Lymphocytic Esophagitis: An Emerging Clinicopathologic Disease Associated with Dysphagia

Lymphocytic Esophagitis (LyE) is a recently described clinicopathological condition, but little is known about its features and clinical associations

Clinical characteristics, treatment outcomes, and resource utilization in children and adults with eosinophilic gastroenteritis

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is a rare condition where eosinophilic inflammation occurs in the gastrointestinal tract in the absence of secondary causes. Little is known regarding aetiology, pathogenesis, or natural history

The esophageal biopsy “pull” sign: a highly specific and treatment-responsive endoscopic finding in eosinophilic esophagitis (with video)

Esophageal biopsies in patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) can feel firm, with resistance appreciated when pulling the forceps to obtain the tissue sample. We aimed to assess the diagnostic utility of the esophageal biopsy pull sign, and determine its histologic associations and response to treatment

Outcomes of Esophageal Dilation in Eosinophilic Esophagitis: Safety, Efficacy and Persistence of the Fibrostenotic Phenotype

Esophageal dilation is commonly performed in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), but there are few long-term data. The aims of this study were to assess the safety and long-term efficacy of esophageal dilation in a large cohort of EoE cases and determine the frequency and predictors of requiring multiple dilations

Astrophysical reaction rate for α(αn,γ)\alpha(\alpha n,\gamma)9^{9}Be by photodisintegration

We study the astrophysical reaction rate for the formation of $^{9}$Be through the three body reaction $\alpha(\alpha n,\gamma)$. This reaction is one of the key reactions which could bridge the mass gap at A = 8 nuclear systems to produce intermediate-to-heavy mass elements in alpha- and neutron-rich environments such as r-process nucleosynthesis in supernova explosions, s-process nucleosynthesis in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, and primordial nucleosynthesis in baryon inhomogeneous cosmological models. To calculate the thermonuclear reaction rate in a wide range of temperatures, we numerically integrate the thermal average of cross sections assuming a two-steps formation through a metastable $^{8}$Be. Off-resonant and on-resonant contributions from the ground state in $^{8}$Be are taken into account. As input cross section, we adopt the latest experimental data by photodisintegration of $^{9}$Be with laser-electron photon beams, which covers all relevant resonances in $^{9}$Be. We provide the reaction rate for $\alpha(\alpha n,\gamma)^{9}$Be in the temperature range from T$_{9}$=10$^{-3}$ to T$_{9}$=10$^{1}$ both in the tabular form and in the analytical form. The calculated reaction rate is compared with the reaction rates of the CF88 and the NACRE compilations. The CF88 rate is valid at $T_{9} > 0.028$ due to lack of the off-resonant contribution. The CF88 rate differs from the present rate by a factor of two in a temperature range $T_{9} \geq 0.1$. The NACRE rate, which adopted different sources of experimental information on resonance states in $^{9}$Be, is 4--12 times larger than the present rate at $T_{9} \leq 0.028$, but is consistent with the present rate to within $\pm 20$ at $T_{9} \geq 0.1$.Comment: 32 pages (incl 6 figures), Nucl. Phys. in pres

Accuracy of the Eosinophilic Esophagitis Endoscopic Reference Score in Diagnosis and Determining Response to Treatment

Little is known about the diagnostic utility of the eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) endoscopic reference score (EREFS), and how scores change in response to treatment. We investigated the operating characteristics of the EREFS in diagnosis of EoE, how the score changes with treatment, and ways to optimize scoring system

Perilesional Enhancement of Hepatic Metastases: Correlation between MR Imaging and Histopathologic Findings—Initial Observations

PURPOSE: To correlate perilesional enhancement on gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) images with histopathologic findings in patients with hepatic metastases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In seven patients with histopathologically proved hepatic metastases, MR images obtained before and early and late after the administration of gadopentetate dimeglumine were retrospectively evaluated for perilesional enhancement. The thickness of hepatic parenchyma with intense perilesional enhancement was calculated. The thickness of the histologic tumor border (the zone separating the outermost border of the tumor nodule from the surrounding hepatic parenchyma) also was measured. RESULTS: In three patients, early gadolinium-enhanced images showed prominent perilesional enhancement, which correlated with a thick tumor border containing peritumoral desmoplastic reaction, peritumoral inflammation, and vascular proliferation at histopathologic examination. In one patient, mild perilesional enhancement was shown. At histopathologic examination, the lesion periphery showed moderate peritumoral changes, in the remaining three patients, no perilesional enhancement was observed, and at histopathologic examination there was a thin tumor border that contained minimal to mild periiesional changes. The thickness of hepatic parenchyma with intense perilesional enhancement on early gadolinium-enhanced images showed a strong positive correlation with tumor border thickness at histopathoiogic examination (r = 0.99). CONCLUSION: Intense perilesional enhancement of metastases on early gadolinium-enhanced MR images correlates with histopathologic hepatic parenchymal changes, which include peritumorai desmoplastic reaction, inflammatory cell infiltration, and vascular proliferation

Influence of Race and Gender on the Presentation of Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is thought to be more common among males and Caucasians, but little is known about disease presentation among patients with different genders or racial backgrounds. Our aim was to determine the clinical, endoscopic and histologic characteristics of patients with EoE of different genders or racial backgrounds

The extremely narrow-caliber esophagus is a treatment-resistant subphenotype of eosinophilic esophagitis

Some patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) have an extremely narrowed esophagus, but the characteristics of this group have not been extensively described. We aimed to characterize the narrow-caliber phenotype of EoE, determine associated risk factors, and identify differences in treatment response in this sub-group of patients

A Proximal-to-Distal Survey of Healthy Adult Human Small Intestine and Colon Epithelium by Single-Cell Transcriptomics

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Single-cell transcriptomics offer unprecedented resolution of tissue function at the cellular level, yet studies analyzing healthy adult human small intestine and colon are sparse. Here, we present single-cell transcriptomics covering the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and ascending, transverse, and descending colon from 3 human beings. METHODS: A total of 12,590 single epithelial cells from 3 independently processed organ donors were evaluated for organ-specific lineage biomarkers, differentially regulated genes, receptors, and drug targets. Analyses focused on intrinsic cell properties and their capacity for response to extrinsic signals along the gut axis across different human beings. RESULTS: Cells were assigned to 25 epithelial lineage clusters. Multiple accepted intestinal stem cell markers do not specifically mark all human intestinal stem cells. Lysozyme expression is not unique to human Paneth cells, and Paneth cells lack expression of expected niche factors. Bestrophin 4 (BEST4)+ cells express Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and show maturational differences between the small intestine and colon. Tuft cells possess a broad ability to interact with the innate and adaptive immune systems through previously unreported receptors. Some classes of mucins, hormones, cell junctions, and nutrient absorption genes show unappreciated regional expression differences across lineages. The differential expression of receptors and drug targets across lineages show biological variation and the potential for variegated responses. CONCLUSIONS: Our study identifies novel lineage marker genes, covers regional differences, shows important differences between mouse and human gut epithelium, and reveals insight into how the epithelium responds to the environment and drugs. This comprehensive cell atlas of the healthy adult human intestinal epithelium resolves likely functional differences across anatomic regions along the gastrointestinal tract and advances our understanding of human intestinal physiology