endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) placement in the presence of a large pharyngeal pouch An 80-year-old man with a known benign lower esophageal stricture and pharyngeal pouch was admitted with a 2-week history of malaise, dysphagia, regurgitation, and weight loss. He had elected not to have the esophageal stricture dilated 3 years earlier. On this admission, the dysphagia persisted despite dilatatio...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of colonic J-pouch coloanal anastomosis after low anterior resection for mid or low rectal cancer on improving defecation and anorectal physiology. METHODS To make a meta-analysis, prospective randomized controlled trial of with or without colonic J-pouch after low anterior resection for mid or low rectal cancer was conducted. The key words included rectal can...

BACKGROUND Villous atrophy, mucin changes ('colonic metaplasia'), and chronic inflammation occur to varying degrees in all patients with ileal pouchanal anastomosis whereas acute inflammation (pouchitis) affects a subgroup of patients with prior ulcerative colitis. AIM To measure epithelial barrier function looking for possible functional adaptation in ileal 'pouch' mucosa. PATIENTS Patient...

At sites of inflammation, endothelial adhesion molecules bind leukocytes and transmit signals required for transendothelial migration (TEM). We previously reported that adhesive interactions between endothelial cell CD47 and leukocyte signal regulatory protein γ (SIRPγ) regulate human T cell TEM. The role of endothelial CD47 in T cell TEM in vivo, however, has not been explored. In this study, ...

Cell surface lectins are known to regulate trafficking of cells in the immune system, yet the role of macrophage galactose-type C-type lectin 1 and 2 (MGL1/2) is poorly understood. In this study, antigen-specific chronic inflammation was induced in a subcutaneous air pouch model in mice, and distribution of cells expressing MGL1/2 was investigated. Azobenzenearsonate-conjugated acetylated BSA, ...

IL-21 is a cytokine known to mediate its biological action via the IL-21R, composed of a specific chain, IL-21Ralpha, and the common gamma-chain (CD132). Recent data suggest that IL-21 possesses proinflammatory properties. However, there is no clear evidence that IL-21 induces inflammation in vivo and, curiously, the interaction between IL-21 and neutrophils has never been investigated, despite...

Background Enlarged prostate is often noticed in patients with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) in our clinical practice. The aims were to identify the factors associated with enlarged prostate and to investigate its clinical implications. Methods IPAA patients with available prostate imaging after IPAA were included. Prostate length and width were measured in the axial plane and height in...