JerMa88/BMC_Gastroenterology_Peer_Reviews huggingface dataset:
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-36 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Screening for celiac disease in 1st degree relatives: a 10-year follow-up
study
Version: 4Date:25 September 2013
Reviewer: C M Frank Kneepkens
Reviewer's report:
The authors have done a great job in improving the manuscript. I will confine my
comments essentially to the points I raised earlier.
Major compulsory revisions
1. Results, page 6: The authors have not reacted to my first point of criticism:
“As, however, 2 of these five had Marsh 1 mucosa and are therefore not biopsy
proven, the real harvest might be considered lower.” According to present
standards, pediatric patients with TG2A < 10x ULN (~100) need a biopsy to
confirm CD, while patients (adult and pediatric) with Marsh 1 (no villous atrophy,
even no crypt hyperplasia) are not considered as having CD (compare ref 23).
They may become CD patients, but serology and histology also may return to
normal. Therefore, I strongly advice to confine the ‘yield’ of CD-proven cases in
the second round to 3. So, in the second paragraph, change the text into “Five of
these newly seroconverted subjects underwent a duodenal biopsy that showed
mucosal abnormalities confirming their diagnosis of celiac disease in three of
them.”, and above Table 1, “CD was confirmed in three…”. Same for figure 1. Of
course this has impact on the related calculations as well.
2. Discussion, bottom of page 7 and first lines of page 8: these 3 patients,
despite having positive TG2A, are negative for EmA and therefore are unlikely to
have CD at this point. This should be stressed while discussing these data.
Minor essential revisions
3. In the Introduction, page 2, line 4: ‘that may result’ should be changed into
‘resulting’. There should be a minimum of histologic damage (at least Marsh 2)
before CD can be diagnosed. This remains a weak point in this study. See below.
4. Page 5, under ‘HLA typing’: “To further confirm the diagnosis of CD…” Please
change ‘confirm’ into ‘support’. The authors rightly refer to ref 27, underscoring
that HLA typing cannot be used to confirm CD, only to reject the diagnosis.
Discretionary revisions
5. Language and style are considerably improved. There are some words left that
the authors might want to change for better understanding: page 2, line 5 of the
second paragraph: ‘presumably’ should read ‘presumed’; page 7, third
paragraph, line 5: change ‘dynamics’ into ‘dynamic’; page 7, line 5 from below:
‘retrieved’ probably is better changed into ‘retested’; page 8, conclusion, line 1:
‘coincident’: better would be e.g. ‘in line’.
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-14-36 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Screening for celiac disease in 1st degree relatives: a 10-year follow-up
study
Version: 4Date:30 September 2013
Reviewer: Federico Biagi
Reviewer's report:
I am now happy with this paper
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 interests
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-36 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Screening for celiac disease in 1st degree relatives: a 10-year follow-up
study
Version:5Date:5 February 2014
Reviewer: C M Frank Kneepkens
Reviewer's report:
By giving extra details on the histories of the two Marsh 1 celiac patients, the
authors have convinced me as regards the celiac status. Although the same
explanation is not given in the paper, which might leave readers wondering, I
have no objection to 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:
I declare I have no competing interests
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-35 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Concurrent association of inflammatory polymyositis and Crohn's ileo-colitis
in a male: A case report of a rare association and review of literature
Version:3Date:1 November 2013
Reviewer: Antonio Tursi
Reviewer's report:
This interesting case reports describes a rare association of polymyositis and
Crohn’s disease (CD), successfully managed after treatment with
immunosuppressors and steroids.
The manuscript is worthy of publication, However, some issues have to be
addressed:
Major points
1. Dosages of drugs used have in managing this patient must be described.
2. Which probiotic strain was provided? And for how many time?
2. For how many time drugs used were provided? In other words, for how many
time mesalazine were provided? And prednisolone? And azathioprine?
3. Some pathogenetic hypothesis about this rare association must be provided in
discussion. For example, Cuoco et al. found that TNF-#, sphingosine and
lipopolysaccaride were increased (p<0.01), whilst muscular fibres size was
reduced (p<0.01), with shift of Myosin Heavy Chains from the slow to the fast
type, in CD patients with active, steroid-free disease (Int J Cardiol 2008;127:
219-27). This paper and its immuno-histochemical analyses is an interesting
point for discussion of this case, and must to be cited and commented.
