Modes of adherence of Helicobacter pylori to gastric surface epithelium in gastroduodenal disease: A possible sequence of events leading to internalisation

We have investigated various modes of adherence of Helicobacter pylori to the human gastric epithelium, using transmission electron microscopy, in biopsies from nine patients with peptic ulcer disease and from four patients with chronic active gastritis. H. pylori was demonstrated in abundance in all cases within the surface mucous layer. In all ulcer- and in one out of four gastritis patients H. pylori was shown in close proximity to the gastric epithelium, with concurrent alterations in the configuration of microvilli and the apical cytoplasmic region of gastric cells. Previously described modes of H. pylori adherence were confirmed, such as loose attachment with fibrillar-like strands, firm attachment with pedestal formation, invasion in the intercellular spaces, and invagination with cup formation. Moreover, in many cases a fusion between the bacterial outer layer and gastric cell membranes was evident. In four cases (31; three with active and one with past ulcer disease) viable H. pylori was found in the cytoplasm of gastric mucous cells. Our results support the hypothesis that the different modes of adherence of H. pylori represent a stepwise, possibly sequential, process which in a significant number of cases leads to internalisation of the organism. The invariable occurrence of adhesion and more frequent internalisation of H. pylori in ulcer patients may suggest a link with the pathogenesis of peptic ulcer disease

Relapse of Endometrial Carcinoma: Follow-up of 272 Patients with Relapse.

A total of 2090 patients with endometrial carcinoma were followed-up for at least five years. The treatment modalities, as well as the results of treatment, regarding 272 patients with disease relapse are presented. The results are not encouraging. We found no statistically significant difference regarding overall survival, when the patients were divided according to initial stage or ploidy status. There was also no significant difference between overall survival and the mode of treatment. 108 out of 272 patients with relapse died of their disease. Regarding patients in stage I-II we present the survival for every studied year, where we compared those with more than one site of metastasis (n=108), more than one metastasis (n=59), or no relapse at all (n=1289) with an age-corrected Swedish female population. We found that the vast majority of patients did not die from their cancer-related illnesses, and also found an increased death-rate among those with cancer without relapse, compared to those without cancer (20% compared to 14%, 5 year follow-up). We conclude that the majority of patients would benefit from an increased effort to cure other illnesses rather than concentrating on cancer treatment alone

Astaxanthin-Rich Algal Meal and Vitamin C Inhibit Helicobacter pylori Infection in BALB/cA Mice

Helicobacter pylori infection in humans is associated with chronic type B gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and gastric carcinoma. A high intake of carotenoids and vitamin C has been proposed to prevent development of gastric malignancies. The aim of this study was to explore if the microalga Haematococcus pluvialis rich in the carotenoid astaxanthin and vitamin C can inhibit experimental H. pylori infection in a BALB/cA mouse model. Six-week-old BALB/cA mice were infected with the mouse-passaged H. pylori strain 119/95. At 2 weeks postinoculation mice were treated orally once daily for 10 days (i) with different doses of algal meal rich in astaxanthin (0.4, 2, and 4 g/kg of body weight, with the astaxanthin content at 10, 50, and 100 mg/kg, respectively), (ii) with a control meal (algal meal without astaxanthin, 4 g/kg), or (iii) with vitamin C (400 mg/kg). Five mice from each group were sacrificed 1 day after the cessation of treatment, and the other five animals were sacrificed 10 days after the cessation of treatment. Culture of H. pylori and determination of the inflammation score of the gastric mucosae were used to determine the outcome of the treatment. Mice treated with astaxanthin-rich algal meal or vitamin C showed significantly lower colonization levels and lower inflammation scores than those of untreated or control-meal-treated animals at 1 day and 10 days after the cessation of treatment. Lipid peroxidation was significantly decreased in mice treated with the astaxanthin-rich algal meal and vitamin C compared with that of animals not treated or treated with the control meal. Both astaxanthin-rich algal meal and vitamin C showed an inhibitory effect on H. pylori growth in vitro. In conclusion, antioxidants may be a new strategy for treating H. pylori infection in humans

Long-term survival in uterine clear cell carcinoma and uterine papillary serous carcinoma.

