A randomized prospective study comparing the effect of low-volume bowel preparations for colonoscopy preparation in China.

AIM: To evaluate the effect of sodium picosulfate/magnesium citrate (SPMC) and 3 L split-dose polyethylene glycol (PEG) with or without dimethicone on bowel preparation before colonoscopy. METHODS: In this multicenter, prospective, randomized, controlled study conducted from April 2021 to December 2021, consecutive adult patients scheduled for colonoscopy were prospectively randomized into four groups: SPMC, SPMC plus dimethicone, 3 L PEG, and 3 L PEG plus dimethicone. Primary endpoint was colon cleansing based on Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS). Secondary endpoints were bubble score, time to cecal intubation, adenoma detection rate (ADR), patient safety and compliance, and adverse events. RESULTS: We enrolled 223 and 291 patients in SPMC and 3 L PEG group, respectively. The proportion with acceptable bowel cleansing, total BBPS score and cecal intubation time were similar in all four subgroups (p > 0.05). Patient-reported acceptability and tolerability was significantly greater in SPMC than 3 L PEG group (p < 0.001); adverse events were significantly lower in SPMC than latter group (p < 0.001). ADR in both groups was greater than 30%. CONCLUSION: SPMC had significantly higher acceptability and tolerability than 3 L PEG, however, was similar in terms of bowel-cleansing effect and cecal intubation time and hence can be used before colonoscopy preparation.

Changes in the human gut microbiota composition caused by Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The short-term and long-term effect of Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) eradication on the gut microbiota is controversial; hence, this study aimed to clarify changes in the gut microbiome and microbial diversity after H pylori eradication. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Articles published in PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE were searched up to March 20, 2020, with English-language restriction. The outcomes including gut microbiota and alpha diversity were extracted to analysis. And then, Review Manager 5.3 software was used to conduct the data analysis. RESULTS: At phylum level, next-generation sequencing was performed. Meta-analysis results showed that Actinobacteria decreased compared with baseline throughout the follow-up period. Proteobacteria increased during short-term follow-up and then returned to normal. In addition, Bacteroidetes decreased and Firmicutes increased only during long-term follow-up. At family or genus level, conventional microbiological culturing was performed. Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococcus both increased during the short-term and interim follow-up. In addition, Lactobacillus only showed a decreasing trend during short-term follow-up, but it appeared statistical decreasing during interim follow-up. Moreover, relatively sufficient evidence showed that alpha diversity decreased during short-term follow-up, and no reliable data were obtained to confirm the change of alpha diversity during interim and long-term follow-up. CONCLUSION: In different follow-up periods after H pylori eradication, changes in gut microbiota were inconsistent. Microbial diversity decreased in the short-term follow-up, while there was no data to confirm subsequent alterations. The results provided a basis for the rational selection of probiotics in the eradication process. However, further studies are needed to obtain more clues.

Serum Cholinesterases, a Novel Marker of Clinical Activity in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to investigate whether serum cholinesterase (ChE) levels were associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective case-control study to clarify the relationship between serum ChE levels and IBD that included 142 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), 60 patients with Crohn's disease (CD), and 264 healthy controls (HCs). We used ROC curves to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum ChE levels for IBD. RESULTS: Substantially lower serum ChE levels were detected in patients with UC than in HCs (6376 U/L versus 8418 U/L, P < 0.001) and in patients with CD than in HCs (5181 U/L versus 8418 U/L, P < 0.001). Additionally, patients with CD displayed significantly lower serum ChE levels than patients with UC (5181 U/L versus 6376 U/L, P < 0.01). We also found that there was a negative association between serum ChE levels and the Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) score of patients with CD (P = 0.011) and the Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index (SCCAI) score of patients with UC (P = 0.018). The area under the curve (AUC) for serum ChE for the diagnosis of IBD was 0.826, and the AUCs of serum ChE for the diagnosis of CD and UC were 0.890 and 0.800, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Serum ChE levels have important clinical significance in the diagnosis and assessment of clinical activity in patients with IBD, and the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway may provide new ideas for targeted treatment of IBD.

Successful endoscopic combined with endovascular haemostasis of a ruptured pseudoaneurysm of the duodenal bulb: A case report.

Pseudoaneurysms are uncommon but their rupture and bleeding can lead to serious complications and be fatal. We present here a case of a man in his late 70s who was transferred to our hospital with persistent gastrointestinal bleeding. One month prior to his admission, he had undergone surgery for a fracture to his left knee. Endoscopic examination found pulsating blood vessels on a duodenal ulcer, which suddenly ruptured and caused significant bleeding. Immediate endoscopic haemostasis was administered and the bleeding decreased. Considering the high rate of rebleeding that may occur with a pseudoaneurysm, the patient underwent interventional radiology that culminated in a diagnosis of a pseudoaneurysm originating from gastroduodenal artery (GDA); successful embolization was achieved. Tests showed that the patient had Helicobacter pylori infection. We hypothesised that the H. pylori infection had led to the occurrence of the duodenal bulb ulcer, and the patient's left knee fracture and surgery a month previously had contributed to this predisposition for a pseudoaneurysm.

High expression of RASAL1, a hub gene in the progression of liver cancer, suggests a poor prognostis.

OBJECTIVE: Liver cancer (LC) is a frequently occurring lethal malignancy worldwide, yet the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis and their development remain uncharacterized. In this study, bioinformatics methods were used to find candidate hub genes for prognosis assessment and clinical treatment of LC. METHODS: Differential analysis was carried out based on the evidence of gene expression profiling in LC on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were constructed into co-expression networks and divided into modules by virtue of weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Based on the Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), the module genes were subjected to functional enrichment analysis. The LC microarray (GSE105130) in the Gene Expression Omnibus was selected to verify the hub genes' expression profiles. The validity of the hub genes was verified via survival analysis, as well as expression correlation with the clinicopathological features. Thereafter, gene set variation analysis (GSVA) and single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were applied to investigate the possible biological functions of the hub genes. RESULTS: In total, 3780 DEGs and 17 co-expression modules were obtained. The blue module had the strongest correlation with the tumour stage and the module genes were principally enriched in tumour-associated GO terms, as well as pathways such as Ras protein signal transduction, ERK1/2 cascade, Ras signal pathway, and ECM-receptor interaction. RASAL1, which is highly expressed in LC, was identified as a hub gene for LC progression. Its high expression suggested unfavorable patient prognosis and was correlated with T stage, gender and tumour stage. Further analysis identified that the overexpression of RASAL1 was substantially enriched in cancer-associated gene sets. CONCLUSION: RASAL1 is a hub gene that influences LC progression, constituting a novel biomarker and molecular target in the future diagnosis and therapy of LC.

Dynamic Kinetic Resolution of Phthalides via Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation: A Strategy Constructs 1,3-Distereocentered 3-(2-Hydroxy-2-arylethyl)isobenzofuran-1(3H)-one.

Dynamic kinetic resolution of phthalides through asymmetric transfer hydrogenation for the construction of 3-(2-hydroxy-2-arylethyl)isobenzofuran-1(3H)-one with 1,3-distereocenters has been developed. This procedure is carried out under a mild condition at 40 °C catalyzed with RuCl[(S,S)-TsDPEN](mesitylene) using HCOOH/Et3N (5:2) as a hydrogen source. A variety of phthalides are smoothly transferred to provide optically pure phthalides with high yields, excellent enantioselectivities, and acceptable diastereomeric ratios.