Minor points
There are several spelling errors (e.g. “polymiocitis” istead of “polymyositis”).
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 don't have any conflict of interest.
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-35 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Concurrent association of inflammatory polymyositis and Crohn's ileo-colitis
in a male: A case report of a rare association and review of literature
Version:3Date:18 November 2013
Reviewer: Klaus Herrlinger
Reviewer's report:
I doubt the diagnosis of Crohn’s disease. First of all, the patient had never
reported signs of IBD before. Endoscopy and histology are not diagnostic but
could also be attributed to toxic, ischemic or infectious colitis. The first seems to
be realistic since the patient had had severe alcohol excess three days prior to
admission. Combined steroid and azathioprine therapy did not suffice to induce
remission but to authors’ opinion the addition of 5-ASA did. Since 5-ASA has
shown marginal if any efficacy in Crohn’s disease it is very unlikely that this
treatment has led to a complete clinical and endoscopical (!) remission of Crohn’s
disease.
Level of interest: An article of insufficient interest to warrant publication in a
scientific/medical journal
Quality of written English: Not suitable for publication unless extensively edited
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
no
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-35 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:The concurrent association of inflammatory polymyositis and Crohn's
ileo-colitis in a Sri Lankan man: a case report of a rare association and literature
review
Version:4Date:25 December 2013
Reviewer: Antonio Tursi
Reviewer's report:
Authors addressed all raised questions, and the manuscript is overall improved.
It may be now accepted for publication.
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 don't have any competing interest.
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-35 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:The concurrent association of inflammatory polymyositis and Crohn's
ileo-colitis in a Sri Lankan man: a case report of a rare association and literature
review
Version:4Date:14 January 2014
Reviewer: Klaus Herrlinger
Reviewer's report:
After revision the manuscript is suitable for publication
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-34 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Gender aspects suggestive of gastroparesis in patients with diabetes
mellitus: A cross-sectional survey
Version: 3Date:3 June 2013
Reviewer: Daniela Jakubowicz
Reviewer's report:
A study is a cross-sectional survey on gastroparesis in patients with
diabetes mellitus, the purpose of the study is well defined, is well described using
appropriate methods, is relevant and the statistical management is adequate and
the language and writing excellent. The study increase the knowledge about
gastroparesis in patients with diabetes mellitus, and show its major prevalence
among females and is correlated with obesity which suggests new therapeutic
options for prevention and alleviation of the symptoms. I consider that the study
can be accepted for publication without revision
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.
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-34 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Gender aspects suggestive of gastroparesis in patients with diabetes
mellitus: A cross-sectional survey
Version: 3Date:1 October 2013
Reviewer: PANDU GANGULA
Reviewer's report:
Overall, the findings from this manuscript is supporting the existing reports that
gastroparesis rate is higher in women than men in the onset of diabetes.
Furthermore, this study pointed (speculated most of the time based on other
reports) out that estrogen (again speculations) may not be the only factor that
draws the boundary between male and female for gastroparesis. This was based
upon the mean age that is elderly patients (above 60 yr old) in which estrogen
levels are supposed to be lower. However, again this study was unable to
document if these patients are taking HRT or not. Furthermore, authors
speculated that obese patients may have higher estrogen levels as opposed to
lower levels due to adipose tissue secretes more estrogen.
In my opinion, rather speculate the very interesting findings with other published
papers, it is recommended to analyze certain biomarkers namely estrogens and
others as published by other groups and correlate the observed findings in detail.
Furthermore, it is suggested to get HRT report for these patients and report in the
revision. However, authors needs to be careful while reporting HRTdata because
HRT could be either beneficial or detrimental depend on type of HRT used, dose,
timing and route of HRT taken by the each patient.
Authors have used 'suggestive' in many places starting from the title and abstract
(5 times in the abstract). I think this needs to be revised.
