JerMa88/BMC_Gastroenterology_Peer_Reviews huggingface dataset:
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0195-9 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:High-saturated fat diet delays diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocellular
carcinoma
Version:7Date:1 September 2014
Reviewer: Hirofumi Uto
Reviewer's report:
This revised manuscript is well written. I have no further comment.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I have no financial competing interests in relation to this paper.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0195-9 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:High-saturated fat diet delays diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocellular
carcinoma
Version:8Date:25 September 2014
Reviewer: ALEXANDER WREE
Reviewer's report:
The manuscript by Duan et al. has been significantly improved in providing
convincing readouts to explain reported finding. I have no further comments.
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0195-9 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:High-saturated fat diet delays diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocellular
carcinoma
Version:8Date:7 October 2014
Reviewer: Steven Dooley
Reviewer's report:
The authors have discussed all issues raised sufficiently and the paper can be
accepted for publication in its present form
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-188 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Dose-dependent effects of lesogaberan on reflux measures in patients with
refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease: a randomized, placebo-controlled
study
Version:2Date:12 April 2014
Reviewer: Nicola de Bortoli
Reviewer's report:
Dear Authors
I red interestingly the paper titled 'Dose-dependent effects of lesogaberan on
reflux measures in patients with refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease: a
randomized, placebo-controlled study '. This study aimed to explore the
dose–response effect of lesogaberan on reflux episodes in partial responders.
The sample size is rather small but results are quite interesting.
Lesogaberan was discontinued (phase 2 - study of Shaheen
et al. 2013), because its impact on reflux symptoms above placebo was
marginal in patients with an incompete response to PPI treatment.
This paper is well performed, analysed and written so I have no questions for the
aurthors.
I consider this study suitable for pubblication in your journal.
Kind regards.
Level of interest: An article of outstanding merit and interest in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
None
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-188 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Dose-dependent effects of lesogaberan on reflux measures in patients with
refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease: a randomized, placebo-controlled
study
Version:2Date:14 April 2014
Reviewer: Joaquim Moraes-Filho
Reviewer's report:
The paper is interesting and well conducted.
The authors' reply to the Editor comments were satisfactory answered, though
there is a point which deserves minor essential revision:
"Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) partial responders" are mentioned in the
manuscript. Although the differences among PPIs are small under the clinical
aspect, it would be advisable to mention which PPI were used as well as their
dosage.
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: Yes, but I do not feel adequately qualified to assess the
statistics.
Declaration of competing interests:
Competing interests (past five years):
Advisory consulting board of: Astra-zeneca, Reckit-Benckiser, Takeda
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-188 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Dose-dependent effects of lesogaberan on reflux measures in patients with
refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease: a randomized, placebo-controlled
study
Version:2Date:17 April 2014
Reviewer: Stanislas Bruley des Varannes
Reviewer's report:
This is a well conducted study addressing an interesting pharmacodynamic
question, though the development was discontinued.
The paper is well written, the methodology is suitable to the aims of the study
and described accurately. Data are presented and discussed clearly. In
addition, strengths and limitations of the study are honestly acknowledged.
illustrations are of quality
I have no major criticism to this study.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: Yes, but I do not feel adequately qualified to assess the
statistics.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0192-z (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Osteoporosis Increases Subsequent Risk of Gallstone: A Nationwide
Population-based Cohort Study
Version:1Date:9 December 2013
Reviewer: Wolfgang Kratzer
Reviewer's report:
Major Compulsory Revisions
This is an interesting and well written paper.
In the introduction, the work by Shaffner should be inserted
Shaffer EA.
Epidemiology and risk factors for gallstone disease: has the paradigm changed in
the 21st century? Curr Gastroenterol Rep. 2005 May;7(2):132-40.
Method-Section
Participants: o.k.
How was the diagnosis of gallstones made?
Obesity is a major risk factor for gallstone diease. Is there any information on the
body weight of the subjects?
Results and discussion
As co-founders hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes were included in the
statistical analysis.
