Food-Related Quality of Life Is Impaired in Latinx and Non-Latinx Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background and Aims: Anxiety over food choices and symptoms related to food consumption diminish quality of life (QoL) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. However, the specific factors that impact QoL among IBD patients remain unclear. In this study, we analyzed the relationships of demographic and disease factors with food-related QoL (FRQoL) in a large, diverse US cohort of IBD patients. Methods: In this cross-sectional analysis of 1108 IBD patients aged ≥18 years, we measured FRQoL with the 29-item Food-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire (FR-QoL-29) and disease activity with the Harvey-Bradshaw index in Crohn's disease (CD) patients or the Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. Latinx immigrants completed a Spanish translation of the FR-QoL-29. A subset of patients had colonoscopy and inflammatory marker data available. We used univariate, multivariate, and subgroup analyses to examine the factors that influence FRQoL. Results: In our cohort, 55% of IBD patients self-identified as Latinx. Latinx and non-Latinx patients had similar FR-QoL-29 scores. Female patients had significantly lower FRQoL than male patients (P = .001). Increasing age and IBD duration correlated with higher FRQoL (P < .0001). In UC patients, higher Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index scores (P < .0001), higher Mayo scores (P = .0009), and longer disease duration (P = .03) predicted significantly lower FRQoL. Disease activity and FRQoL were not significantly related in CD patients. Conclusion: This is the largest study to date to examine FRQoL in American IBD patients, and the first to include Latinx patients. Disease-related factors had a greater impact on FRQoL than ethnicity. Clinical and endoscopic disease activity had a more detrimental impact on FRQoL in UC than in CD. Diet intervention studies are needed to alleviate symptoms and improve FRQoL in the IBD population.

See Something, Say Something: Global Positioning System Tracker Foreign Body Ingestion as a Unique Presentation of Human Trafficking.

In 2021, there were about 17,000 victims of human trafficking in the United States. We present a case of a 28-year-old sex trafficking victim who was forced to swallow 2 global positioning system trackers by her perpetrator. The gastroenterology team performed an upper endoscopy and retrieved 2 global positioning system devices from her antrum. Most of these victims do not disclose any history of abuse because of fear of their perpetrators. Further training and research can help to allow for recognition of these victims and potentially help them.

Urgent need to mitigate disparities in federal funding for cancer research.

We evaluate National Cancer Institute (NCI) funding distribution to the most common cancers, considering their respective public health burdens, and explore associations between funding and racial and ethnic burden of disease. The NCI's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results, US Cancer Statistics database, and Funding Statistics were used to calculate funding-to-lethality (FTL) scores. Breast and prostate cancer had the first (179.65) and second (128.90) highest FTL scores, and esophagus and stomach cancer ranked 18th (2.12) and 19th (1.78). We evaluated whether there were differences between the FTL and cancer incidence and/or mortality within individual racial and ethnic groups. NCI funding correlated highly with cancers afflicting a higher proportion of non-Hispanic White individuals (Spearman correlation coefficient = 0.84; P < .001). Correlation was stronger for incidence than mortality. These data reveal that funding across cancer sites is not concordant with lethality and that cancers with high incidence among racial and ethnic minorities receive lower funding.

Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency Is Common in Celiac Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The prevalence of celiac disease (CD) is approximately 1% in the US. Studies have shown possible association between exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) and CD, with numerous hypothesized biological mechanisms including small bowel mucosal damage causing disruption of enteric-mediated hormonal secretion such as cholecystokinin and loss of enterokinase. The overall prevalence of EPI in CD remains unknown. We performed systematic review and metanalysis and examined the prevalence of EPI in patients who were first diagnosed with CD versus those who had been on treatment with gluten-free diet (GFD). Results  Six studies were included in the analysis totaling 446 CD patients (Avg age 44.1 years; 34% Males). One hundred and forty-four patients had newly diagnosed CD, and 302 patients had known CD with at least 9 months treatment with GFD. Four studies examined newly diagnosed CD patients. The individual rates of EPI in new CD patients ranged from 10.5 to 46.5%. The pooled prevalence of EPI in newly diagnosed CD patients was 26.2% (95% CI 8.43-43.92%, Q = 2.24, I2 = 0%). Five studies examined CD patients on GFD. The rate of EPI ranged from 1.9% to 18.2%. The prevalence of EPI in patients treated with GFD is 8% (95% CI 1.52-14.8%, Q = 4.42, I2 = 9.59%). Patients with newly diagnosed CD are significantly more likely to have EPI compared to those patients treated with GFD (p = 0.031). CD patients on GFD with persistent symptoms have a significantly higher rate of EPI (28.4%) compared to CD patients on GFD who are asymptomatic (3%) (p < 0.001).