Also it is not clear from the report that if age has anything to do with the severity
of the gastroparesis observed in men vs. women. This needs to be clarified.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Not suitable for publication unless extensively edited
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-14-34 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Gender aspects suggestive of gastroparesis in patients with diabetes
mellitus: A cross-sectional survey
Version:4Date:10 December 2013
Reviewer: Karen Bielefeldt
Reviewer's report:
I appreciate the changes made by the authors. It may make sense for the
authors to closely review the manuscript yet one more time. The changes disrupt
the flow and introduce an unusual disconnect between mechanistic speculations
with a focus on motility (intro and discussion), but virtually no support for those
speculations in the data. The terminology was changed to avoid referring to
gastroparesis. Yet, new terms are odd and confusing. You are basically reporting
dyspeptic symptoms. Why not sticking to that terminology rather than using
cardinal symptoms (referring to a research instrument)?
MORE SPECIFIC COMMENTS:
Abstract:
Add ‘dyspeptic’ symptoms to your last sentence in the background section. Your
conclusion is a summary, which may be okay (should perhaps be reformulated
nonetheless), but still restates the results yet one more time.
Discussion:
You refer to an ongoing study, but do not provide data or references.
Your revised discussion is also a bit confusing as written now. First, you now
mention (triggered by comments) the relatively low prevalence of delayed
emptying in prior studies, which obviously argues against sex-specific changes in
motility as a relevant explanation for your observations. Then, you explain some
experimental data that provide mechanisms for slower emptying in women,
before emphasizing again that the higher age in your cohort makes sex specific
motor dysfunction less likely. Finally, you move to HRT and the fact that obesity
could be a marker of different estrogen levels. So, ‘no, could, shouldn’t, but
perhaps it could’ leaves the reader with a confusing message. I have my own
biases and can get stuck with them. For the reader, a clear and consistent
message would be better.
I had mentioned in my prior review that the bar was set low to define illness. With
a relatively minor symptom severity and no indicators of symptom duration, many
of these individuals may not meet current consensus criteria for functional
dyspepsia. I still consider this an important weakness.
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:
none
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-34 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Gender aspects suggestive of gastroparesis in patients with diabetes
mellitus: A cross-sectional survey
Version:4Date:20 December 2013
Reviewer: PANDU GANGULA
Reviewer's report:
I still have few concerns and I remain keep my original comments as they were
not completely addressed by the authors.
In addition, authors need to update the references list. For example authors need
to discuss the recent developments in the field of gastroparesis. They do not
measure hormone levels but they speculate hormones may cause gastroparesis
in T2DM obese patients. Obesity and T2DM is multifactorial and it is difficult to
speculate that estrogens are higher in this population therefore develop GP
among these patients due to higher estrogens.
I would suggest to delete this part from the manuscript or provide the level of
estrogens among these patients and discuss thoroughly.
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-33 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Clinical relevance of the cagA, tnpA and tnpB genes in Helicobacter pylori
Version: 1Date:28 August 2013
Reviewer: Marino Venerito
Reviewer's report:
In their manuscript the authors report a small but statistically significant increased
risk to develop gastric cancer for subjects with H. pylori infection that are positive
for the transposase tnpA detected by PCR. The presence of the transposase
tnpB was not associated with an increased risk for developing gastric cancer.
Major comments:
1. Please, add statistical facts (OR, 95% CI) in the “abstract” section.
2. In the section “materials and methods” authors report that the selection
criterion for endoscopic examination was the suspicion for an H. pylori infection
whereas in the section “discussion” it is stated that included subjects had
dyspeptic symptoms. Could please the authors better clarify the indication for
endoscopic investigation in their patients?
Minor comment:
Page 3, line 53 the “k” of NF-kB is not correctly visualised.
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.
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-33 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Clinical relevance of the cagA, tnpA and tnpB genes in Helicobacter pylori
Version: 1Date:23 September 2013
Reviewer: Francesco Franceschi
Reviewer's report:
This is a study aimed at investigating on the role of CagA, tnpA and tnpB in
patients with gastric cancer. While the idea, even though not properly new, may
be of interest, my only concern is on the enrolled population. In fact, the authors
have enrolled 360 patients and the prevalence of either peptic ulcer or gastric
cancer was very high. Therefore, the authors need to explain what is the
prevalence of peptic culcer and gastric cancer in that population or whether they
enrolled patients based on the disease instead of on the symptoms.
