Infant embodiment and interembodiment

This article brings together a range of research and scholarship from various disciplines which have investigated and theorised social and cultural aspects of infants’ bodies within the context of contemporary western societies. It begins with a theoretical overview of dominant concepts of infants’ bodies, including discussion of the concepts of the unfinished body, civility and the Self/Other binary opposition as well as that of interembodiment, drawn from the work of Merleau-Ponty. Then follows discussion of the pleasures and challenging aspects of interembodiment in relation to caregivers’ interactions with infants’ bodies, purity, danger and infant embodiment and lastly practices of surveilling the vulnerable, ‘at risk’ infant body

The Impact of Ethnicity and Country of Birth on Inflammatory Bowel Disease Phenotype:A Prospective Cohort Study

Background and Aims: The number of patients with inflammatory bowel disease [IBD], of non-Caucasian descent in Western Europe, is increasing. We aimed to explore the impact of ethnicity and country of birth on IBD phenotype.Methods: IBD patients treated in the eight University Medical Centers in The Netherlands [Dutch IBD Biobank] were divided into two groups according to their ethnicity: 1] Caucasian patients of Western and Central European descent [CEU]; and 2] patients of non-Caucasian descent [non-CEU]. The non-CEU group was subdivided according to country of birth, into: born in The Netherlands or Western Europe [non-CEU European born]; or born outside Western-Europe who migrated to The Netherlands [non-CEU non-European born]. Both comparisons were analysed for phenotype differences [by chi-square test].Results: The Dutch IBD Biobank included 2921 CEU patients and 233 non-CEU patients. Non-CEU Crohn's disease [CD] patients more often had upper gastro-intestinal disease [16% vs 8%, p = 0.001] and anal stenosis [10% vs 4%, p = 0.002] than CEU CD patients. The use of anti-tumour necrosis factor [TNF] agents and immunomodulators was higher in non-CEU IBD patients than in CEU IBD patients [45% vs 38%, p = 0.042] and [77% vs 66%, p = 0.001], respectively. Non-CEU IBD patients born in Europe [n = 116] were diagnosed at a lower age than non-CEU IBD patients born outside Europe [n = 115] [at 22.7 vs 28.9 years old, p &lt;0.001].Conclusion: Non-Caucasians had more severe disease behaviour than Caucasians. Non-CEU patients born in Europe were diagnosed at a lower age with IBD than those born outside Europe who migrated to The Netherlands.</p

Two major QTLs on chr. 2BL and 3BS influence grain yield in durum wheat across a broad range of water regimes

Cellular mechanisms in basic and clinical gastroenterology and hepatolog

Genetic risk scores identify genetic aetiology of inflammatory bowel disease phenotypes

Background and Aims: Inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] phenotypes are very heterogeneous between patients, and current clinical and molecular classifications do not accurately predict the course that IBD will take over time. Genetic determinants of disease phenotypes remain largely unknown but could aid drug development and allow for personalised management. We used genetic risk scores [GRS] to disentangle the genetic contributions to IBD phenotypes.Methods: Clinical characteristics and imputed genome-wide genetic array data of patients with IBD were obtained from two independent cohorts [cohort A, n= 1097; cohort B, n= 2156]. Genetic risk scoring [GRS] was used to assess genetic aetiology shared across traits and IBD phenotypes. Significant GRS-phenotype (false-discovery rate [FDR] corrected p<0.05) associations identified in cohort A were put forward for replication in cohort B.Results: Crohn's disease [CD] GRS were associated with fibrostenotic CD [R-2= 7.4%, FDR = 0.02] and ileocaecal resection [R-2 = 4.1%, FDR = 1.6E-03], and this remained significant after correcting for previously identified clinical and genetic risk factors. Ulcerative colitis [UC] GRS [R-2 = 7.1%, FDR = 0.02] and primary sclerosing cholangitis [PSC] GRS [R-2 . 3.6%, FDR = 0.03] were associated with colonic CD, and these two associations were largely driven by genetic variation in MHC. We also observed pleiotropy between PSC genetic risk and smoking behaviour [R-2 = 1.7%, FDR = 0.04].Conclusions: Patients with a higher genetic burden of CD are more likely to develop fibrostenotic disease and undergo ileocaecal resection, whereas colonic CD shares genetic aetiology with PSC and UC that is largely driven by variation in MHC. These results further our understanding of specific IBD phenotypes.Cellular mechanisms in basic and clinical gastroenterology and hepatolog

Endoscopic treatment (endoscopic balloon dilation/self-expandable metal stent) vs surgical resection for the treatment of de novo stenosis in Crohn's disease (ENDOCIR study): an open-label, multicentre, randomized trial.

