bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Albendazole chemotherapy for AIDS‐related diarrhoea in Zambia—clinical, parasitological and mucosal responses
Authors: Zulu I. , Veitch A. , Sianongo S. , McPhail G. , Feakins R. , Farthing M. J. G. , Kelly P. 
Published: March 2003

Background:Albendazole reduces diarrhoea in African AIDS patients, but it is unclear if the clinical response to treatment reflects pathogen eradication and/or mucosal recovery.Methods:Adults with HIV‐related persistent diarrhoea were treated with albendazole 800 mg twice daily for 14 days. Clearance of parasites was evaluated at 3 and 6 weeks by stool microscopy. At baseline and at 6 weeks duodenal biopsies were taken for electron microscopy (EM) and morphometry.Results:Ten (7%) of 153 patients had cryptosporidiosis, 54 (37%) had isosporiasis and 23 (16%) had microsporidiosis. By 3 weeks, these protozoa were cleared in 27 (46%) of 59 patients initially positive. By 6 weeks, 34 (39%) of 87 patients experienced complete clinical response, 18 (21%) partial response and 35 (40%) no response. Crypt depth increased by 15% over 6 weeks (P < 0.001), but villous height increased only in patients with complete response (median + 50 μm, interquartile range (IQR) 2–90, compared to patients with partial (+ 4 μm, IQR – 15,41) or no response (− 13 μm, IQR − 62,12; P=0.008)). Fifteen patients died: body mass index < 17.5 kg/m2 and crypt depth < 180 μm independently predicted death.Conclusions:Albendazole therapy reduced the burden of protozoal infection and promoted mucosal recovery in patients with a complete clinical response.
Effect of Helicobacter pylori infection and its eradication on nutrition
Authors: Furuta T. , Shirai N. , Xiao F. , Takashima M. , Hanai H. 
Published: March 2003

Aims:To investigate the effects of Helicobacter pylori infection and eradication on nutrition.Methods:The body weight, height, blood pressure, gastric juice pH and fasting serum levels of glucose, total protein, albumin, total cholesterol and triglyceride were measured in H. pylori‐positive and H. pylori‐negative subjects, and the effect of eradication of H. pylori on these parameters was determined. The development of gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease after treatment was also examined. Eight patients underwent a pancreatic function test before and after H. pylori eradication therapy.Results:The incidence of hypoproteinaemia in H. pylori‐positive subjects was significantly higher than that in H. pylori‐negative subjects. After eradication of H. pylori, the gastric juice pH values were significantly decreased, and the body weight and serum levels of total cholesterol, total protein and albumin were significantly increased. The incidence of hyperlipidaemia significantly increased and that of hypoproteinaemia significantly decreased in the group with eradication. Pancreatic function improved significantly after eradication of H. pylori. No significant changes in these parameters were observed in the group without eradication. Obese patients had a higher risk of the development of gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease after eradication of H. pylori infection.Conclusions:The eradication of H. pylori appears to improve some nutritional parameters.
Helicobacter species and hepatobiliary diseases
Authors: Leong R. W. L. , Sung J. J. Y. 
Published: March 2003

Summary Helicobacter species, which may colonize the biliary tract, have been implicated as a possible cause of hepatobiliary diseases ranging from chronic cholecystitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis to gall‐bladder carcinoma and primary hepatic carcinomas.Research in this area has been limited by the lack of a gold standard in the diagnosis of these organisms in bile. Most published data to date have been based on molecular techniques that detect the DNA of Helicobacter species in bile, rather than evidence of viable organisms in bile. Helicobacter species have not been shown to induce histological injury to the biliary epithelium or liver parenchyma. The strongest association of the presence of these organisms in bile is with cholestatic conditions. This article reviews the literature on this newly developing field as it has evolved historically, taking pertinent methodological issues into account.