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 have no competing interests
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-33 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Clinical relevance of the cagA, tnpA and tnpB genes in Helicobacter pylori
Version:2Date:2 January 2014
Reviewer: Francesco Franceschi
Reviewer's report:
The authors have clarified all issues raised in my previous review. The
manuscript is now suitable for pubblication
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:
No competing interests
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-32 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Psychological stress induced zinc accumulation and up-regulation of ZIP14
and metallothionein in rat liver
Version: 1Date:11 June 2013
Reviewer: Devinder Dhawan
Reviewer's report:
The Manuscript entitled" Psychological stress induced zinc accumulation and
up-regulation of ZIP14 and metallothionein in rat liver" by Tao et al. The study
evaluated the effects of repeated psychological stress (PS) on the zinc
metabolism and related mechanism involved in zinc homeostasis in rat liver.
Though the study is good but it is not fit for your journal as it lacks theme of your
journal. So, it may be rejected.
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-14-32 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Psychological stress induced zinc accumulation and up-regulation of ZIP14
and metallothionein in rat liver
Version: 1Date:27 June 2013
Reviewer: Matthew Cave
Reviewer's report:
Although much is known about zinc dyshomeostasis in medical diseases
(including liver disease), less is known about zinc dyshomesotasis in
psychological stress and the potential role of this liver. This manuscript,
demonstrates hypozincemia following psychological stress in an animal model
due to increased liver uptake related to IL6 induced zip14 expression and cortisol
induced metallothionein expression. The findings appear novel and build on the
author's previous work which is of interest to the field (albeit possibly more
interesting to mental health and zinc researchers moreso than
gastroenterologists). the manuscript is generally well written for English
language, although I do recommend several minor essential revisions.
1);Page 9 - The middle third of the page beginning with "However, body zinc
stores..." and ending with "...in rats treated PS exposure." requires editing for
English language.
2) Page 10 - conclusion requires editing for English language
3) should also indicate in discussion that other modes of action for hypozincemia
including decreased dietary absorption or increased urinary losses are also
possible (and have occured in other zinc deficient states) but were not evaluated
in this study
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-14-31 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Management of the HBV reactivation in isolated HBcAb positive patients
affected with Non Hodgkin Lymphoma
Version:2Date:30 November 2013
Reviewer: Piero Luigi Almasio
Reviewer's report:
The paper addresses a relevant clinical issue in patients treated with
immunosuppressive therapy.
I recommend the publication.
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.
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-31 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Management of the HBV reactivation in isolated HBcAb positive patients
affected with Non Hodgkin Lymphoma
Version:2Date:15 December 2013
Reviewer: Savino Bruno
Reviewer's report:
This article highiltighs that 1 out of 10 patients with HB core positivity regardless
HBs ag negativity may experienced reactiviation while receving
immunosuppressive therapy for NH lynphoma, I suggest, on the basis of the low
cost of therapy, that they will change their conclusion suggesting lamivudine
prophilaxis for all HB core *ve patients.
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' below. If your reply is yes to any,
please give details below.No
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-30 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Sequential algorithm analysis to facilitate selective biliary access for difficult
biliary cannulation in ERCP: a prospective clinical study
Version:1Date:21 January 2014
Reviewer: Jens Tischendorf
Reviewer's report:
This is a nice prospective study about a sequential algorithm for biliary access in
ERC. This study has severeal limitations, that were all appropriately discussed by
the authors. To my opinion, there are only 2 minor remarks:
1. What is the reason to do in all patients CT/MRT instead of endoscopic
ultrasound (EUS) ?
2. In figure 1 the success rate of "double wire canniculation" is given. Howover,
the success rate of the other techniques is not stated. This is not consistent.
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.
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-30 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Sequential algorithm analysis to facilitate selective biliary access for difficult
biliary cannulation in ERCP: a prospective clinical study
Version:1Date:27 January 2014
Reviewer: Gernot Sellge
Reviewer's report:
The paper reports on a prospective case series of ERCPs using a sequential
protocol in situations with difficult biliary cannulation (DBC). The authors describe
an algorithm consisting of double guidewire cannulation followed by precut after
placement of a pancreatic stent in patients with unintentional pancreatic duct
cannulation and early precut fistulotomy in patients with DBC for other reasons.
