Child ; China ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Gastrointestinal Motility ; Humans ; Infection Control ; Pediatrics ; methods ; trends

Although the function of most organ systems in the body decreases with age, aging has relatively little effect on the function of the gastroenterologic organs. This is probably due to the large functional reserve capacity, such as redundancy in the structure of the organ system and excessive production of hormones and enzymes. Most gastroenterologic disorders developed in younger persons may also develop in the elderly. However, the presentation, treatment and prognosis may be different between elderly patients and younger patients. One important thing is the high prevalence of certain disorders in the elderly. For example, the incidence of peptic ulcer, ischemic complications of vascular abnormalities, drug-induced disorders, malignancies, and some other disorders significantly increases with age. These disorders results either from age-determined changes in the gastroenterologic organs or from extragastroenterologic disorders, such as diabetes mellitus, neurologic diseases, and vascular changes. In this paper, an important consideration of common gastroenterologic disorders frequently developed in the Korean elderly is described. In addition, physiologic and pathologic changes of the gastroenterologic organs associated with aging are also discussed.
Aged ; *Gastrointestinal Diseases/diagnosis/epidemiology/therapy ; Humans ; Korea/epidemiology

Although the function of most organ systems in the body decreases with age, aging has relatively little effect on the function of the gastroenterologic organs. This is probably due to the large functional reserve capacity, such as redundancy in the structure of the organ system and excessive production of hormones and enzymes. Most gastroenterologic disorders developed in younger persons may also develop in the elderly. However, the presentation, treatment and prognosis may be different between elderly patients and younger patients. One important thing is the high prevalence of certain disorders in the elderly. For example, the incidence of peptic ulcer, ischemic complications of vascular abnormalities, drug-induced disorders, malignancies, and some other disorders significantly increases with age. These disorders results either from age-determined changes in the gastroenterologic organs or from extragastroenterologic disorders, such as diabetes mellitus, neurologic diseases, and vascular changes. In this paper, an important consideration of common gastroenterologic disorders frequently developed in the Korean elderly is described. In addition, physiologic and pathologic changes of the gastroenterologic organs associated with aging are also discussed.
Aged ; *Gastrointestinal Diseases/diagnosis/epidemiology/therapy ; Humans ; Korea/epidemiology

In the post-genomic era, the focus of research is now moving to functional genomics employing the information on predicted gene products provided by genome sequencing. Proteomics, the global analysis of structures, functions, and interactions of whole cellular proteins, draws the special attention as a tool for documenting the disease pathogenesis or progression. The high-throughput technology has become feasible by considerable improvement of two dimensional electrophoresis and mass fingerprinting. Thus proteome techniques can be used as tools to study the disease processes, develop new biomakers for diagnosis and early detection of diseases, and accelerate drug development. In this review, we discuss the background and techniques of proteomics, and potential applications to the research of gastrointestinal diseases.
English Abstract ; *Gastrointestinal Diseases/diagnosis/therapy ; Humans ; *Liver Diseases/diagnosis/therapy ; *Proteomics

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; standards ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Humans ; Pediatrics ; standards

The clinical manifestations of intestinal tuberculosis are non-specific. But, abdominal pain, low grade fever, weight loss, anorexia, and diarrhea are major symptoms of intestinal tuberculosis. Massive bleeding has been reported as a rare manifestation of intestinal tuberculosis. Massive hematochezia from intestinal tuberculosis has rarely been reported in the medical literature. Also, most of them were treated with anti-tuberculosis medication only or with surgery. We treated a case of intestinal tuberculosis presenting massive hematochezia with colonoscopic coagulation therapy and anti-tuberculosis medication. Here, we report a Korean man who presented with massive hematochezia from ileal tuberculosis and treated by endoscopic coagulation therapy.
Adult ; English Abstract ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/*etiology/therapy ; *Hemostasis, Endoscopic ; Humans ; Ileal Diseases/*complications/diagnosis ; Male ; Tuberculosis, Gastrointestinal/*complications/diagnosis

Child ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; diagnosis ; etiology ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; physiopathology ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Pediatrics ; Prognosis

Colonic Diseases, Functional ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Dyspepsia ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Research Design ; standards

Recurrent abdominal pain in childhood is common, and continues to be a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. It is usually attributed to a functional gastrointestinal disorder rather than an organic disease. In most cases, a comprehensive history and physical examination should enable one to make a positive diagnosis of functional disorder. The presence of alarm symptoms and signs, such as weight loss, gastrointestinal bleeding and chronic severe diarrhoea, warrants further investigations and referral to a paediatric gastrointestinal specialist. The mainstay of therapy in functional abdominal pain is education, reassurance and avoidance of triggering factors. While symptom-based pharmacological therapy may be helpful in patients who do not respond to simple management, it is best used on a time-limited basis due to the lack of good evidence of its efficacy. The primary goal of therapy is a return to normal daily activities rather than complete elimination of pain. In recalcitrant cases, psychological interventions such as cognitive behaviour therapy and relaxation training have proven to be efficacious.
Abdominal Pain ; diagnosis ; psychology ; therapy ; Child ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; diagnosis ; psychology ; therapy ; Humans ; Pain Threshold ; Pediatrics ; methods ; Recurrence ; Treatment Outcome

Development of pseudomembranes in the gastrointestinal tract during acute inflammatory or vascular disease has been confined to the small and/or large bowel, with rare occurrences in the esophagus. Primary gut involvement by Aspergillus is a rare and often fatal complication of intensive antileukemic therapy. To our knowledge, there has been only two case reports of pseudomembranous gastritis. We experienced a case of isolated pseudomembranous gastritis due to Aspergillus after chemotherapy for relapsed acute myelogenous leukemia. The diagnosis was made by gastrofiberscopic findings and histologically.
Aspergillosis ; Aspergillus* ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Esophagus ; Gastritis* ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute* ; Vascular Diseases