P045 THE USE OF AZATHIOPRINE FOR THE TREATMENT OF INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES IN CLINICAL PRACTICE: A MULTICENTER, RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

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Effect of the mobile phase composition on the retention behaviour of diphenylsilica pre-coated plates"

The retention of some rifamycins and steroids on diphenyl bonded pre-coated silica gel plates, in relation to the mobile phase used, was examined by thin-layer chromatography. Neat organic solvents, non-aqueous and aqueous binary mixtures were tested as eluents. By comparison of retention data for rifamycins and steroids, respectively, under non-aqueous and aqueous conditions, a dual retention mechanism on this diphenyl phase was found. Interactions with the residual silanol groups seemed to prevail when employing as mobile phase the more lipophilic solvents tested, such as chloroform or dichloromethane, whereas interactions with the aryl groups of the bonded phase prevailed when using high polarity alcohols or aqueous mixtures. As a consequence, by changing the mobile phase, a large variation in selectivity with a concomitant change in retention order of the test compounds was observe

The use of thiopurines for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disesases in clinical practice

Background: Thiopurines are the most commonly used immunomodulatory drugs in inflammatory bowel diseases. Aim: To evaluate the use, the therapeutic and safety profiles of thiopurines in a large sample of IBD patients. Methods: We reviewed 3641 case histories of IBD patients. Thiopurines were prescribed in 582 patients (16.0%); the analysis was performed on the 553 (267 ulcerative colitis, 286 Crohn's disease) with exhaustive clinical data. Results: The main indications for treatment were steroid-dependence (328/553, 59.3%) and steroid-resistance (113/553, 20.7%). Thiopurines were started when CD were younger than UC patients (p < 0.001) but earlier from diagnosis in UC than in CD patients (p = 0.003). Efficacy was defined as optimal (258/553, 46.6%), partial (108/553, 19.5%), absent (85/553, 15.4%) and not assessable (102/553, 18.4%). Efficacy was independent of disease type, location/extension or duration and age at starting. Side effects were observed in 151/553 (27.3%) patients, leading to drug discontinuation in 101 (18.3%). 15 out of the 130 (11.5%) patients who took thiopurines for more than 4 years relapsed, more frequently in CD than in UC (OR = 3.67 95% C.I. 0.98-13.69; p = 0.053). Conclusions: Thiopurines confirm their clinical usefulness and acceptable safety profile in managing complicated IBD patients. The majority of patients treated for longer than 4 years maintain response. No clinical and demographic predictive factors for efficacy and side effects were identified

Results of the first international round robin for the quantification of urinary and plasma hepcidin assays: need for standardization

This study indicates that hepcidin levels reported by various methods vary considerably but analytical variance is generally low and similar for all methods. See related perspective article on page 1631

Can we improve the detection rate and interobserver agreement in capsule endoscopy?

Background: Data about strategies for improving the diagnostic ability of capsule endoscopy readers are lacking. Aim: (1) To evaluate the detection rate and the interobserver agreement among readers with different experience; (2) to verify the impact of a specific training (hands-on training plus expert tutorial) on these parameters. Methods: 17 readers reviewed 12 videos twice; between the two readings they underwent the training. The identified small bowel findings were described by a simplified version of Structured Terminology and classifies as clinically significant/non-significant. Findings identified by the readers were compared with those identified by three experts (Reference Standard). Results: The Reference Standard identified 26 clinically significant findings. The mean detection rate of overall readers for significant findings was low (about 50%) and did not change after the training (46.2% and 46.4%, respectively). There was no difference in the detection rate among readers with different experience. The interobserver agreement with the Reference Standard in describing significant findings was moderate (k= 0.44; CI95%: 0.39-0.50) and did not change after the training (k= 0.44; CI95%: 0.38-0.49) or stratifying readers according to their experience. Conclusions: Both the interobserver agreement and the detection rate of significant findings are low, regardless of the readers' experience. Our training did not significantly increase the performance of readers with different experience

Inflation and primordial power spectra at anisotropic spacetime inspired by Planck’s constraints on isotropy of CMB

Recently, the Planck 2013 results showed possible evidence for a dipolar power modulation of the CMB temperature fluctuations at low--(\ell) multipoles. This anomaly might imply certain deviations from statistical isotropy. To incorporate the Planck's data into standard cosmological model, we propose an inflation model of the very early universe in an anisotropic spacetime. A generalized Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) metric is presented in the Randers-Finsler spacetime. We obtain the primordial power spectrum of the scalar perturbation with direction dependence, such as the dipolar modulation. This is consistent with the dipolar power modulation of the CMB anisotropy signaled by the Planck observation.Comment: 10 pages, no figur