DBC criteria were relatively strict (e.g. cannulation time > 5min) compared to
other studies. The procedure performed by a single experienced endoscopist
lead to successful cannulation in 136/140 patients and was overall save.
Although the study design did not compare different strategies, the case series
describes a safe and feasible step by step algorithm for DBC. The patient
numbers are sufficient, and the procedures and criteria are clearly described and
seem to be well controlled. The study may help other endoscopists in choosing
the right strategy in DBC situations and is in my opinion suitable for publication in
BMC Gastroenterology.
Minor points:
1. Abbreviations are not always defined at the first appearance in the text (e.g.
CBD page 4 or PD page 6)
2. Although the authors clearly state that complications were classified and
graded according the consensus guidelines, it might be helpful for the reader if
the criteria for mild, moderate and severe pancreatitis would be shortly
described.
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-14-27 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Serum levels of apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage are associated with
hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C
Version:1Date:17 December 2013
Reviewer: Tetsuo Takehara
Reviewer's report:
The authors substantially improved their study in the revised manuscript.
All concerns were removed.
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-14-27 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Serum levels of apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage are associated with
hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C
Version:1Date:13 January 2014
Reviewer: Emmanuel A Tsochatzis
Reviewer's report:
The authors have addressed most of my queries in a satisfactory way. The issue
remains that AIM does not seem to be a strong predictor of advanced liver
fibrosis - this should be reflected in the abstract. Moreover, the steatosis cut-off
of 5% is NOT clinically significant, given the fact that only 3 patients had a
steatosis of >10%. This should be worded and explained in the discussion.
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:
Nothing to declare
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-28 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Follow-up of pediatric celiac disease: Value of antibodies in predicting
mucosal healing, a prospective cohort study.
Version:1Date:30 December 2013
Reviewer: Carlo Catassi
Reviewer's report:
This is an interesting study aimed to compare the performance of antibody tests
in predicting small-intestinal mucosal status in diagnosis vs. follow-up of pediatric
CD. In general antibody tests, especially DPG-IgA, were found to be of limited
value in predicting the mucosal status in the early years post-diagnosis. Among
the CD antibodies examined, negative EMA most reliably predicted mucosal
healing. However, 12 out of 53 subjects with treated CD showed contrasting
results of serum EMA (positive) and intestinal biopsy (mucosal healing).
This is a well-done and properly presented study. The high percentage of EMA
positivity and the very low frequency of Isolated increase of IEL count (Marsh 1)
among treated CD children are somewhat unexpected findings.
I have a few comments:
Major:
1. Page 6 line 15: authors should explain here the criteria for re-biopsy group B
patients: were they unselected and chosen by willingness to participate in the
study, were them the less compliant to the treatment according to dietary
interview, and so forth;
2. Page 9 line 4: the result of the small intestinal biopsy in these 3 patients
should be described (where they all Marsh 0?)
3. Page 9 line 22, it is not clear whether the duration of GFD was on average
lower in subjects with EMA-positivity despite mucosal healing
Minor:
4. Page 10 line 12: authors should comment on the surprisingly low percentage
of children with treated CD and Marsh 1 at biopsy (1.8%). Could it be related to
the somewhat high cutoff for increased IEL count (30)?
5. Page 11 line 15: authors assume that the finding of EMA in CD subjects
showing mucosal healing indicate a “false” positivity. However adherence to the
dietary treatment was not evaluated in this study nor were IgA deposits in the
small intestinal mucosa. It is well possible that serum EMA positivity is more
sensitive than gross histological damage to detect minor dietary transgression.
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 worked as scientific advisor of Menarini Diagnostics
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-28 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Follow-up of pediatric celiac disease: Value of antibodies in predicting
mucosal healing, a prospective cohort study.
Version:1Date:9 January 2014
Reviewer: Antonio Picarelli
Reviewer's report:
The work, well done and methodologically correct, presents data that are already
known in the literature, but re-evaluated through the use of ROC analysis.
Minor clarifications are required:
METHODS:
1. which were the clinical reasons that led to the performance of endoscopic
duodenal biopsy?
2. Why are they used different commercial tests? Are there differences between
them in their diagnostic capability?
RESULTS: page 9 and ten, it is claimed that Ema were detected in 18 children
from group B. Twelve of these EMA-positive children showed mucosal healing.
