The interactions of micro-organisms cohabitating with Homo sapiens spans millennia, with microbial communities living in a symbiotic relationship with the host. Interacting to regulate and maintain physiological functions and immunological tolerance, the microbial community is able to exert an influence on host health. An example of micro-organisms contributing to an intestinal disease state is...

Blastocystis (B.) hominis was considered to be a member of normal intestinal flora in the past, but in recent years it has been accepted as a very controversial pathogenic protozoan. In this study, 52 individuals whose stool examination revealed B. hominis were evaluated for clinical symptoms. Metronidazole was administered for 2 weeks to the patients infected with B. hominis. After 2 weeks of ...

TWO CASES OF INTESTINAL POLYPUS. By v J H. Boyle Runnals, M.R.C.S., Saltash, Cornwall.. I have published an account of these cases, and more particularly the first one, as an example of the great difficulty so often experienced in diagnosing the causes of intestinal obstruction ; and it is more interesting since the thorough educating discussion upon that subject reported in the March edition o...

INTRODUCTION Atrophic gastritis is a risk factor for non-cardia gastric cancer, and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) for oesophageal adenocarcinoma. The role of atrophic gastritis and GORD in the aetiology of adenocarcinoma of the cardia remains unclear. We have investigated the association between adenocarcinoma of the different regions of the upper gastrointestinal tract and atrophic ...

BACKGROUND Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have significantly reduced quality of life (QOL). Although intestinal and extraintestinal symptoms, as well as comorbid psychological disorders, may reduce the QOL of IBS patients, the primary determinant of QOL in these patients remains unclear. This study aimed to identify the main factors affecting QOL in patients with IBS with diarrhea...

Intestinal amebiasis is a major cause of diarrhea. However, research on host-amebae interactions has been hampered owing to a lack of appropriate animal models. Recently, a mouse model of intestinal amebiasis was established, and using it, we reported that Entamoeba moshkovskii colonized the intestine in a manner similar to that of the pathogenic Entamoeba histolytica In this study, we evaluate...

Gastrointestinal duplications are rare congenital malformations and they may vary greatly in presentation, size, location and symptoms. The presence of ectopic gastric mucosa (EGM) in them is not common and they are difficult to diagnose prior to surgery. We present the case of a child with long intestinal duplication with ectopic gastric mucosa who presented with just severe anaemia and delaye...

BACKGROUND There is evidence that Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is accompanied by gastro-intestinal symptoms; and IgA and IgM responses directed against lipopolysaccharides (LPS) of commensal bacteria, indicating bacterial translocation. METHODS This study was carried out to examine gastro-intestinal symptoms in subjects with ME/CFS versus those with chronic fati...