Evidence of poor vitamin status in coeliac patients on a gluten‐free diet for 10 years
Authors: Hallert C. , Grant C. , Grehn S. , Grännö C. , Hultén S. , Midhagen G. , Ström M. , Svensson H. , Valdimarsson T. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryBackground : Patients with coeliac disease are advised to keep to a lifelong gluten‐free diet to remain well. Uncertainty still exists as to whether this gives a nutritionally balanced diet.Aim : To assess the vitamin nutrition status of a series of coeliac patients living on a gluten‐free diet for 10 years.Methods : Thirty adults with coeliac disease (mean age, 55 years; range, 45–64 years; 60% women), in biopsy‐proven remission following 8–12 years of dietary treatment, were studied. We measured the total plasma homocysteine level, a metabolic marker of folate, vitamin B‐6 and vitamin B‐12 deficiency, and related plasma vitamin levels. The daily vitamin intake level was assessed using a 4‐day food record. Normative data were obtained from the general population of the same age.Results : Coeliac patients showed a higher total plasma homocysteine level than the general population, indicative of a poor vitamin status. In accordance, the plasma levels of folate and pyridoxal 5′‐phosphate (active form of vitamin B‐6) were low in 37% and 20%, respectively, and accounted for 33% of the variation of the total plasma homocysteine level (P < 0.008). The mean daily intakes of folate and vitamin B‐12, but not of vitamin B‐6, were significantly lower in coeliac patients than in controls.Conclusions : Half of the adult coeliac patients carefully treated with a gluten‐free diet for several years showed signs of a poor vitamin status. This may have clinical implications considering the linkage between vitamin deficiency, elevated total plasma homocysteine levels and cardiovascular disease. The results may suggest that, when following up adults with coeliac disease, the vitamin status should be reviewed.
Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy improves atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia: a 5‐year prospective study of patients with atrophic gastritis
Authors: Ito M. , Haruma K. , Kamada T. , Mihara M. , Kim S. , Kitadai Y. , Sumii M. , Tanaka S. , Yoshihara M. , Chayama K. 
Published: March 2003

SUMMARYAim : To investigate the effect of the eradication of Helicobacter pylori on histological gastritis.Methods : Twenty‐six patients with moderate to severe atrophy received successful eradication therapy of H.pylori. Four patients dropped out and 22 were followed up prospectively for 5 years. The grades of gastritis were estimated from gastric biopsy specimens. The grade of intestinal metaplasia was also evaluated by dye‐endoscopy using methylene blue (methylthioninium chloride). The serum levels of pepsinogen, gastrin and anti‐parietal cell antibody were also determined.Results : The grades of atrophy decreased in patients with successful eradication therapy in the gastric corpus (before vs. 5 years after eradication, 2.09 ± 0.15 vs. 0.91 ± 0.17; P < 0.01) and in the antrum (2.14 ± 0.17 vs. 1.36 ± 0.17; P < 0.01). The levels of intestinal metaplasia were also decreased in the corpus (0.91 ± 0.24 vs. 0.50 ± 0.16; P < 0.05) and in the antrum (1.41 ± 0.20 vs. 1.00 ± 0.16; P < 0.05), which was also demonstrated by the methylene blue (methylthioninium chloride) staining method (33.4 ± 8.2% vs. 23.0 ± 6.5%; P < 0.05). The improvement of corpus atrophy correlated well with the high serum level of pepsinogen I (P = 0.005), but showed no correlation with the levels of anti‐parietal cell antibody.Conclusions : These results suggest that gastric atrophy and intestinal metaplasia are reversible events in some patients.
Discordance between the degree of osteopenia and the prevalence of spontaneous vertebral fractures in Crohn's disease
Authors: Stockbrügger R. W. , Schoon E. J. , Bollani S. , Mills P. R. , Israeli E. , Landgraf L. , Felsenberg D. , Ljunghall S. , Nygard G. , Persson T. , Graffner H. , Bianchi Porro G. , Ferguson A. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryBackground : A high prevalence of osteoporosis has been noted in Crohn's disease, but data about fractures are scarce.Methods : The relationship between low bone mineral density and the prevalence of vertebral fractures was studied in 271 patients with ileo‐caecal Crohn's disease in a large European/Israeli study. One hundred and eighty‐one currently steroid‐free patients with active Crohn's disease (98 completely steroid‐naive) and 90 steroid‐dependent patients with inactive or quiescent Crohn's disease were investigated by dual X‐ray absorptiometry scan of the lumbar spine, a standardized posterior/anterior and lateral X‐ray of the thoracic and lumbar spine, and an assessment of potential risk factors for osteoporosis.Results : Thirty‐nine asymptomatic fractures were seen in 25 of 179 steroid‐free patients (14.0%; 27 wedge, 12 concavity), and 17 fractures were seen in 13 of 89 steroid‐dependent patients (14.6%; 14 wedge, three concavity). The prevalence of fractures in steroid‐naive patients was 12.4%. The average bone mineral density, expressed as the T‐score, of patients with fractures was not significantly different from that of those without fractures (−0.759 vs. −0.837; P=0.73); 55% of patients with fractures had a normal T‐score. The bone mineral density was negatively correlated with lifetime steroids, but not with previous bowel resection or current disease activity. The fracture rate was not correlated with the bone mineral density (P=0.73) or lifetime steroid dose (P=0.83); in women, but not in men, the fracture rate was correlated with age (P=0.009).Conclusions : The lack of correlation between the prevalence of fractures on the one hand and the bone mineral density and lifetime steroid dose on the other necessitates new hypotheses for the pathogenesis of the former.