To explain about what that statement was based.
3. Children still had positive EMA ranging from 1:5 to 1:80 despite Marsh of class
0. clarify the correlation, your data, among EMA, TG2-and DGP with the different
degree of the Marsh lesion. Recent literature has shown a different interpretation
of these cases by the use of duodenal mucosa cultures.
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: Yes, but I do not feel adequately qualified to assess the
statistics.
Declaration of competing interests:
I have no competing interests in relation to this paper.
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-26 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Effect of gluten free diet on immune response to gliadin in patients with
non-celiac gluten sensitivity
Version:1Date:4 December 2013
Reviewer: Imran Aziz
Reviewer's report:
Thank you for asking me to review this article. It has been produced by a group
who have been influential describing their work on non-coeliac gluten sensitivity.
This article is novel and fits nicely with the literature. I applaud the investigators
in demonstrating a reduction in anti-gliadin antibodies is in tandem with
adherence to a gluten -free diet and improvement in symptoms.
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-14-29 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Ulcerative Jejunitis in a Child with Celiac Disease
Version: 2Date:22 May 2013
Reviewer: Decker Butzner
Reviewer's report:
Sigman, etal. have provided and informative case report of a 9 year old child who
presented with IGA deficiency, likely celiac disease and ulcerative jejunitis. This
is an unusual unique presentation in a child.
Comments: All minor and can be addressed by the authors
1) In the case history comments on the use of NSAIDS and results of serial
celiac serology testing and IgA testing would add clarity to the report. Did the IgA
deficiency correct over time and did the positive anti-endomysial antibody
normalize? What were the antibody levels at each time point? Please include the
length of time between the upper endoscopy and the 2nd endoscopy. What was
the technique of the 2nd endoscopy? Ped colonscope, push technique, double
balloon?
2) Added discussion on the differential diagnosis of ulcerative jejunitis in children
including aquired immunodeficiency syndrome, NSAID use, HSP, eosinophillic
gastroenteritis, recurrent intussusception and Crohn disease as a minimum. This
is such a rare condition in pediatrics, a discussion of the differential would be
appreciated to help a clinician faced with this. The authors should also include
the small case series about ulcerative jejunitis, (3of 4 were NSAID related) with
capsule exams in children (Fritscher-Ravens A. Gut. 2009; 58: 1467-72).
Increased IEL's seen with Crohn and perhaps NSAIDS.
3) There are a few abbreviations such as RCD and EATL that are not defined.
This confuses international readers and all abbreviations should be defined.
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-14-29 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Ulcerative Jejunitis in a Child with Celiac Disease
Version: 2Date:25 July 2013
Reviewer: Matthew Kurien
Reviewer's report:
Many thanks for the opportunity to review this case report.
This work adds to the literature by being the first reported pediatric case of
ulcerative jejunitis seen in celiac disease.
The work is well written and I have no major concerns. I would just recommend a
minor revision for consistency keeping the term Type 1 or 2 RCD throughout as
opposed to RCD Type 1, which is used at the end of the first paragraph in the
discussion.
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 declared.
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-25 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple-dose
parallel-group clinical trial to assess the effects of teduglutide on gastric emptying
of liquids in healthy subjects
Version: 2Date:18 July 2013
Reviewer: Chris K Rayner
Reviewer's report:
Data are presented for healthy volunteers given the GLP-2 agonist teduglutide or
placebo for 10 days. The authors report that teduglutide was not associated with
slowing of gastric emptying of a liquid high fat drink as evaluated by the
paracetamol absorption test.
Major issues:
1. The authors present the rationale of the study as a desire to show whether
teduglutide could slow gastric emptying in short bowel syndrome patients, who
are on multiple medications, the absorption of which could be affected by
changes in gastric emptying. It is unclear, therefore, why they studied healthy
volunteers, in whom two previous studies, using better methods of assessing
gastric emptying, had previously shown no effect (refs 21 and 25). They indicate
that the study reported in ref 27 did show slowing of gastric emptying in short
bowel patients – which is exactly the population they are concerned about. Their
concluding statement that their findings are of relevance in SBS patients is
therefore unjustified.
