusions In this study, 2G-DES was not associated with reduced long-term MACE compared with 1G-DES following successful CTO revascularization up to five years.