Effectiveness of clip-and-snare method using pre-looping technique for gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection

AIM:To evaluate efficacy and safety of clip-and-snare method using pre-looping technique(CSM-PLT)for gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection(ESD).METHODS:In the CSM-PLT method,a clip attached to the lesion side was strangulated with a snare,followed by application of an appropriate tension to the lesion independent of an endoscope.Twenty consecutive lesions were resected by ESD using CSM-PLT(CSM-PLT group)and compared with a control group,including20 lesions that were resected by conventional ESD.The control group was matched based on the size and location of the lesion,presence of pathologic fibrosis,and experience of endoscopists.Total procedure time of ESD,proportion of en bloc resection,and complications were analyzed.RESULTS:The total procedure time for the CSM-PLT group was significantly shorter than that for the control group(38.5 min vs 59.5 min,P=0.023);all lesions were resected en bloc by ESD.There was no significant difference in complications between the two groups.Moreover,there was no complication in the CSM-PLT group.In one large lesion(size:74 mm)that underwentextensive CSM-PLT during ESD,we used an additional CSM-PLT on another edge of the lesion after achieving submucosal resection to the maximum extent possible during initial CSM-PLT.In two lesions,the snare came off the lesion together with the clip after a sudden pull;nevertheless,ESD was successful in all lesions.CONCLUSION:CSM-PLT was an effective and safe method for gastric ESD.

The Principles of Starch Gelatinization and Retrogradation

The polysaccharides, such as κ-carrageenan, ι-carrageenan, agarose (agar), gellan gum, amylose, curdlan, alginate, and deacetylated rhamsan gum, in water changed into an ice-like structure with hydrogen bonding between polymer and water molecules, and between water-water molecules even at a concentration range of 0.1% - 1.0% (W/V) at room temperature, resulting in gelation. Such dramatic changes from liquid into gels have been understood at the molecular level in principles. In this review, we describe the structure-function relationship of starch on the view point of rheological aspects and discuss gelatinization and retrogradation mechanism including water molecules at molecular level. The starch molecules (amylose and amylopectin) play a dominant role in the center of the tetrahedral cavities occupied by water molecules, and the arrangement is partially similar to a tetrahedral structure in a gelatinization process. The arrangement should lead to a cooperative effect stabilizing extended regions of ice-like water with hydrogen bonding on the surface of the polymer molecules, where hemiacetal oxygen and hydroxyl groups might participate in hydrogen bonding with water molecules. Thus, a more extended ice-like hydrogen bonding within water molecules might be achieved in a retrogradation process. Though many investigations not only include starch gelatinization and retrogradaion, but also the gelling properties of the polysaccharides have been undertaken to elucidate the structure-function relationship, no other researchers have established mechanism at the molecular level. There is reasonable consistency in our investigations.