2. The method of assessing gastric emptying is suboptimal. We are given scant
details about the nutrient liquid, which we are told has a high fat content. Can the
fat and aqueous phases of the liquid separate in the stomach and empty at
different rates? If so, the acetaminophen, which will presumably empty with the
aqueous phase, will not provide information about emptying of the fat phase.
Minor issues:
1. When referring to previous studies in this area, the authors should compare
the doses given to those used in the current study
2. Is there any evidence of tachyphylaxis for the effects of GLP-2 agonists on
gastric emptying, as is the case for GLP-1 (see Diabetes 2011;60(5):1561-5). If
so, an important feature of study design would be the duration of treatment.
3. The manuscript could be edited considerably to reduce the length. There are
many details not directly relevant are given in the introduction (eg. page 6
paragraph 1).
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Not suitable for publication unless extensively edited
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-14-25 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple-dose
parallel-group clinical trial to assess the effects of teduglutide on gastric emptying
of liquids in healthy subjects
Version: 2Date:11 September 2013
Reviewer: Bolette Hartmann
Reviewer's report:
The authors investigated the effect of teduglutide on gastric emptying of liquids in
healthy subjects. The authors conclude that teduglutide does not delay
liquid-phase gastric emptying in healthy subjects.
The study is well conducted and well written. However there are some major
concerns.
1. First of all I wonder why the authors performed the study in healthy subjects.
The study would have been much more relevant if it had been performed in short
bowel patients.
2. p. 13, l 16-20: The conclusion doesn’t make sense and must be rewritten. This
finding is not relevant for SBS patients since the study is performed in healthy
subjects. It is true that “teduglutide is unlikely to modulate the bioavailability of
concomitant medications” –but this is in healthy subjects and healthy subjects will
not be treated with GLP-2……..
3. p. 9, l 18: A power analysis should be performed.
4. p. 10, l 7-12: I am not sure that the statistical analysis used is the most
appropriate. Would it be better to analyze data pair wise? Surely it would have
been more relevant to comparing Tmax at day 0 and at day 10 for each subject.
A statistician should be consulted regarding this question.
Minor points:
5. p. 3, l 5: “GLPs are derived from proglucagon and therefore may affect gastric
emptying…”. The meaning of this is unclear. Do the authors refer to the inhibitory
effect of GLP-1? This must be clarified.
6. p. 5, l 8: “…..the primary effects of GLP-2 are to regulate energy intake…” A
reference for this statement is needed.
7. p. 5, l 11: “..GLP-2 has limited effect on insulin secretion, glucagon
inhibition,….” Actually, GLP-2 has been shown to increase glucagon secretion
(Meier JJ et al, Gastroenterology 2006, p44-45).
8. p. 6, l 14: It is irrelevant to compare t½ for teduglutide after sc injection
(180-330min) with t½ for native GLP-2 after iv infusion (7min). The t½ for native
GLP-2 after sc injection is 1-1½h (Henriksen DB et al, Bone 2009, p833-842).
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-14-25 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple-dose
parallel-group clinical trial to assess the effects of teduglutide on gastric emptying
of liquids in healthy subjects
Version:3Date:17 November 2013
Reviewer: Chris K Rayner
Reviewer's report:
The revised manuscript has adequately addressed most of the original
comments.
Minor corrections:
I suggest indicating the meal composition (even just "mixed nutrient liquid") in the
Abstract.
Page 15, second sentence of Conclusions:
"Therefore, teduglutide is unlikely to modulate the bioavailability of orally
administered concomitant medications through inhibition of gastric motility" - add
"in this population".
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-14-25 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple-dose
parallel-group clinical trial to assess the effects of teduglutide on gastric emptying
of liquids in healthy subjects
Version:3Date:21 November 2013
Reviewer: Bolette Hartmann
Reviewer's report:
The authors have revised the manuscript carefully and addressed the reviewers’
comments adequately. However, the conclusion (only the last sentence) still
needs revision.
Major comment.
I disagree that “it is unlikely that the main therapeutic effects of teduglutide,
enhanced fluid and nutrient absorption, are mediated through delay of gastric
emptying of fluids.”
Although, this study show no effect of teduglutide on gastric emptying in healthy
subjects, the effect in SBS patients remains to be investigated.
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' below.
