Estudi de la neurotransmissió a l'esfínter esofàgic inferior

Consultable des del TDXA la portada: Fundació de Gastroenterologia Dr. VilardellTítol obtingut de la pantalla electrònicaL'objectiu d'aquesta tesi ha estat estudiar in vitro, usant la tècnica de bany d'òrgans, els neurotransmissors implicats en la relaxació i la contracció i en el control del to en l'esfínter esofàgic inferior. Per això s'ha usat teixit procedent de tres espècies: l'home, el porc i la rata. També s'ha estudiat el paper de les cèl·lules intersticials de Cajal (ICCs) en la neurotransmissió excitadora i inhibidora, usant un model mutant en rata (Ws/Ws) que no presenta algun dels tipus d'ICCs. Els objectius concrets de cada estudi es descriuen a continuació. Objectiu 1. Caracteritzar l'efecte de l'estimulació de les motoneurones excitadores i inhibidores i les influències neurals sobre el to en el LES humà. Objectiu 2. Caracterització dels mecanismes neuromiogènics i dels neurotransmissors que controlen el to i la relaxació de LES del porc. Objectiu 3. Avaluar les diferències existents entre les regions de clasp i sling en el LES del porc pel que fa al control del to i a la contribució dels diferents components implicats en la relaxació i en la contracció. Objectiu 4. Caracterització i implicació de les cèl·lules intersticials de Cajal (ICCs) en la neurotransmissió inhibidora i excitadora en el LES de la rata

Mometasone furoate and fluticasone furoate are equally effective in restoring nasal epithelial barrier dysfunction in allergic rhinitis

Rinitis alérgica; Integridad epitelial; Furoato de mometasonaRinitis al·lèrgica; Integritat epitelial; Furoat de mometasonaAllergic rhinitis; Epithelial integrity; Mometasone furoateTight junction defects (TJ) have been associated with a defective epithelial barrier function in allergic rhinitis (AR). Intranasal corticosteroids are potent drugs frequently used to treat AR and are shown to restore epithelial integrity by acting on TJs and by reducing type 2 cytokine production. However, the effect of different classes of intranasal corticosteroids on the epithelial barrier has not been studied. Therefore, we compared the effect of 2 intranasal corticosteroids, ie, fluticasone furoate (FF) and mometasone furoate (MF) on epithelial barrier function. Both FF and MF similarly increased trans-epithelial electrical resistance of primary nasal epithelial cell cultures from AR patients. In a house dust mite-induced allergic asthma mouse model, FF and MF had similar beneficial effects on fluorescein isothiocyanate–dextran 4 kDa mucosal permeability, eosinophilic infiltration and IL-13 levels. Both molecules increased mRNA expression of the TJ proteins occludin and zonula occludens-1, thereby restoring epithelial barrier function. Lastly, we showed that long-term FF treatment also increased expression of occludin in AR patients compared to controls. In conclusion, both FF and MF effectively restore epithelial barrier function by increasing expression of TJ proteins in AR patients.This work was supported by an unrestricted grant from GSK. BS is supported by the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO), Belgium

Facial emotion processing in patients with social anxiety disorder and Williams-Beuren syndrome: an fMRI study

Background: social anxiety disorder (SAD) and Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) are 2 conditions with major differences in terms of genetics, development and cognitive profiles. Both conditions are associated with compromised abilities in overlapping areas, including social approach, processing of social emotional cues and gaze behaviour, and to some extent they are associated with opposite behaviours in these domains. We examined common and distinct patterns of brain activation during a facial emotion processing paradigm in patients with SAD and WBS. Methods: we examined patients with SAD and WBS and healthy controls matched by age and laterality using functional MRI during the processing of happy, fearful and angry faces. Results: we included 20 patients with SAD and 20 with WBS as well as 20 matched controls in our study. Patients with SAD and WBS did not differ in the pattern of limbic activation. We observed differences in early visual areas of the face processing network in patients with WBS and differences in the cortical prefrontal regions involved in the top-down regulation of anxiety and in the fusiform gyrus for patients with SAD. Compared with those in the SAD and control groups, participants in the WBS group did not activate the right lateral inferior occipital cortex. In addition, compared with controls, patients with WBS hypoactivated the posterior primary visual cortex and showed significantly less deactivation in the right temporal operculum. Participants in the SAD group showed decreased prefrontal activation compared with those in the WBS and control groups. In addition, compared with controls, participants with SAD showed decreased fusiform activation. Participants with SAD and WBS also differed in the pattern of activation in the superior temporal gyrus, a region that has been linked to gaze processing. Limitations: the results observed in the WBS group are limited by the IQ of the WBS sample; however, the specificity of findings suggests that the pattern of brain activation observed for WBS is more likely to reflect a neurobiological substrate rather than intellectual impairment per se. Conclusion: patients with SAD and WBS showed common and specific patterns of brain activation. Our results highlight the role of cortical regions during facial emotion processing in individuals with SAD and WBS