Esophagitis after Clozapine Use in a 61-Year-Old Woman with Refractory Schizophrenia.

Clozapine-induced esophagitis has been rarely reported. We herein report a case of a 61-year-old woman with schizophrenia who developed hematemesis, fever, and tachycardia after the initiation of clozapine. An esophagogastroduodenoscopy showed esophageal mucosal ulcerations. Her gastrointestinal symptoms resolved with pantoprazole, allowing continuation of her clozapine treatment. We report here an unusual association of severe esophagitis with clozapine use.

Limited availability of ZBP1 restricts axonal mRNA localization and nerve regeneration capacity.

Subcellular localization of mRNAs is regulated by RNA-protein interactions. Here, we show that introduction of a reporter mRNA with the 3'UTR of ß-actin mRNA competes with endogenous mRNAs for binding to ZBP1 in adult sensory neurons. ZBP1 is needed for axonal localization of ß-actin mRNA, and introducing GFP with the 3'UTR of ß-actin mRNA depletes axons of endogenous ß-actin and GAP-43 mRNAs and attenuates both in vitro and in vivo regrowth of severed axons. Consistent with limited levels of ZBP1 protein in adult neurons, mice heterozygous for the ZBP1 gene are haploinsufficient for axonal transport of ß-actin and GAP-43 mRNAs and for regeneration of peripheral nerve. Exogenous ZBP1 can rescue the RNA transport deficits, but the axonal growth deficit is only rescued if the transported mRNAs are locally translated. These data support a direct role for ZBP1 in transport and translation of mRNA cargos in axonal regeneration in vitro and in vivo.

Potential Biomarker of L-type Amino Acid Transporter 1 in Breast Cancer Progression.

PURPOSE: L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) is essential for the transport of large neutral amino acids. However, its role in breast cancer growth remains largely unknown. The purpose of the study is to investigate whether LAT1 is a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. METHODS: LAT1 mRNA and protein levels in breast cancer cell lines and tissues were analyzed. In addition, the effects of targeting LAT1 for the inhibition of breast cancer cell tumorigenesis were assessed with soft agar assay. The imaging of xenograft with anti-1-amino-3-[(18)F]fluorocyclobutane-1-carboxylic acid (anti-[(18)F]FACBC) PET was assessed for its diagnostic biomarker potential. RESULTS: Normal breast tissue or low malignant cell lines expressed low levels of LAT1 mRNA and protein, while highly malignant cancer cell lines and high-grade breast cancer tissue expressed high levels of LAT1. In addition, higher expression levels of LAT1 in breast cancer tissues were consistent with advanced-stage breast cancer. Furthermore, the blockade of LAT1 with its inhibitor, 2-amino-bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane-2-carboxylic acid (BCH), or the knockdown of LAT1 with siRNA, inhibited proliferation and tumorigenesis of breast cancer cells. A leucine analog, anti-[(18)F]FACBC, has been demonstrated to be an excellent PET tracer for the non-invasive imaging of malignant breast cancer using an orthotopic animal model. CONCLUSIONS: The overexpression of LAT1 is required for the progression of breast cancer. LAT1 represents a potential biomarker for therapy and diagnosis of breast cancer. Anti-[(18)F]FACBC that correlates with LAT1 function is a potential PET tracer for malignant breast tumor imaging.