Review for 10.1186/1471-230X-14-24 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Celiac Disease Profile in the Mediterranean Area
Version:2Date:22 October 2013
Reviewer: RACHELE CICCOCIOPPO
Reviewer's report:
With pleasure I have reviewed the manuscript by Tucci and coworkers exploring
the clinical picture and diagnostic facilities of celiac disease in the Mediterranean
area. The study is well designed and well written, driven by appropriate
methodology, and the results are innovative, thus the manuscript is worth
publishing with minor modification.
Discretionary Revisions
• The title does not allow the reader to understand what the term ‘profile’ would
mean.
• The limits of a retrospective study should be discussed.
• The invasiveness of the perendoscopic biopsy sampling should be commented.
• The graphics of the figures should be improves.
• A full revision of the paper is needed in order to avoid some typing mistakes
such as in the conclusion section of the abstract: references centers # reference
centers.
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-14-24 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Celiac Disease Profile in the Mediterranean Area
Version:2Date:22 October 2013
Reviewer: Stefano Guandalini
Reviewer's report:
The paper reports a large multicenter collaborative effort to appreciate the
current status of celiac disease in children in a vast part of the Mediterranean
basin, aiming at providing the basis for local health care providers to tailor their
various diagnostic approach in an efficient way.
This reviewer finds the paper interesting, and has these minor critiques:
I. Page 6: "Clinical manifestations varied greatly according to age. Infants (1–5
years) and young children (6–11 years)..". Cannot define infants subjects
between 1-5 years: infants are babies below 1 year. More importantly, in Table 1
there is no differentiation of age according to presenting symptoms, while this
would be an interesting data to show.
II. Page 6, under "Biopsy". I assume T1, T2 etc. refer to the Marsh score (this is
not stated in the text). If this is the case, then I would be hesitant to describe as
"mild lesions" T3a.
III. Page 7, the title for 3.5 should be better phrased in English as "When could
the biopsy be omitted?"
IV. Page 8: "The basic assumption that tTG antibodies predict severe mucosal
damage is not confirmed". While this is indeed apparent from the authors' data,
this statement that conflicts with a large body of published previous evidence to
the contrary would deserve a more in-depth comment by the authors: what could
be the reasons for this unexpected finding? Was a pathology revision centrally
done (either on all biopsies or only on samples)? Could it be that the ELISA test
for tTG was less reliably performed in some areas?
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-14-23 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:The Serotonin Transporter Gene Polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) and Irritable
Bowel Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis of 25 Studies
Version:3Date:3 January 2014
Reviewer: Uday Ghoshal
Reviewer's report:
The paper has been revised adequately and may be accepted. However, English
needs some editing, which may be done even in the proof stage
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: 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-14-21 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Chronic gastritis in China: a national multi-center survey
Version:1Date:21 October 2013
Reviewer: Yeong Yeh Lee
Reviewer's report:
Major compulsory revisions
1. It is much appreciated for authors to clarify the points, but all responses need
to be incorporated into the manuscript for a clearer understanding for the reader.
If the authors felt it is taking too much of space, then some can be moved into the
supplementary file. But I am sure the editors will allow some generosity in
number of words. The explanation for query #1 on the training of endoscopists
and their good agreement should be mentioned in the manuscript, preferably with
the Kappa values included.
2. Was pathology alone (without CLO test/breath test/serology) good enough for
a diagnosis of H. pylori infection? Please italicize Helicobacter pylori.
3. Again, the authors have given their responses to query #3 but the responses
were not in the manuscript. The consensus on difficult cases by senior
pathologists and their good agreement should be included in the paper itself.
4. Please include responses to query #5 into the manuscript.
6. With regards to discussion, it seems to me that the authors did not discuss in
details on the primary aim of the current study which was to compare diagnostic
accuracy of endoscopic appearance vs. histopathology.
7. Please include responses to query #7 into the manuscript.
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-14-21 (2014)

Reviewer's report
Title:Chronic gastritis in China: a national multi-center survey
Version:1Date:28 October 2013
Reviewer: Mohammad Derakhshan
Reviewer's report:
Based on authors response to comments from myself and other reviewer, I am
satisfied with the revised manuscrpit and recommend it for publication.
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 interests'