No abstract available.
Stomach

Intestinal capillariasis is caused by a small trichurid nematode, Capillaria philippinensis, which infects freshwater fish as intermediate hosts and subsequently fish eating birds as definitive hosts. It has occurred in areas such as the Philippines and Thailand where people eat raw fish. We report an imported case of intestinal capillariasis in a 31-year-old Korean man who lived in Saipan for ten years. He suffered from diarrhea with weight loss, abdominal distension, and pitting edema in the lower extremities for two years. He ate raw freshwater fish in the Saipan 2 years ago. The diagnosis was confirmed by jejunal biopsy. Flat mucosal surface without villi contained sections of numerous round worms with stichosome, larvae, and eggs which were identified as Capillaria philippinensis. The patient was successfully treated with albendazole.
Adult ; Albendazole ; Biopsy ; Birds ; Capillaria ; Diagnosis ; Diarrhea ; Eating ; Edema ; Eggs ; Fresh Water ; Humans ; Larva ; Lower Extremity ; Ovum ; Philippines ; Protein-Losing Enteropathies* ; Thailand ; Weight Loss

No abstract available.
Internal Medicine*

Infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) leads to gastritis, but the majority of infected persons are asymptomatic, and it has been recently described that the ability of H. pylori to cause more severe disease is related to the presence of the cytotoxin-associated gene A (cagA). We investigated the prevalence of cagA-bearing strains in a group of H. pylori-positive gastritis, and compared the morphologic differences between cagA-positive and cagA-negative cases on H&E stained slides. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for detection of H. pylori and cagA of 62 gastric biopsy specimens were performed. All the slides were analyzed by the updated Sydney system. Forty eight (77.4%) were PCR positive for H. pylori and thirty four (54.8%) were positive for cagA. There were no significant differences in numbers of H. pylori, degree of infiltration of mononuclear cells and degree of atrophy between cagA-positive and cagA-negative groups. The rates of neutrophilic infiltration and intestinal metaplasia were significantly higher in cagA-positive group than in cagA-negative group. In conclusion, the detection of H. pylori by PCR method is more sensitive than that of microscopic examination and H. pylori strains possessing cagA are associated with an enhanced induction of severe gastritis.
Atrophy ; Biopsy ; Gastritis* ; Helicobacter pylori ; Helicobacter* ; Humans ; Metaplasia ; Neutrophils ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prevalence

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) can ameliorate reflux symptoms and heal esophageal injury by rapid inhibition of acid secretion. PPIs are used as an initial treatment as well as for maintenance purposes. Eight weeks are necessary for complete healing of esophageal injury. After initial therapy, symptomatic recurrence rates are as high as 85% within one year. Therefore, to maintain a good quality of life, many patients need half or usual dose of a PPI for maintenance. There are three kinds of maintenance therapy including continuous, intermittent, and on-demand therapy. PPIs are very safe to use. Adverse events including headache, skin rashes, diarrhea, and weakness have a very low prevalence. Longstanding use of a PPI, however, may be associated with several medical problems such as community-acquired infection and osteoporosis because of a chronic intragastric hypochlorhydric state. PPIs are definitely superior to H2-receptor antagonists and other medications in terms of their treatment potency and safety.
Community-Acquired Infections ; Diarrhea ; Esophagitis, Peptic ; Exanthema ; Headache ; Humans ; Osteoporosis ; Prevalence ; Proton Pump Inhibitors ; Quality of Life ; Recurrence

No abstract available.
Botulinum Toxins/*administration & dosage ; Dilatation/*methods ; Esophageal Achalasia/*therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Neuromuscular Agents/*administration & dosage

No abstract available.
Esophageal Neoplasms*

No abstract availble.
Humans ; Lymphoma/*genetics ; Microsatellite Repeats/*genetics ; Stomach Neoplasms/*genetics