Gut Podcast

Update on basic and clinical aspects of eosinophilic oesophagitis

The identification of a distinct syndrome, designated eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE), with its own clinical and histopathological characteristics, was first described in the early 1990s. Meanwhile intense research has uncovered many molecular, immunological and clinical aspects of this chronic-inflammatory disorder.
In this podcast, Mairi McLean talks to Professor Alex Straumann, Swiss EoE Clinic and EoE Research Network, about the basic and clinical insights of EoE gathered during the last few years.
Read Professor Straumann's update on the topic:
http://goo.gl/0B6h14

AIEC pathobiont instigates chronic colitis in susceptible hosts by altering microbiota composition

Inflammatory bowel disease is driven by a seemingly aberrant immune response to the gut microbiota with disease development dictated by genetics and environmental factors. A model exemplifying this notion is work by Andrew Gewirtz, Center for Inflammation, Immunity, & Infection, Georgia State University, and colleagues, demonstrating that colonisation of adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) during microbiota acquisition drove chronic colitis in mice lacking the flagellin receptor TLR5 (T5KO).
They have now published a paper in Gut hypothesising that AIEC instigates chronic inflammation by increasing microbial lipopolysaccharide and flagellin levels, and investigating how AIEC colonisation might instigate colitis in T5KO mice.
Mairi McLean talks to Dr Gerwitz about their findings.
Read the full paper (for free): http://gut.bmj.com/content/63/7/1069.full

Besifovir versus entecavir in Asian patients with chronic hepatitis B

Despite the success of hepatitis B virus vaccination in preventing new infection in endemic areas, chronic hepatitis B still poses a heavy burden globally. There are approximately 350 million carriers in the world, with an estimated 60 000 persons dying annually of hepatitis B-related cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
In a study recent published in Gut, Professor Man-Fung Yuen, Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, and colleagues, report the results of viral suppression and safety of two doses of besifovir, with entecavir as a comparator in treatment-naive subjects for 48 weeks.
He talks to Mairi McLean about the findings.
Read the full paper:
Phase IIb multicentred randomised trial of besifovir (LB80380) versus entecavir in Asian patients with chronic hepatitis B http://gut.bmj.com/content/63/6/996.full

Characterisation of faecal protease activity in irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea

Mairi McLean talks to Robin Spiller, NIHR Nottingham Digestive Diseases Biomedical Research Unit, and David Tooth, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Nottingham, about their paper: Characterisation of faecal protease activity in irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea: origin and effect of gut transit.Read the full article: http://goo.gl/0OIP34

Recent advances in clinical practice challenges and opportunities in the management of obesity

Mairi McLean talks to Andres Acosta and Barham K Abu Dayyeh, both Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, about their review on the management of obesity.Read the full paper: http://goo.gl/V37xaq

Amniotic stem cell treament for necrotic enterocolitis

Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) remains one of the primary causes of morbidity and mortality in neonates and alternative strategies are needed. Stem cells have become a therapeutic option for other intestinal diseases, which share some features with NEC. Along with colleagues, Simon Eaton and Paolo De Coppi, both from University College London Institute of Child Health, have tested the hypothesis that amniotic fluid stem (AFS) cells exerted a beneficial effect in a neonatal rat model of NEC.Mairi McLean discusses their findings with them.Read the full paper:Amniotic fluid stem cells improve survival and enhance repair of damaged intestine in necrotising enterocolitis via a COX-2 dependent mechanism http://goo.gl/EFUuN0

British Society of Gastroenterology guidelines on diagnosing and managing Barrett’s oesophagus

Gut's education editor Mairi McLean discusses highlights from the guidelines on the diagnosis and management of Barrett's oesophagus with authors Rebecca Fitzgerald and Massimiliano di Pietro, both from the MRC Cancer Unit, University of Cambridge.Read the full paper here: http://bit.ly/1kkPkVW

Carvedilol for primary prophylaxis of variceal bleeding in cirrhotic patients

Mairi McLean talks to Markus Peck-Radosavljevic, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Medical University Vienna, about his study looking at carvedilol for primary prophylaxis of variceal bleeding in cirrhotic patients with haemodynamic non-response to propranolol.Read the full paper here: bit.ly/1991biw

A systematic approach to therapeutic target selection in oesophago-gastric cancer

Mairi McLean talks to Anna Paterson and Rebecca Fitzgerald, both MRC Cancer Cell Unit, Hutchison-MRC Research Centre, Cambridge, about their study investigating whether a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) array could be used to select the most effective therapeutic strategies in molecularly heterogeneous oesophago-gastric adenocarcinomas.Read the full paper here: bit.ly/1acACwz

Gut podcast: Treatment of pancreatic fibrosis with siRNA

Fibrosis associated with chronic pancreatitis is an irreversible lesion that can disrupt pancreatic exocrine and endocrine function. Currently, there are no approved treatments for this disease.In this podcast Mairi McLean, Gut education editor, talks to Professor Yoshiro Niitsu from Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine about his manuscript about the potential for therapeutic use of siRNA in the treatment of pancreatic fibrosis.Read the full research online:http://gut.bmj.com/content/62/9/1328