Analysis of the Target Group of Lactose-Free Functional Foods for Product Development

The aim of this research was to assess the consumer habits of lactose sensitive persons in case of lactose-free products and their other shopping aspects for development of new, dairy-based lactose-free products. The research was based on face-to-face questionnaire survey, and those who declared to be lactose sensitive were analysed. Among them, only half of the women (49.3%) and one third of the men (34.6%) were medically proven lactose sensitive, so more than half of the respondents declared themselves affected on the basis of self-diagnosis. Our results show that reliably regular customers of lactose-free products are women and persons with medical diagnosis, high educational degree, and under the age of 30. The lactose-free consumer group prefers the following product features: lactose-free label; rich in calcium, vitamins, and fibre, and free of carbohydrate, sugar, and gluten. Only two-thirds of lactose sensitive customers (66.7%) consume lactose-free products regularly, so it can be assumed that the level of knowledge of this disease, its treatment, and the importance of lactose-free dairy products among these persons is insufficient. This could be solved with education, advertisement, and other information opportunities

Crohn-beteg gyermekek infliximabkezelésének kezdeti tapasztalatai hazánkban [Analysis of infliximab treated pediatric patients with Crohn disease in Hungary]

Infliximab, the chimeric antibody to tumor necrosis factor-alpha, is indicated for medically refractory pediatric Crohn disease. Aim of our study was to examine the efficacy and side effects of infliximab therapy in Hungarian pediatric patients with Crohn disease since the authorisation of medicine for children to 31.12.2008. 23 children with refractory Crohn disease received infliximab during this period. Induction therapy with 5 mg/kg infliximab at weeks 0, 2, and 6 was introduced. 18 patients (81.8%) achieved clinical response, and 13 patients (59.1%) were in remission at the 6th week of the observation period. The evaluation was based on data of 22 children. Fistula closure rate was 70% at the at the 6th week. Two patients had acute infusion reaction, one had severe anaphilactic reaction after infliximab infusion. Chronic side effects were also observed in three cases. In our study infliximab induction therapy was effective in most pediatric patients with therapy refractory Crohn disease

In silico prediction of potential allergenicity of proteins according to the FAO/WHO guidelines with the help of Allermatch

Allermatch™ (http://allermatch.org) is a novel web tool for the efficient and standardized prediction of potential allergenicity of proteins according to the current recommendations of the FAO/WHO Expert Consultation, as outlined in the Codex alimentarius. A query amino-acid sequence is compared against the Allermatch™ Allergen database based on current SwissProt and WHO-IUIS allergen lists. The web tool uses a sliding window to identify stretches of 80 amino acids with more than 35% similarity, or identical small stretches of at least six amino acids. The outcome of the analyses is presented in a concise format. Allermatch™ is likely to contribute to improved, transparent and more consistent analyses of potential allergenicity of genetically modified food prior to market release. In the future, the FAO/WHO guidelines may be improved upon. Different methods that could enhance the predictive value of allergen prediction are discussed

De Novo Donor-Specific HLA Antibody Formation in Two Patients With Crigler-Najjar Syndrome Type I Following Human Hepatocyte Transplantation With Partial Hepatectomy Preconditioning

Clinical hepatocyte transplantation is hampered by low engraftment rates and gradual loss of function resulting in incomplete correction of the underlying disease. Preconditioning with partial hepatectomy improves engraftment in animal studies. Our aim was to study safety and efficacy of partial hepatectomy preconditioning in clinical hepatocyte transplantation. Two patients with Crigler-Najjar syndrome type I underwent liver resection followed by hepatocyte transplantation. A transient increase of hepatocyte growth factor was seen, suggesting that this procedure provides a regenerative stimulus. Serum bilirubin was decreased by 50%, and presence of bilirubin glucuronides in bile confirmed graft function in both cases; however, graft function was lost due to discontinuation of immunosuppressive therapy in one patient. In the other patient, serum bilirubin gradually increased to pretransplant concentrations after ≈600 days. In both cases, loss of graft function was temporally associated with emergence of human leukocyte antigen donor-specific antibodies (DSAs). In conclusion, partial hepatectomy in combination with hepatocyte transplantation was safe and induced a robust release of hepatocyte growth factor, but its efficacy on hepatocyte engraftment needs to be evaluated with additional studies. To our knowledge, this study provides the first description of de novo DSAs after hepatocyte transplantation associated with graft los

Incidence, Paris classification, and follow-up in a nationwide incident cohort of pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence, baseline disease characteristics, and disease location based on the Paris classification in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the Hungarian nationwide inception cohort. In addition, 1-year follow-up with therapy was analyzed. METHODS From January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2009, newly diagnosed pediatric patients with IBD were prospectively registered. Twenty-seven pediatric gastroenterology centers participated in the data collection ensuring the data from the whole country. Newly diagnosed patients with IBD younger than 18 years were reported. Disease location was classified according to the Paris classification. RESULTS A total of 420 patients were identified. The incidence rate of pediatric IBD was 7.48/10⁵ (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.34/10⁵-8.83/10⁵). The incidence for Crohn disease (CD) was 4.72/10⁵ (95% CI 3.82-5.79), for ulcerative colitis (UC) 2.32/10⁵ (95% CI 1.71-3.09), and for IBD-unclassified 0.45/10⁵ (95% CI 0.22-0.84). Most common location in CD was L3 (58.7%); typical upper gastrointestinal abnormalities (ulcer, erosion and aphthous lesion) were observed in 29.9%. Extensive colitis in patients with UC (E4, proximal to hepatic flexure) was the most common disease phenotype (57%), whereas only 5% of children had proctitis. A total of 18.6% of patients had ever severe disease (S1). Frequency of azathioprine administration at diagnosis was 29.5% in patients with CD, and this rate increased to 54.6% (130/238) at 1-year follow-up. In UC, only 3.3% received azathioprine initially, and this rate elevated to 22.5% (25/111). Use of corticosteroid decreased from 50% to 15.3% in patients with UC. Rate of bowel resection in patients with CD during the first year of follow-up was 5%. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of pediatric IBD in Hungary was among the higher range reported. This is the first large, nationwide incident cohort analyzed according to the Paris classification, which is a useful tool to determine the characteristic pediatric CD phenotype