It would be intersting if the authors would investigate also the factors age, BMI
and family history
This should be added or listed as a weakness of the study at the end of the
discussion
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: Yes, but I do not feel adequately qualified to assess the
statistics.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0192-z (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Osteoporosis Increases Subsequent Risk of Gallstone: A Nationwide
Population-based Cohort Study
Version:1Date:28 July 2014
Reviewer: Tao-Hsin Tung
Reviewer's report:
Major Compulsory Revisions
Overall comments:
This study explored osteoporosis increases subsequent risk of gallstone based
on the a nationwide population-based cohort study design. The study designs
and methods used are basically appropriate, and the interpretations of the results
are reasonable. However, the introduction and discussion section were
somewhat inadequate. There are several areas where the manuscript needs to
be strengthened.
Specific comments:
Major concerns
1.The introduction reads rather descriptive. For example, it is not clear how the
information presented in the introduction inform the aims of the study.
2.From the epidemiologic viewpoint, there are many confounding factors in the
evidenced-based researches. How the authors deal with associated confounding
factors in this study?
3.Discussion section was too simple. More discussion will be required for each
risk factor based literature review of previous papers reporting risk factors are
required and then, the authors should point will clarify the feature and novel
findings of this study.
4.More discussion regarding the policy implications of their findings would be
important for the use of methodology in health policy making due to NHI research
database was used.
Minor concerns
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
'I declare that I have no competing interests'
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0192-z (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Osteoporosis Increases Subsequent Risk of Gallstone: A Nationwide
Population-based Cohort Study in Taiwan
Version:2Date:16 September 2014
Reviewer: Wolfgang Kratzer
Reviewer's report:
The work can be accepted in its present form for publication.
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
none
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0192-z (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Osteoporosis Increases Subsequent Risk of Gallstone: A Nationwide
Population-based Cohort Study in Taiwan
Version:2Date:22 September 2014
Reviewer: Tao-Hsin Tung
Reviewer's report:
I would like to congratulate the authors for the enthusiasm invested in this study.
The manuscript does reach the level of quality required for publication as original
article in BMC Gastroenterology.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
'I declare that I have no competing interests'
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0193-y (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Microcystic/reticular schwannoma of the esophagus: the first case report
and a diagnostic pitfall
Version:1Date:17 March 2014
Reviewer: Rabindra Watson
Reviewer's report:
Minor Essential Revisions:
1. Line 2 of discussion should read: More than 80% of benign esophageal tumors
are leiomyomas.
2. The last sentence of the first paragraph should read: Recently,
endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy has been
shown to be useful for preoperative diagnosis.
3. The first line of paragraph 2 of the discussion should read: To the best of our
knowledge, this is the first report of a microcystic/reticular schwannoma
diagnosed in the esophagus
4. Differential diagnosis should be used in lieu of differential diagnoses
Discretionary Revisions:
1. The conclusion sentence: 'Many pathologists including our group are unlikely
to be familiar with this entity, which may cause diagnostic difficulties' ought to
include gastroenterologists and including a comment about your own
pathologists is unnecessary.
2. The method of endoscopic resection would be of interest to the reader. Were
any specific techniques used in this case? What was the thinking process?
Level of interest: An article of limited interest
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests.
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0193-y (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Microcystic/reticular schwannoma of the esophagus: the first case report
and a diagnostic pitfall
Version:1Date:6 September 2014
Reviewer: NISHAT AFROZ
Reviewer's report:
Minor Essential Revisions.
following points need to addressed :
1. A brief mention of type of surgery performed should be done.
2. If possible, images of macroscopic/gross appearance of tumor are to included.
3. Microscopic pictures should include overlying mucosa as well as periphery of
the lesions depicting tumor - non tumor tissue interface.
4. Immunohistochemistry panel should also include Synaptophysin/
Chromogranin and GFAP .
5.Differential diagnosis must include Low grade fibromyxoid sarcoma and
ganglioneuroma with abundant myxoid stroma.
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
'I declare that I have no competing interests'
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0194-x (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:The changing clinical profile of celiac disease: a 15-year experience
(1998-2012) in an Italian referral center
Version:3Date:6 October 2014
Reviewer: Geoffrey Holmes
Reviewer's report:
This is an interesting study from a single centre in Italy of 770 adult patients with
coeliac disease (CD) diagnosed between Jan 1998 and Dec 2012. The aim was
to define clinical presentations, response to GFD and complications. It contains
much useful information of interest to all those who have an interest in CD,
I have some comments:
Major
1. The final sentence of the paper indicates that this is a retrospective survey and
this should be stated in the Methods section. Information was obtained from a
review of the hospital notes which I presume were available in all cases.
