AIM Gastrointestinal mucositis is a frequent complication of antineoplastic chemotherapy, but the effects of chemotherapy on mucosal defense mechanisms remain poorly understood. We studied the effects of cisplatin on mucin, one of the principal defense factors of the gastrointestinal mucosa, and evaluated the efficacy of two different types of H2-receptor antagonists against cisplatin-induced m...

Our major objective was to investigate whether injury to the mucosa of the small intestine occurred in a normotensive model of sepsis and whether such injury was associated with microvascular perfusion deficits. Using fluorescence intravital microscopy, we show direct evidence of cell injury within the mucosa (pneumonia 12.4 ± 2.6 cells/field, sham 2.2 ± 0.7 cells/field), whereas use of51Cr-lab...

A 66-year-old woman was operated on in 1988 for an endometrial adenocarcinoma, after which she received adjuvant radiotherapy. The patient presented with 6month, progressive iron-deficiency anemia. A complete endoscopic study (esophago-gastrosco-duodenoscopy and ileocolonoscopy) was performed; mucosal edema with superficial whitish spots in the terminal ileum (fig. 1A) was observed. Nonspecific...

1. The distribution of muscarinic cholinergic receptors (mAChR), detected by atropine-inhibitable binding of [3H] quinuclidinyl benzilate, was examined in membrane fractions of pancreas, small intestinal muscle, mucosa, villi and crypts of sham-operated and vagotomized rats. 2. Specific (atropine inhibitable) [3H] quinuclidinyl benzilate binding was greater to the ileal mucosa than to jejunal m...

Many studies dealing with trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) colitis in rats have been carried out referring only to the colon. In humans, ulcerative colitis (UC) can extend a variable distance into the terminal ileum in a phenomenon known as backwash ileitis (BWI). The aim of this study was therefore to examine the effect of TNBS-induced colitis on different aspects of the rat ileum and jeju...

An accumulation of pigment deposits on mucosa, called melanosis or pseudomelanosis, of the small bowel is observed infrequently during endoscopic examination. We describe 6 cases of small bowel pseudomelanosis; the possible etiology of which was chronic iron intake. We observed numerous brown spots in duodenum, jejunum, and terminal ileum during upper and lower endoscopy. Interestingly, all pat...

Background. Damage of the intestinal mucosa barrier may result in intestinal bacterial and endotoxin translocation, leading to local and systemic inflammation. The present study was designed to investigate whether peritoneal air exposure induces damage of intestinal mucosal barrier. Methods. Sprague-Dawley rats (weighing 210 to 230 g) were randomized into five groups (6/group): a control group,...

Background: Clinical and experimental observations in animal models indicate that intestinal commensal bacteria are involved in the initiation and amplification of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). No paediatric reports are available on intestinal endogenous microflora in IBD. Aims: To investigate and characterise the predominant composition of the mucosa-associated intestinal microflora in col...

Diarrhea, melena, and lower abdominal pain developed in a male in his 20s and colonoscopy showed pancolitis-type severe ulcerative colitis (UC). Treatment was initiated with 4,000 mg of 5-aminosalicylic acid and 60 mg/day of prednisolone, but the symptoms and inflammatory reaction worsened with prednisolone dose reduction. Tacrolimus was added to the treatment, which subsequently induced remiss...