Alteration of histological gastritis after cure of Helicobacter pylori infection
Authors: Hojo M. , Miwa H. , Ohkusa T. , Ohkura R. , Kurosawa A. , Sato N. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryBackground : It is still disputed whether gastric atrophy or intestinal metaplasia improves after the cure of Helicobacter pylori infection.Aim : To clarify the histological changes after the cure of H. pylori infection through a literature survey.Methods : Fifty‐one selected reports from 1066 relevant articles were reviewed. The extracted data were pooled according to histological parameters of gastritis based on the (updated) Sydney system.Results : Activity improved more rapidly than inflammation. Eleven of 25 reports described significant improvement of atrophy. Atrophy was not improved in one of four studies with a large sample size (> 100 samples) and in two of five studies with a long follow‐up period (> 12 months), suggesting that disagreement between the studies was not totally due to sample size or follow‐up period. Methodological flaws, such as patient selection, and statistical analysis based on the assumption that atrophy improves continuously and generally in all patients might be responsible for the inconsistent results. Five of 28 studies described significant improvement of intestinal metaplasia.Conclusions : Activity and inflammation were improved after the cure of H. pylori infection. Atrophy did not improve generally among all patients, but improved in certain patients. Improvement of intestinal metaplasia was difficult to analyse due to methodological problems including statistical power.
Once‐daily, low‐cost, highly effective Helicobacter pylori treatment to family members of gastric cancer patients
Authors: Coelho L. G. V. , Martins G. M. , Passos M. C. F. , Bueno M. L. , Sanches B. S. F. , Lopes L. G. , Miranda C. H. D. , Castro L. P. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryBackground : Helicaobacter pylori eradication in family members of gastric cancer patients is now widely accepted, although problems related to costs and compliance persist.Aim : To compare the efficacy, tolerability and long‐term re‐infection rates of two once‐daily regimens for the eradication of H. pylori in family members of gastric cancer patients.Methods : 106 first‐degree family members of gastric cancer patients were recruited and submitted to the 13C‐urea breath test (UBT) to detect H. pylori. If positive, they were randomly allocated to receive a combination of lanzoprazole 30 mg, clarithromycin OD (extended‐release formulation) 500 mg and furazolidone 400 mg, once daily, in the morning, for 7 days (Group A) or the same regimen with only 200 mg furazolidone (Group B). Eradication was confirmed by urea breath test performed 6 weeks after treatment. 13C‐urea breath test was repeated at 944 (784–1258) days after treatment in successfully treated participants to look for re‐infection.Results : Twenty‐five participants were H. pylori negative and two H. pylori‐positive individuals refused to sign the informed consent and were excluded. Therefore, 79 participants were studied. Forty participants were allocated to Group A and 39 to Group B. All participants completed treatment. Adverse effects, mostly mild, were observed in 18% of Group A and 18% of Group B (N.S.). The intention‐to‐treat eradication rate was 87.5% in Group A and 61.5% in Group B (P = 0.006). The mean annual re‐infection rate was 3%.Conclusions : The combination of lanzoprazole 30 mg, one tablet of clarithromycin OD (extended release formulation) 500 mg and furazolidone 400 mg, once daily for 7 days, constitutes an inexpensive, safe and effective alternative for anti‐H. pylori therapy in family members of gastric cancer patients.