2. In the presentation of results information given has been duplicated in the text
and the figures. For instance Figures 4 and 5 could be left out or the text
amended to avoid repetition. The authors should look at this with regard to all the
figures and accompanying text. This would allow the paper to be shortened
considerably without losing any important information.
3. How was the recorded symptom(s) of patients determined? Most patients have
multiple symptoms. I notice that the symptoms in the abstract and page 8 add to
more that 100%.
4. In the Discussion it is stated that from their data a diagnosis of CD always
requires a biopsy. They say that a minority of cases with high titre anti-TG2 had
non- atrophic mucosa. But we need to know what the titres were in relation to the
upper limit of normal for the test. Also we need to know what test kit was used
since some have poor performance and should never be used. There is now
much evidence that in spite of the recently published BSG guidelines, a
serological diagnosis of CD can be safely made in a sub group of patients. The
pediatricians have now formally recognised this in the ESPGHAN guidelines thay
have produced. This is currently a very important issue for clinicians and if the
authors cannot substantiate it firmly they should delete this statement to avoid
confusion.
Minor
1. I am surprised that continuing GERD is regarded as non-responsive coeliac
disease.
2. No patient had associated inflammatory bowel disease which is a little
surprising
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: Yes, and I have assessed the statistics in my report.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0194-x (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:The changing clinical profile of celiac disease: a 15-year experience
(1998-2012) in an Italian referral center
Version:3Date:6 October 2014
Reviewer: Imran Aziz
Reviewer's report:
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review this manuscript titled “The
changing clinical profile of celiac disease: A 15 year experience (1998-2012) in
an Italian Referral Center.”
This is an interesting paper which is in simple terms looking at the “celiac clinic”
in Bologna. This gives an overview of the different forms of presentation seen in
one clinic, which may be generalisable to other centers also looking after celiac
patients. I particularly like their table 1 and 2 highlighting some of the more
complex cases they have encountered.
However, I have a few queries:
major 1. I am not sure whether I can currently agree with the title or the
conclusion as stated in the abstract. I cannot see any evidence that the authors
have demonstrated an increasing rate of non-classical and subclinical
phenotypes over time. They have simply given a broad overview of their 15 year
experience. But have not shown the year-on-year trend of different presentations
which would answer their title and conclusion. To do this, I suggest they discuss
and also demonstrate (i.e in figure 1) each subtype % for each year 1998 to
2012. That may, for example, help show that classical was common in 1998 and
by 2012 you have classical-nonclassical-subclinical.
minor 2. Figures 4 and 5 do not add to the study, as they are simple figures
which have already and clearly been described in the written results section. I
feel they can be excluded.
minor 3. The spectrum of villous atrophy in this paper has described Marsh 3a,
mild; 3b, partial; 3c, subtotal. However, this is not as stated in for example the
American Journal of Gastroenterology guidelines on celiac disease, or the Oslo
definitions, where Marsh 3a is referred to as partial villous atrophy; 3b, subtotal
villous atrophy; 3c, total villous atrophy. This latter format is more inituitive to
follow.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: Yes, but I do not feel adequately qualified to assess the
statistics.
Declaration of competing interests:
'I declare that I have no competing interests'
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0196-8 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Adenoma detection rates in an opportunistic screening colonoscopy
program in Iran, a country with rising colorectal cancer incidence
Version:2Date:16 October 2014
Reviewer: Joshua Melson
Reviewer's report:
Comments have been appropriately addressed.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
'I declare that I have no competing interests'
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0196-8 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Adenoma detection rates in an opportunistic screening colonoscopy
program in Iran, a country with rising colorectal cancer incidence
Version:2Date:23 October 2014
Reviewer: Sascha van Doorn
Reviewer's report:
I have no further comments on this manuscript and I think it is now acceptable for
publication since the authors have answered and followed all of my previous
suggestions.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: Yes, and I have assessed the statistics in my report.
Declaration of competing interests:
I have no competing interests
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0189-7 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Intestinal permeability - a new target for disease prevention and therapy?