Background: Stenosis is one of the most common complications in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). Endoscopic balloon dilation (EBD) is the treatment of choice for a short stenosis adjacent to the anastomosis from previous surgery. Self-expandable metal stents (SEMS) may be a suitable treatment option for longer stenoses. To date, however, there is no scientific evidence as to whether endoscopic (EBD/SEMS) or surgical treatment is the best approach for de novo or primary stenoses that are less than 10 cm in length. Methods/design: Exploratory study as "proof-of-concept", multicentre, open-label, randomized trial of the treatment of de novo stenosis in the CD; endoscopic treatment (EBD/SEMS) vs surgical resection (SR). The type of endoscopic treatment will initially be with EDB; if a therapeutic failure occurs, then a SEMS will be placed. We estimate 2 years of recruitment and 1 year of follow-up for the assessment of quality of life, costs, complications, and clinical recurrence. After the end of the study, patients will be followed up for 3 years to re-evaluate the variables over the long term. Forty patients with de novo stenosis in CD will be recruited from 15 hospitals in Spain and will be randomly assigned to the endoscopic or surgical treatment groups. The primary aim will be the evaluation of the patient quality of life at 1 year follow-up (% of patients with an increase of 30 points in the 32-item Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ-32). The secondary aim will be evaluation of the clinical recurrence rate, complications, and costs of both treatments at 1-year follow-up. Discussion: The ENDOCIR trial has been designed to determine whether an endoscopic or surgical approach is therapeutically superior in the treatment of de novo stenosis in CD

Real-world experience of switching from intravenous to subcutaneous vedolizumab maintenance treatment for inflammatory bowel diseases

Background Subcutaneous (SC) vedolizumab is effective in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) when administered after induction with two infusions. Aim To assess the effectiveness, safety and pharmacokinetics of a switch from intravenous (IV) to SC maintenance vedolizumab in patients with IBD. Methods In this prospective cohort study, patients with IBD who had >= 4 months IV vedolizumab were switched to SC vedolizumab. We studied the time to discontinuation of SC vedolizumab, adverse events (AEs), changes in clinical and biochemical outcomes and vedolizumab concentrations at baseline, and weeks 12 and 24. Results We included 135 patients, 82 with Crohn's disease (CD) and 53 with ulcerative colitis (UC). Eleven (13.4%) CD and five (9.4%) UC patients discontinued SC vedolizumab after a median of 18 (IQR 8-22) and 6 weeks (IQR 5-10), respectively. Four patients (all CD) switched to a different drug due to loss of response, nine switched back to IV vedolizumab due to adverse events, and three due to needle fear. Common AEs were injection site reactions (n = 15) and headache (n = 6). Median clinical and biochemical disease activity remained stable after the switch. Median vedolizumab serum concentrations increased from 19 mu g/ml at the time of the switch to 31 mu g/ml 12 weeks after the switch (p < 0.005). Conclusions Switching from IV to SC vedolizumab maintenance treatment is effective in patients with CD or UC. However, 9% of patients were switched back to IV vedolizumab due to adverse events or fear of needles.Cellular mechanisms in basic and clinical gastroenterology and hepatolog

Where Are All the Mycobacterium avium Subspecies paratuberculosis in Patients with Crohn's Disease?

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) causes a chronic granulomatous inflammation of the intestines, Johne's disease, in dairy cows and every other species of mammal in which it has been identified. MAP has been identified in the mucosal layer and deeper bowel wall in patients with Crohn's disease by methods other than light microscopy, and by direct visualization in small numbers by light microscopy. MAP has not been accepted as the cause of Crohn's disease in part because it has not been seen under the microscope in large numbers in the intestines of patients with Crohn's disease. An analysis of the literature on the pathology of Crohn's disease and on possible MAP infection in Crohn's patients suggests that MAP might directly infect endothelial cells and adipocytes and cause them to proliferate, causing focal obstruction within already existing vessels (including granuloma formation), the development of new vessels (neoangiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis), and the “creeping fat” of the mesentery that is unique in human pathology to Crohn's disease but also occurs in bovine Johne's disease. Large numbers of MAP might therefore be found in the mesentery attached to segments of intestine affected by Crohn's disease rather than in the bowel wall, the blood and lymphatic vessels running through the mesentery, or the mesenteric fat itself. The walls of fistulas might result from the neoangiogenesis or lymphangiogenesis that occurs in the bowel wall in Crohn's disease and therefore are also possible sites of large numbers of MAP. The direct visualization of large numbers of MAP organisms in the tissues of patients with Crohn's disease will help establish that MAP causes Crohn's disease

Inflammatory bowel disease: past, present, and future

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, collectively known as the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), are largely diseases of the twentieth century, and are associated with the rise of modern, Westernized industrial society. Although the causes of these diseases remain incompletely understood, the prevailing model is that the intestinal flora drives an unmitigated intestinal immune response and inflammation in the genetically susceptible host. A review of the past and present of these diseases shows that detailed description preceded more fundamental elucidation of the disease processes. Working out the details of disease pathogenesis, in turn, has yielded dividends in more focused and effective therapy for IBD. This article highlights the key descriptions of the past, and the pivotal findings of current studies in disease pathogenesis and its connection to medical therapy. Future directions in the IBD will likely explicate the inhomogeneous causes of these diseases, with implications for individualized therapy

Evolution of Costs of Inflammatory Bowel Disease over Two Years of Follow-Up

BD-related costs remained stable over two years. However, the proportion of anti-TNF-related healthcare costs increased, while hospitalization costs decreased. Factors associated with increased costs were penetrating disease course in CD and age <40 in UC.Cellular mechanisms in basic and clinical gastroenterology and hepatolog