Early events in proton pump inhibitor‐associated exacerbation of corpus gastritis
Authors: Graham D. Y. , Opekun A. R. , Yamaoka Y. , Osato M. S. , El‐Zimaity H. M. T. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryBackground : Antisecretory therapy may exacerbate Helicobacter pylori corpus gastritis. The rate and mechanism(s) remain unknown.Aim : To investigate the early events in proton pump inhibitor therapy on antral and corpus H. pylori gastritis.Methods : Nine H. pylori‐infected volunteers underwent gastric biopsy with jumbo forceps for culture and histology. Histology was scored in the range 0–5 using a visual analogue scale. The depth of inflammation in gastric pits was scored in the range 1–3 (superficial or less than one‐third, one‐third to two‐thirds and greater than two‐thirds of the gastric pit, respectively). Tissue interleukin‐1β and interleukin‐8 levels were measured by enzyme‐linked immunoabsorbent assay. Omeprazole, 20 mg b.d., was given for 6.5 days and biopsies were repeated on day 7.Results : Proton pump inhibitor therapy resulted in a fall in H. pylori density in the antrum and corpus. Inflammation and tissue levels of interleukin‐8 and interleukin‐1β decreased in the antrum and increased in the corpus mucosa. There was a significant increase in the depth of inflammation to include the proliferative zone in the corpus.Conclusions : Within 1 week of starting proton pump inhibitor therapy, there was a marked extension of corpus inflammation into the gastric pit and an increase in corpus mucosal interleukin‐1β and interleukin‐8 levels. H. pylori eradication should be considered for all patients receiving long‐term antisecretory therapy.
Effect of oral omeprazole in reducing re‐bleeding in bleeding peptic ulcers: a prospective, double‐blind, randomized, clinical trial
Authors: Kaviani M. J. , Hashemi M. R. , Kazemifar A. R. , Roozitalab S. , Mostaghni A.‐A. , Merat S. , Alizadeh‐Naini M. , Yarmohammadi H. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryBackground : Endoscopic therapies and continuous intravenous omeprazole can decrease the morbidity and duration of hospital stay of patients with high‐risk peptic ulcer.Aim : To evaluate the role of oral omeprazole in high‐risk bleeders.Methods : After injection therapy of 160 patients with high‐risk peptic ulcer, 80 received oral omeprazole and 80 received placebo, and all were followed up.Results : One hundred and forty‐nine patients (71 omeprazole and 78 placebo) completed the study. Eleven patients were excluded from the study. Thirty‐seven (25%) patients had gastric ulcer and 112 (75%) had duodenal ulcer. Fifty‐seven (38%) ulcers showed visible vessels, 80 (54%) showed oozing of blood and 12 (8%) showed a spurting artery. Only one patient died (placebo group). The mean hospital stays were 62.8 ± 28.6 h and 75 ± 39 h in the omeprazole and placebo groups, respectively (P = 0.032). The mean amounts of blood transfused were 1.13 ± 1.36 and 1.68 ± 1.68 bags in the omeprazole and placebo groups, respectively (P = 0.029). The re‐bleeding rate was lower in the omeprazole group than in the placebo group (12 vs. 26, respectively; P = 0.022).Conclusion : Oral omeprazole is effective in decreasing the hospital stay, re‐bleeding rate and the need for blood transfusion in high‐risk ulcer bleeders treated with endoscopic injection therapy.
Effect of xenon on cerebral autoregulation in pigs
Authors: Schmidt M. , Marx T. , Papp‐Jambor C. , Schirmer U. , Reinelt H. 
Published: March 2003

SummaryThere are little data on the effect of anaesthetic concentrations of xenon on cerebral pressure autoregulation. In this study, we have investigated the effect of 79% xenon inhalation on cerebral pressure autoregulation and CO2 response in pigs. Ten pigs were randomly allocated to receive xenon 79% or halothane anaesthesia, respectively, in a crossover designed study. Halothane was used to validate the experimental set‐up. Transcranial Doppler was performed to determine the mean flow velocities in the middle cerebral artery (vMCA) during defined cerebral perfusion pressures and during normo‐, hyper‐ and hypoventilation. The results showed that the inhalation of 79% xenon preserved cerebral autoregulation during conditions of normo‐, hyper‐ and hypoventilation and at different cerebral perfusion pressures in pigs. These results suggest that with the inhalation of xenon, in the highest concentration suitable for a safe clinical use, cerebral autoregulation is preserved.