Version:3Date:1 May 2014
Reviewer: Robin Spiller
Reviewer's report:
This is a wide ranging review of a subject of great current interest which reflects
the expertise of the international group who produced it. Like many multi-author
manuscripts it need a bit of editing to remove repetition and shorten it a bit.
I very much enjoyed reading it and I think it will be useful to be field.
Comments
1.The first 6 pages defining the terms should be shortened as it does repeat
itself.
2. The section on cannabinoids is very brief. It really does not justify a separate
section unless it is expanded with more references.
3. The section on microbiota has an introduction which can be omitted and
simply referenced. It overlaps so much with many other recent reviews.
4. Page 11 paragraph 2 More comment is warranted on the utilisation of mucus
as an energy source and the role of commensal bacteria in mucus degradation.
There is much current interest in the role of mucus derived sialic acid in pathogen
expansion after antibiotic use 1.
5. Page 12 Here it would be important to mention how Na+-dependent transport
of nutrients such as glucose and alanine increase permeability of tight junctions
2.
6. Page 15 The comment that TNFa increases permeability needs a caveat since
in some models it actually increases the barrier 3.
7. The section on measurement seems out of place. As a methodological section
should it not go at the beginning?
8. Page 17 Should you not mention the effect of glutamine which has been
shown to correct impaired barrier function.4.
9. Not sure I agree that butyrate deficiency is an indirect marker of permeability.
The reference quoted does not validate this in humans.
6.Minor typos
References have dual numbering e.g. 91 (78) please correct
Reference List
(1) Ng KM, Ferreyra JA, Higginbottom SK, Lynch JB, Kashyap PC, Gopinath S et
al. Microbiota-liberated host sugars facilitate post-antibiotic expansion of enteric
pathogens. Nature 2013; 502(7469):96-99.
(2) Turner JR. Show me the pathway! Regulation of paracellular permeability by
Na(+)-glucose cotransport. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2000; 41(3):265-281.
(3) Corridoni D, Pastorelli L, Mattioli B, Locovei S, Ishikawa D, Arseneau KO et
al. Probiotic bacteria regulate intestinal epithelial permeability in experimental
ileitis by a TNF-dependent mechanism. PLoS One 2012; 7(7):e42067.
(4) Yoshida S, Matsui M, Shirouzu Y, Fujita H, Yamana H, Shirouzu K. Effects of
glutamine supplements and radiochemotherapy on systemic immune and gut
barrier function in patients with advanced esophageal cancer. Ann Surg 1998;
227(4):485-491.
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0189-7 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Intestinal permeability - a new target for disease prevention and therapy?
Version:3Date:5 May 2014
Reviewer: Alexandra Zhernakova
Reviewer's report:
Bischoff and co-authors present a complete and well-written review on intestinal
permeability. It provides a good overview of all permeability aspects as well as
mechanistic insight and future perspectives.
I only have minor comments:
1. CD and UC should be written in full when used the first time. Same for other
abbreviation.
2. “Paneth cells produce a range of antimicrobial factors to protect the crypt cells
from infection with microorganisms including alpha--#defensins, lysozyme and
Reg3 proteins corresponding to HIP/PAP in humans” – since the paper is about
human intestinal barrier, it is better to name human protein and then their mouse
homolog.
3. Gene names should be written in italic.
4. Mutagenomic (page 10) should be Metagenomic
5. It would be useful to add a few sentences on the link of gut bacterial richness
and diseases.
6. It is surprising not to see celiac disease among the list of diseases linked with
impaired intestinal permeability. There are several studies published on
permeability in celiac disease.
7. Table 4: why is biomarker mentioned in the “disadvantage” column?
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0191-0 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:New foe treated with old guns - Role of steroids for the treatment of acute
severe hepatitis E
Version:3Date:3 June 2014
Reviewer: Joop Arends
Reviewer's report:
This report is well written and tries to conclude that streroid therapy is an
alternative therapy for acute liver failure (ALF) caused by HEV. This is a rare
case of an immunocompetent patients with ALF with a primairy diagnosis of
toxic/ medication induced hepatitis after which prednison was started. Despite
initial negative HEV PCR and serology the authors tested again for HEV finding
the diagnosis.
Minor Essential Revisions
- as discussed though not very extensively, this could also have been
spontaneous clearance of HEV. I would like this point to be more clear, both from
the title and the conclusion. Stating on one patients that in steroid therapy might
be used in developing countries (other genotypes, other health care systems), is
to strongly put.