Uterine clear cell carcinoma (UCC) and uterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC) are rare entities that differ in clinical behavior from endometrial adenocarcinoma. Compared with endometrioid adenocarcinoma, they more often metastasize early and more commonly in the upper abdomen including the omentum. Treatment programs of UCC and UPSC at different stages vary and range from no adjuvant therapy in stage Ia to a wide variety of chemotherapies and radiotherapies in more advanced stages. This study presents the outcome of 109 patients with UCC or UPSC treated according to essentially the same treatment program from May 1993 to December 2004. Most patients were treated with a simple hysterectomy with no further adjuvant treatment. In stage Ia, 2/46 patients died of their disease and amongst all the stages, 30/109 patients died of their disease. These survival outcomes are comparable to or better than those presented previously

Development of high-grade lymphoma in Helicobacter pylori-infected C57BL/6mice

Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, gastric adenocarcinoma and MALT lymphoma. Mice with H. pylori infection develop severe gastritis and atrophic changes in their stomachs after 6 months. We followed H. pylori -infected animals for 13 months to find out whether dysplasia, carcinoma or lymphoma developed. Six-week-old C57BL/6 mice were infected with the CagA-positive and VacA-positive H. pylori mouse-passaged strain 119/95, fed a low antioxidant diet, and kept in microisolated cages. Histopathological changes were examined after 13 months' infection. All H. pylori -inoculated mice (n=5) developed a gastric squamous papilloma with nagging of the lamina muscularis after 13 months. Three out of five animals developed high-grade B-cell lymphoma derived from a MALT lymphoma at the squamous-corpus border with manifestations also in the liver, spleen and kidney. There was a suspicion of local gastric lymphoma in the two remaining mice but with no significant changes in the liver, spleen or kidney. The normal control mice showed no pathological changes in any of these organs. It is concluded that this mouse model with infection by the CagA-positive, vac-toxin-producing H. pylori strain 119/95 is suitable for use in the study of lymphoma development and also development of squamous cell papilloma with proliferative features

Endometrial destruction by thermal coagulation : Evaluation of a new form of treatment for menorrhagia

Objective. To report the first clinical evaluation of a new balloon endometrial, thermal destruction system Cavaterm®, for outpatient treatment of menorrhagia. Design. To elucidate possible technical problems during treatment, to evaluate how the patients tolerated the treatment and to judge which patients were suitable for this form of treatment. Main outcome measures. Measurements of bleeding volumes in pads and tampons before and after treatment were performed as well as subjective evaluation by bleeding charts. Patients also estimated their degree of satisfaction. Setting. Gynaecology department at a university hospital. Subjects. 36 patients under 52 pears of age with menorrhagia, without suspicion of intracavitary pathology including malignancy. Results. No procedure-related complications occurred. The patients tolerated the treatment well. There was a significant reduction in measured bleeding volumes in pads and tampons, collected during one menstruation, 2-7 months after treatment compared with measurements before treatment. Four patients subsequently underwent hysterectomy and should not have been included in the study (two with pedunculated myoma and one with a septum; the fourth showed premalignant endometrial changes in the curettage preceding the treatment). At 18-28-month follow up, 29 of the suitable patients (91%) reported a significant reduction in bleeding and another three patients reported reduced but still profuse bleeding compared with pretreatment; 88% (28/32) rated the treatment results as excellent, and a further 9% (3/32) as good. Conclusions. We found the Cavaterm® system for endometrial destruction to be safe, efficient and easy to use

Adjuvant tamoxifen in breast cancer patients affects the endometrium by time, an effect remaining years after end of treatment and results in an increased frequency of endometrial carcinoma.

Tamoxifen is the most used adjuvant drug in breast cancer treatment. Its main action is as an anti-oestrogen, but in the endometrium of some patients it acts as an oestrogen. Some investigators have even reported an increased risk of developing endometrial carcinoma. The question of how to follow-up these patients and how to identify patients at risk of developing endometrial premalignant changes was investigated by the noninvasive ultrasound method. The follow-up of 292 patients from before the start of adjuvant treatment with tamoxifen and 94 without tamoxifen treatment was conducted at regular intervals. The changes in endometrial thickness as measured by ultrasound and histopathological changes are reported. A thicker endometrium was found in patients with receptor positive breast cancer even before the treatment with tamoxifen started. Cumulative increasing thickness was found during treatment and this thicker endometrium remained until almost 3 years after the end of treatment. If the endometrium was <3 mm after 3 months of treatment the probability that it would be thin after 5 years was high. An increased risk of developing endometrial carcinoma was found, however due to this regular follow-up the cancer was identified at an early stage