[A case of an elderly patient with inverted Meckel's diverticulum with small intestinal bleeding detected using capsule and double-balloon endoscopies].

An 80-year-old man was examined with esophagogastroduodenoscopy and colonoscopy because of digestive tract hemorrhage;however, no specific cause was found. Small intestinal capsule endoscopy revealed a reddish elevated lesion in the ileum. This lesion was also detected using double-balloon endoscopy as a 5-cm reddish elevated lesion covered with normal villous architecture in the 95-cm part of the Bauhin valve on the oral side. The lesion was laparoscopically resected and diagnosed as inverted Meckel's diverticulum based on pathological examination. This was a rare case where Meckel's diverticulum was inverted, and the lesion was observed using capsule and double-balloon endoscopies before surgery. Although complications of Meckel's diverticulum are rare in the elderly, it is necessary to identify this disease as a cause of small intestinal bleeding, even in elderly patients.

[Change in Serum Levels of New Hepatic Fibrosis Marker "Mac-2 Binding Protein Glycosylation isomer (M2BPGi)" in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C during the Treatment of Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin].

The sustained virological response (SVR) rate in the patients with HCV has currently reached to 90% by the progression of anti-viral therapy. However, several reports demonstrated that hepatocellular carcinoma develops even in the patients with SVR. It is widely accepted that liver fibrosis plays a pivotal role in hepatocellular carcinogenesis. Thus, an accurate staging for liver fibrosis is necessary to improve long-term prognosis of hepatitis C patients. Recently, Mac-2 binding protein glycosylation isomer (M2BPGi) was identified as a novel hepatic fibrosis marker. In the present study, we compared the value of M2BPGi in serum before and after the anti-viral therapy in hepatitis C patients. The value of M2BPGi in patients with F2, F3, or F4 stagings was significantly higher than that in F1 staging. Moreover, the value of M2BPGi significantly decreased after the treatment with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin similarly to other liver fibrosis-related markers. In addition, the value of M2BPGi in patients with SVR was significantly decreased after the anti-viral therapy (P < 0.0001). The reduction of M2BPGi in SVR patients was thought to reflect the improvement of liver fibrosis, in conjunction with the reduction of viral load, after the treatment. In conclusion, the measurement of M2BPGi in serum might be useful in monitoring the improvement of liver fibrosis by anti-viral therapy.