- Why did the authors decide to do a second round of HEV testing? In the
manuscript this is phrased as "we suspected acute HEV"; suspected based on
what? And if there was such a strong suspicion why was ribavirin not started as
well?
- Moreover, since the chain of events normally is that a patient with ALF presents
at the hospital, you do diagnotic tests, and in the time awaiting results have to
decide whether or not to treat a patient depending on the most likely diagnosis at
the time. For this patient, the pathology report was toxic/ medication iinduced. As
clearly discussed, in ALF there is a sort of immunological phenomenon ongoing
which responds well to steroids. So this case highlights in my view that starting
prednison for ALF (without a diagnosis at the time) does not hamper
(spontaneous or steroid induced) viral clearance of acute HEV infection.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
Review for 10.1186/s12876-014-0191-0 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:New foe treated with old guns - Role of steroids for the treatment of acute
severe hepatitis E
Version:3Date:23 September 2014
Reviewer: Henning Wolfgang Zimmermann
Reviewer's report:
In the present manuscript Sebode et al. report on a case of acute liver injury due
to acute autochthonus hepatitis E virus infection in a 63-year-old male caucasian
patient, which resolved under treatment with prednisolone. This report describes
an interesting case that may allude to potential novel therapeutic strategies in
potentially detrimental acute HEV infection. It hence may provide the rationale for
future trials investigating immunosuppressive approaches in this disease. In
general, this report is clear and very well written. However, there are some
concerns and open questions that need to be addressed prior to publication.
Major compulsory revisions:
1. Given the fact that this patient did not present with overt hepatic
encephalopathy as stated in the manuscript the diagnostic criteria of acute liver
failure are not met. The authors should use the term acute liver injury instead. Of
course, it may be speculated that the development of encephalopathy and hence
acute liver could be prevented due to the use of corticosteroids. On the other
hand, absence of encephalopathy is linked to a better prognosis per se which
might support the notion that the favourable clinical outcome described here is
the result of spontaneous resolution.
2. What is risk of chronic HEV infection in the course of acute HEV under
sustained corticosteroid treatment? In the discussion the authors should clearly
indicate why they thought from the very beginning that the potential benefits of
maintenance of steroid therapy outweighed the risks of HEV chronification and
also the infectious risks in the light of a clinical scenario in which patients are
highly susceptible to bacterial threats. In the present form it is not fully
comprehensive why this approach was chosen. Was Ribavirin considered once
the diagnosis of HEV was established? Please provide a more-depth rationale for
the use of steroids.
Minor essential revisions:
1. Are there any hints for the possible route of transmission and/or source of
infection in this case. Please comment on this.
2. Did the patient receive high-dose acetylcysteine as it may be applied in acute
liver injury / failure due to a non-acetaminophen cause (Lee et al.,
Gastroenterology, 2009)
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-186 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Early diagnosis of celiac disease in IgA deficient children: contribution of a
Point of Care Test
Version:1Date:17 July 2014
Reviewer: Xavier Bossuyt
Reviewer's report:
The authors have evaluated a point-point-of-care assay for the diagnosis of
celiac disease in IgA deficient children. They conclude that the assay can rule out
celiac disease in patients with IgA deficiency.
Major comment
The number of IgA deficient celiac disease patients included in the study is
limited (only 8). Some previous studies reporting on serologic diagnosis of celiac
disease in IgA deficient patients included more patients (see Villalta et al. Clin
Chem 2010;56:464-8).
Level of interest: An article of limited interest
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I do not have competing interests.
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-186 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Early diagnosis of celiac disease in IgA deficient children: contribution of a
Point of Care Test
Version:1Date:3 August 2014
Reviewer: Peter Green
Reviewer's report:
The authors have demonstrated that a multi analytic lateral-flow
immunochromatographic assay (CD-LFIA) that detects DGP IgA and IgG and
total IgA is useful for excluding celiac disease in IgA deficient children.
I find no major issues with the paper
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
'I declare that I have no competing interests
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-187 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Metabolic factors accelerate colorectal adenoma recurrence
Version:4Date:21 August 2014
Reviewer: Linda JW Bosch
Reviewer's report:
The authors have now adequately addressed both reviewers’ comments and I
am satisfied with the revised manuscript.