The generation and degradation of marine terraces
Authors: Anderson  , Densmore  , Ellis  
Published: March 2003

Marine terraces are ephemeral planar landforms. While tectonic and climatic forcings responsible for the generation of existing marine terraces have operated for at least 1 Myr, terraces have been completely removed by erosion above a given altitude (and hence above a given age). Above this altitude, the landscape has forgotten that it was once terraced. We ask what controls this characteristic time‐scale, which we term the ‘forget time’, in a landscape. We approach the problem with simple scaling arguments, and 1‐D numerical models of landscape evolution.Using a simple cliff erosion model with a realistic sea‐level history, rock uplift and a cliff retreat rule, we find that the most important means of terrace removal is through the deeper transgression of a subsequent sea cliff into the landmass. The sequence of preserved terraces depends upon the history of sea cliff incursion into the landmass. The extent of sea cliff incursion depends on the duration of the sea‐level highstand, the far‐field wave energy input and the degree to which bathymetric drag dissipates wave energy. This portion of the marine terrace survival problem is an example of a common problem in geomorphology, in which the record of past tectonic or climatic events is rendered incomplete by the potential for younger events to wipe the topographic slate clean.While sea cliffs decay through time, their form can still be recognized many hundreds of thousands of years after formation. This reflects the diffusive nature of their decay: early rapid evolution and lowering of maximum slopes yields to slower rates through time. Incision by streams, on the other hand, is rapid, as the streams respond to base‐level history driven by sea‐level changes. The rate of incision reflects the local climate conditions, and is limited by the rate of base‐level fall.The principal means of vanquishing a marine terrace is by backwearing of slopes adjacent to these incising streams. The forget time should be proportional to the spacing between major incising streams and to the angle of hillslope stability, and should be inversely proportional to the rate of channel incision. This yields an overestimate of the forget time, as the terraced interfluves are reduced as well by the headward incision of tributary streams.The resulting landscape may be viewed as a terraced fringe separating the sea from the fully channellized landscape. Over time‐scales corresponding to many glacial–interglacial sea‐level oscillations, this fringe can achieve a nearly steady width. The rate of generation of new terraced landscape, reflecting the uplift rate pattern, is then balanced by the rate at which the terraces are erased beyond recognition by channel and hillslope processes. The width of this fringe should depend upon the precipitation, and upon the distance to the nearest drainage divide, both of which limit the maximum power available to drive channel incision.
Low‐amplitude, synsedimentary folding of a deltaic complex: Roda Sandstone (lower Eocene), South‐Pyrenean Foreland Basin
Authors: López‐Blanco M. , Marzo M. , Muñoz J.A. 
Published: March 2003

ABSTRACTThe South‐Pyrenean Foreland Basin is a sedimentary trough developed during Palaeogene times in response Pyrenean orogenesis. The structural development of the chain progressively involved the foreland basin deposits resulting in synsedimentary thrusting and growth of folds through the basin. The lower Eocene Roda Sandstone was deposited in a shallow‐marine environment whose topography (bathymetry) was modified by a series of growing gentle folds. This synsedimentary folding is evidenced in the field (i) thickening of sedimentary units above synclinal structures and thinning over anticlines; (ii) carbonate platform deposits growing on top of anticlines; (iii) the areal distribution of benthic foraminifera in transgressive facies assemblages determined by an irregular, fold‐influenced palaeobathymetry; (iv) variation of sandstone palaeocurrents related to the presence of a sedimentary trough formed by the synsedimentary growth of a syncline. In addition, synsedimentary folding has been evidenced from seismic data. In the Roda Sandstone example, the growth of gentle folds occurred in an area with high sedimentation rates (∼0.21 ± 0.06 mm y−1). Due to the high sedimentation rates, exceeding the folds uplift rate (∼0.10 ± 0.01 mm y−1), there are no noticeable unconformities in the growth strata at outcrop scale. However, the effects on the sedimentation are very significant, because the sediments were deposited close to sea level, and thus were very sensitive to fauna and facies distribution.