食管黏膜表层剥脱症1例

食管黏膜表层剥脱症较为罕见.本文报告1例年轻女性,因进食火锅后上腹部不适入院.入院后予以禁食、质子泵抑制剂抑酸等内科保守治疗,住院6d后恢复流质饮食出院.2mo至1年后,随访复查内镜未见明显异常.

Role of gastrin-peptides in Barrett's and colorectal carcinogenesis

Gastrin is the main hormone responsible for the stimulation of gastric acid secretion;in addition,gastrin and its derivatives exert proliferative and antiapoptotic effects on several cell types.Gastrin synthesis and secretion are increased in certain situations,for example,when proton pump inhibitors are used.The impact of sustained hypergastrinemia is currently being investigated.In vitro experiments and animal models have shown that prolonged hypergastrinemia may be related with higher cancer rates;although,this relationship is less clear in human beings.Higher gastrin levels have been shown to cause hyperplasia of several cell types;yet,the risk for developing cancer seems to be the same in normo-and hypergastrinemic patients.Some tumors also produce their own gastrin,which can act in an autocrine manner promoting tumor growth.Certain cancers are extremely dependent on gastrin to proliferate.Initial research focused only on the effects of amidated gastrins,but there has been an interest in intermediates of gastrin in the last few decades.These intermediates aren't biologically inactive;in fact,they may exert greater effects on proliferation and apoptosis than the completely processed forms.In certain gastrin overproduction states,they are the most abundant gastrin peptides secreted.The purpose of this review is to examine the gastrin biosynthesis process and to summarize the results from different studies evaluating the production,levels,and effects of the main forms of gastrin in different overexpression states and their possible relationship with Barrett's and colorectal carcinogenesis.

Esophageal space-occupying lesion caused by Ascaris lumbricoides

Ascaris lumbricoides is the largest intestinal nematode parasite of man,which can lead to various complications because of its mobility.As the esophagus is not normal habitat of Ascaris,the report of esophageal ascariasis is rare.An old female presented with dysphagia after an intake of several red bean buns and haw jellies.The barium meal examination revealed a spherical defect in the lower esophagus.Esophageal bezoar or esophageal carcinoma was considered at the beginning.The patient fasted,and received fluid replacement treatment as well as some oral drugs such as proton pump inhibitor and sodium bicarbonate.Then upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was done to further confirm the diagnosis and found a live Ascaris lumbricoides in the gastric antrum and two in the duodenal bulb.The conclusive diagnosis was ascariasis.The esophageal space-occupying lesion might be the entangled worm bolus.Anthelmitnic treatment with mebendazole improved patient's clinical manifestations along with normalization of the radiological findings during a 2-wk follow-up.Authors report herein this rare case of Ascaris lumbricoides in the esophagus,emphasizing the importance of awareness of this parasitic infection as it often presents with different and unspecific symptoms.

Is the required therapeutic effect always achieved by racemic switch of proton-pump inhibitors?

Many of the drugs currently used in medical practice are racemates. The enantiomers of a racemic drug differ in pharmacodynamics and/or pharmacokinetics, thus in some cases it is preferable to develop pure enantiomers by racemic switch. In a recent study by Pai et al, dexrabeprazole [R(+)-rabeprazole] (10 mg) was found to be more effective than rabeprazole (20 mg) in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease. We read with great interest in this study and discussed whether such racemic switch would be applicable to other proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs). A literature review indicates that stereoselective pharmacokinetics, rather than stereoselective pharmacological activity, is the main cause of differences in clinical efficacy between pure enantiomer and racemic PPI. Racemic switches of PPI provide the therapeutic advantages such as reducing metabolic load on the body, simplifying pharmacokinetics, providing benefit to the non-responders to standard dose of racemate, more homogenous response to treatment and better efficacy with equal safety. Further studies in quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) are needed to address the fact that the preferred enantiomer of PPI is not always in the same absolute configuration, i.e., S-form is for omeprazole, pantoprazole and tenatoprazole whereas R-form is for lansoprazole and rabeprazole.

A Novel Therapy of Eosinophilic Esophagitis-Treatment of Eosinophilic Esophagitis Using a Single Dose of Intramuscular Corticosteroid and Proton Pump Inhibitor

Background： Ee （Eosinophilic esophagitis） is an inflammatory condition characterized by a dense eosinophilic infiltrate in the esophageal epithelium. Its pathophysiology mimics that of allergic esophagitis, and evolves clinically as a chronic disease with periods of exacerbation. Symptoms and endoscopic findings are usually non-specific and similar to those of other esophageal illnesses. The mainstay of treatment of Ee is with corticosteroids and/or specific diets, which have been shown to cause symptom remission and histological improvement. Aim： The objective of this study was to demonstrate the efficacy of a novel and promising treatment protocol for Ee. Materials and methods： We prospectively evaluated 24 patients with Ee over two years. Patients were treated with a single intramuscular injection of betamethasone sodium phosphate associated with betamethasone dipropionate and a PPI （proton pump inhibitor） （rabeprazole 20 mg PO）. After 4 weeks of treatment, patients underwent endoscopy and biopsy. We evaluated patients＇ clinical response as well as the results of endoscopic and histological examinations. Results： After 4 weeks of treatment, all patients （100%） are reported significant clinical improvement, which was corroborated by the findings on endoscopy and histology. There were no complications or adverse reactions. Conclusions： In this cohort of patients with eosinophilic esophagitis, treatment with a single intramuscular dose of corticosteroids led to complete remission of symptoms and improvement in endoscopic and histological findings.