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: Yes, and I have assessed the statistics in my report.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interest
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-187 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Metabolic factors accelerate colorectal adenoma recurrence
Version:4Date:9 September 2014
Reviewer: Hyoun Woo Kang
Reviewer's report:
This is the revised manuscript by Dr.Taniguchi et al. evaluating matabolic risk
factors which accelerate colorectal adenoma recurence. The authors improved
the manuscript. However, one problem remains.
Minor Revisions
The authors did not completely address the previous critiques.
"The analysis which divided study population into 2 group (group with advanced
adenoma recurrence and without recurrence) should be discribed." If not, this is a
limitation that should be stated. In addition, consider to remove sentence in 15-16
lines on 18 page.
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: Yes, and I have assessed the statistics in my report.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests.
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-181 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Quantitative pedigree analysis and mitochondrial DNA sequence variants in
adults with cyclic vomiting syndrome.
Version:2Date:15 April 2014
Reviewer: Robert Issenman
Reviewer's report:
This paper reports the results of Quantitative Pedigree Analysis (QPA) in 195
patients who were genotyped using Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism
(RFLP) or sequencing. The authors were able to show that there was stronger
maternal inheritance for some of symptoms. Unlike previously reported findings
in a pediatric population they were unable to show that there was a difference in
the prevalence of mitochondrial SNP’s 16519 T, 3010A and the AT genotype in
Haplogroup H CVS patients compared to historical controls.
The value of this largely negative study is that it suggests dissimilarity between
adult and pediatric patients presenting with similar complaint of episodic bouts of
severe debilitating nausea and vomiting.Previous publications have suggested
that most pediatric patients tend to become symptomatic at about age 5 with
resolution by age 12 in the majority. A minority have established mitochondrial
cytopathy or other identifiable metabolic diseases. Though certain mitochondrial
sequences occur more frequently about 80% seem to have symptoms which
become recognizable as migraine. Many respond to anti-migraine therapy.
By contrast the adult cohort described in this report have onset in late
adolescence or early adult life. Those develop these symptoms in association
with cannabis exposure are thought to suffer from up-regulation of canneboid
receptors. In other, there is a high prevalence of anxiety and other psychological
morbidities. Far fewer respond to therapies which work for migraine patients.
While disappointing, these results help further delineate subgroups with common
symptoms across the age spectrum which ultimate aids in targeting the most
effective interventions for different sub-groups.
No particular major or minor revisions are suggested. (This reviewer does not
have the expertise to evaluate the validity of the equation used to determine the
described maternal inheritance ratio).
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: Yes, but I do not feel adequately qualified to assess the
statistics.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-181 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Quantitative pedigree analysis and mitochondrial DNA sequence variants in
adults with cyclic vomiting syndrome.
Version:2Date:6 July 2014
Reviewer: John Hayman
Reviewer's report:
Discretionary Revisions
The terms 'CVS plus' and 'catamenial' appear in a table but (?) are not
mentioned or referenced in the text.
The very high percentage of CVS patients having surgery perhaps deserves
comment.
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-184 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Effectiveness and Safety of Ferric Carboxymaltose Treatment in Children
and Adolescents with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Version:2Date:5 June 2014
Reviewer: juergen stein
Reviewer's report:
In their retrospective study entitled “Effectiveness and Safety of Ferric
Carboxymaltose; Treatment in Children and Adolescents with Inflammatory
Bowel Disease” the authors presented for the first time important data on the use
of FCM in the pediatric population. The paper is well written, however some
points are too imprecisely formulated. In general, more references should be
cited.
Background:
Page 5, Line 11: this is incorrect; there three different forms of iron deficiency
anaemia in IBD: IDA, ACD, and combined IDA/ACD, which is not uncommon
(see Stein et al. Nat Rev. Gastroenterol Hepatol 2010, Blumenstein et al. J
Crohn´s Colitis 2014)
Page 6, line 4: …aggravating intestinal inflammation: please cite reference
Methods:
Definition of Anaemia: What do the authors mean by “defined by the local
laboratory”? What are the exact values? Are these values different from the
WHO classification?
Claasification of IDA: What is meant by “below the lower reference of the lab”?