Neural response to the observable self in social anxiety disorder

Background: Distorted images of the observable self are considered crucial in the development and maintenance of social anxiety. We generated an experimental situation in which participants viewed themselves from an observer's perspective when exposed to scrutiny and evaluation by others. Method: Twenty patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and 20 control subjects were assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during the public exposure of pre-recorded videos in which they were each shown performing a verbal task. The examiners acted as the audience in the experiment and rated performance. Whole-brain functional maps were computed using Statistical Parametric Mapping. Results: Robust activation was observed in regions related to self-face recognition, emotional response and general arousal in both study groups. Patients showed significantly greater activation only in the primary visual cortex. By contrast, they showed significant deactivation or smaller activation in dorsal frontoparietal and anterior cingulate cortices relevant to the cognitive control of negative emotion. Task-related anxiety ratings revealed a pattern of negative correlation with activation in this frontoparietal/cingulate network. Importantly, the relationship between social anxiety scores and neural response showed an inverted-U function with positive correlations in the lower score range and negative correlations in the higher range. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that exposure to scrutiny and evaluation in SAD may be associated with changes in cortical systems mediating the cognitive components of anxiety. Disorder severity seems to be relevant in shaping the neural response pattern, which is distinctively characterized by a reduced cortical response in the most severe cases

Document de consens sobre la malaltia celíaca a Catalunya

Malaltia celíaca; Diagnòstic precoç; AlimentsEnfermedad celíaca; Diagnóstico precoz; AlimentosCeliac Disease; Early Diagnosis; FoodDocumento que revisa las distintas formas clínicas de presentación de la enfermedad celíaca, establece los criterios y el proceso diagnóstico de esta des de la sospecha clínica hasta el diagnóstico definitivo; ofrece recomendaciones específicas sobre el tratamiento de la enfermedad celíaca, promueve el seguimiento adecuado del paciente que la sufre y define los criterios de derivación a la atención especializada. Su objetivo principal es incrementar el diagnóstico precoz de la enfermedad celíaca en niños y adultos.Document que revisa les diverses formes clíniques de presentació de la malaltia celíaca, estableix els criteris i el procés diagnóstic d’aquesta des de la sospita clínica fins al diagnòstic definitiu; ofereix recomanacions específiques sobre el tractament de la malaltia celíaca, promou el seguiment adequat del pacient que la pateix i defineix criteris de derivació a l’atenció especialitzada. El seu objectiu principal és incrementar el diagnòstic precoç de la malaltia celíaca en infants i en adults

Evaluating the Esophageal Epithelial Integrity: More Complex than it Seems

status: publishe

Authors' response: impaired duodenal mucosal integrity and low-grade inflammation in functional dyspepsia

status: publishe

Intestinal Permeability, Inflammation and the Role of Nutrients

The interaction between host and external environment mainly occurs in the gastrointestinal tract, where the mucosal barrier has a critical role in many physiologic functions ranging from digestion, absorption, and metabolism. This barrier allows the passage and absorption of nutrients, but at the same time, it must regulate the contact between luminal antigens and the immune system, confining undesirable products to the lumen. Diet is an important regulator of the mucosal barrier, and the cross-talk among dietary factors, the immune system, and microbiota is crucial for the modulation of intestinal permeability and for the maintenance of gastrointestinal tract (GI) homeostasis. In the present review, we will discuss the role of a number of dietary nutrients that have been proposed as regulators of inflammation and epithelial barrier function. We will also consider the metabolic function of the microbiota, which is capable of elaborating the diverse nutrients and synthesizing products of great interest. Better knowledge of the influence of dietary nutrients on inflammation and barrier function can be important for the future development of new therapeutic approaches for patients with mucosal barrier dysfunction, a critical factor in the pathogenesis of many GI and non-GI diseases