Precise values should be defined according to recently described algorithms
(Weiss G, Goodnough LT. N Engl J Med 2005) as done by Blumenstein et al. J
Crohn´s Colitis 2014 or Voegtlin et al. J Crohn´s Colitis 2010.
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
'I declare that I have no competing interests'
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-183 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Improving compliance to colorectal cancer screening using blood and stool
based tests in patients refusing screening colonoscopy in Germany.
Version:3Date:11 July 2014
Reviewer: Tim Benning
Reviewer's report:
My comments can be found in the attachment (see file:
Review_manuscript_1619337779123400_11-07-2014.docx).
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests.
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-185 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:MELD score and antibiotics use are predictors of length of stay in patients
hospitalized with hepatic encephalopathy
Version:1Date:1 August 2014
Reviewer: Shahin Merat
Reviewer's report:
The authors have retrospectively studied the files of over 300 subjects with
hepatic encephalopathy in order to find risk factors for longer hospital stay.
The information is useful and nicely presented. nevertheless I have a few
comments.
1. The authors have used % change in hospital stay to express differences. This
is not a common way of reporting hospital stay. Usually number of days reduced
is reported. It took me some time to notice what these percents mean. The
authors should explain in methods that results are reported as % change in
hospital stay and preferably explain why they preferred % over the more common
# of days.
2. In the text when talking about comparisons the authors should also mention
the mean (or median) values. eg "patients hospitalized specifically for HE had a
significantly shorter length of stay (4 vs. 13 days, 55.5% decrease; p<0.001)".
This would make the numbers much more understandable.
Level of interest: An article of limited interest
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: Yes, but I do not feel adequately qualified to assess the
statistics.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-185 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:MELD score and antibiotics use are predictors of length of stay in patients
hospitalized with hepatic encephalopathy
Version:1Date:5 August 2014
Reviewer: Alireza Norouzi
Reviewer's report:
Major compulsory revisions:
1- Study has implicated a common problem but there is dissociation in writing e.g
introduction does not mean continuity for readers and I think some changes in
paragraphs (e.g definition of hepatic encephalopathy could be given in first
sentences,...), also this problem could be seen in presenting of results and
discussion
2- Inclusion and exclusion criteria are not specifically defined in method and are
given incomplete
3- Patients with several admission for HE at first data entry have not described
precisely, this could impact final statistics.
4- Other underlying diseases have not implicated specifically (they are large
numbers), also indication for admissions other than HE because in analysis
these patients had poorer outcome
5- Lactulose and rifaximin are the basic treatments for HE but it has not shown in
study why some patients have not received these and what had been given to
them
6- Variables included in multivariable analysis have not implicated precisely
7- Some baseline characteristics of patients were not addressed in study
properly
and HCV patients have not described specifically why they had more favorable
outcome
Minor essential revisions:
Some grammatical changes would be necessary and some abbreviations must
clearly be addressed (IRB, MELD, IQR,..)
In table 2 data about age and MELD score (first column in every part) have no
sense to reader
Maybe it would be better that table 2 presented in two parts
Level of interest: An article of limited interest
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: Yes, but I do not feel adequately qualified to assess the
statistics.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-185 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:MELD score and antibiotics use are predictors of length of stay in patients
hospitalized with hepatic encephalopathy
Version:1Date:12 August 2014
Reviewer: Akram pourshams
Reviewer's report:
I recommended a minor revisions ;
a. text included information a table 2, so omitting that table would be nice.
b. to mention list of all antibiotics that patients have used , to have better
understanding of patient condition ,
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
'I declare that I have no competing interests'
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-182 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:The severity of irritable bowel syndrome or the presence of fibromyalgia
influencing the perception of visceral and somatic stimuli
Version:2Date:20 June 2014
Reviewer: mathieu piche
Reviewer's report:
I have no further comment.
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests.
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-182 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:The severity of irritable bowel syndrome or the presence of fibromyalgia
influencing the perception of visceral and somatic stimuli
Version:2Date:22 June 2014
Reviewer: Daniel Keszthelyi
Reviewer's report:
Minor Essential Revisions
1. Power calculation. The authors should state what the estimated effect size
was used to calculate the sample size.
2. The question with regards to bowel preparation was referring to a potential
effect of the chemical substances used in the enema. The authors should briefly
state if there is no known effect of these substances (diocthylsulfosuccinate or
sorbitol) or else state otherwise.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: Yes, and I have assessed the statistics in my report.
Declaration of competing interests:
None
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-179 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Occurence of Helicobacter pylori and Epstein-Barr virus infection in
endoscopic and gastric cancer patients from North Brazil
Version:2Date:2 March 2014
Reviewer: Yehuda Shoenfeld
Reviewer's report:
None
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
None.
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-179 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Occurence of Helicobacter pylori and Epstein-Barr virus infection in
endoscopic and gastric cancer patients from North Brazil
Version:2Date:10 March 2014
Reviewer: M. Constanza Camargo
Reviewer's report:
The authors examined the associations of gastritis and gastric cancer with
presence of both Helicobacter pylori and Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) among
Brazilian children and adults, respectively. This cross-sectional study was
motivated by the potential influence of EBV infection in gastric carcinogenesis.
The authors concluded that H. pylori infection, but not EBV, is associated with
the diagnosis of severe gastritis and gastric cancer.
Major comments:
• The primary limitation of the gastric cancer analysis is that the contribution of H.
pylori infection might be underestimated by rapid urease testing due to prior H.
pylori eradication treatment or the spontaneous disappearance of the bacterium
from the gastric mucosa during the progression of atrophy to cancer. Additionally,
a basic assumption when evaluating the role of EBV in gastric carcinogenesis is
that the viral infection is a co-factor of a process driven by H. pylori. Therefore,
the comparison of EBV prevalence by H. pylori status is uninformative.
• Regarding non-neoplastic lesions, the description of EBV detection by ISH was
not detailed enough. In particular, please describe selection, magnification and
number of microscopic fields evaluated, and definition of a positive result
(perhaps including a picture).
• The Methods state that PCR for cagA gene was conducted in “…all patients
with HP….” (page 6). However, Tables 1 and 2 present features of
cagA-negative and –positive subjects regardless of H. pylori status. Please
reconcile.
• Describe source populations and selection criteria of study participants (e.g.,
consecutive or random selection, period of collection, etc.)
• Endoscopic examination protocol was not detailed enough and the cited
reference (entitled, “The Sydney System: histological division”) is not applicable.
Please describe endoscopic findings, sites and number of biopsies, etc.
• Authors should acknowledge low statistical power for some comparisons.
Level of interest: An article of limited interest
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests.
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-179 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Occurrence of Helicobacter pylori and Epstein-Barr virus infection in
endoscopic and gastric cancer patients from North Brazil
Version:3Date:26 May 2014
Reviewer: Ezequiel Fuentes-Panana
Reviewer's report:
The manuscript is significantly improved. Just a minor comment is that in the
abstract section is stated that 64 juvenile samples were analyzed and 62
throughout the text
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: Yes, but I do not feel adequately qualified to assess the
statistics.
Declaration of competing interests:
I do not have a competing interest
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-179 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Occurrence of Helicobacter pylori and Epstein-Barr virus infection in
endoscopic and gastric cancer patients from North Brazil
Version:3Date:4 June 2014
Reviewer: M. Constanza Camargo
Reviewer's report:
While this revision represents an improvement on the original manuscript, the
following points still need to be addressed:
• As mentioned, the primary problem of the gastric cancer analysis is that the
contribution of H. pylori infection might be underestimated by tissue-based
testing using urease, PCR or any other method. The authors should clearly
acknowledge this limitation in the Discussion.
• The photomicrograph of EBER positivity in supposedly normal gastric mucosa
(Figure 2A) seems more consistent with gastritis. I recommend review by a
gastrointestinal pathologist with experience in EBER ISH. Moreover, the authors
should obtain independent confirmation of all histologic diagnoses of “normal.”
Misclassified cases of gastritis could explain their surprisingly high prevalence of
both H. pylori and EBV in normal mucosa.
Minor comments:
• Footnote “c” in Tables 1-3 indicates that H. pylori negative/cagA positive
samples were classified as cagA negative. The more common practice is to
group such samples with cagA positive.
• Typo noted in Table 3 (prevalence of EBV in females should be 2.5% instead of
8.3%).
Level of interest: An article of limited interest
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests.