Background: The impact of reflux esophagitis on the decline of lung function has been rarely reported. This study was performed to evaluate the association between erosive reflux esophagitis and lung function changes. Methods: We included patients with normal lung function who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy for health screening from a health screening center. Patients with persistent erosive reflux esophagitis on two discrete endoscopic examinations were designated as the erosive reflux esophagitis group. We also selected patients without erosive reflux esophagitis and matched them 1:4 with patients from the erosive reflux esophagitis group. We estimated annual forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1 ) and forced vital capacity (FVC) changes from baseline and compared these estimates by the linear mixed regression model. We also estimated the biannual incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Results: In total, 1,050 patients (210 patients with erosive reflux esophagitis, and 840 matched controls) were included. The median follow-up duration for spirometry was six years. In patients with erosive reflux esophagitis, mild reflux esophagitis (A grade) was most common (165 patients, 78.6%). The adjusted annual FEV1 change in patients with erosive reflux esophagitis was −51.8 mL/yr, while it decreased by 46.8 mL/yr in controls (P = 0.270).The adjusted annual FVC decline was similar between the two groups (−55.8 vs. −50.5 mL/ yr, P = 0.215). The estimated COPD incidence during the follow-up period was not different between the erosive reflux esophagitis and control groups. Conclusion In patients with normal lung function, the presence of erosive reflux esophagitis did not affect the annual declines in FEV1 or FVC.

Background: The impact of reflux esophagitis on the decline of lung function has been rarely reported. This study was performed to evaluate the association between erosive reflux esophagitis and lung function changes. Methods: We included patients with normal lung function who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy for health screening from a health screening center. Patients with persistent erosive reflux esophagitis on two discrete endoscopic examinations were designated as the erosive reflux esophagitis group. We also selected patients without erosive reflux esophagitis and matched them 1:4 with patients from the erosive reflux esophagitis group. We estimated annual forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1 ) and forced vital capacity (FVC) changes from baseline and compared these estimates by the linear mixed regression model. We also estimated the biannual incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Results: In total, 1,050 patients (210 patients with erosive reflux esophagitis, and 840 matched controls) were included. The median follow-up duration for spirometry was six years. In patients with erosive reflux esophagitis, mild reflux esophagitis (A grade) was most common (165 patients, 78.6%). The adjusted annual FEV1 change in patients with erosive reflux esophagitis was −51.8 mL/yr, while it decreased by 46.8 mL/yr in controls (P = 0.270).The adjusted annual FVC decline was similar between the two groups (−55.8 vs. −50.5 mL/ yr, P = 0.215). The estimated COPD incidence during the follow-up period was not different between the erosive reflux esophagitis and control groups. Conclusion In patients with normal lung function, the presence of erosive reflux esophagitis did not affect the annual declines in FEV1 or FVC.

Bisphosphonates are commonly used to treat osteoporosis. While renal toxicity is common with pamidronate and zoledronate, few ibandronate-related cases are reported. We describe a rare case of ibandronate-associated nephrotoxicity. An 88-year-old woman was admitted for edema. She had been receiving intravenous ibandronate treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis and had no other diagnosed diseases. She was presented with proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia (1.9 g/dL), and an elevated serum creatinine level (1.8 mg/dL). Renal biopsy revealed podocyte disease, favoring a diagnosis of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. She was treated with diuretics, tacrolimus, and fimasartan. Steroids were avoided due to severe osteoporosis. Three months later, the edema had subsided and the laboratory findings had improved (serum albumin 3.5 g/dL, serum creatinine 0.97 mg/dL). This case emphasizes the importance of careful monitoring of proteinuria and renal function during ibandronate treatment. In older adult patients, kidney biopsy and immunosuppressive treatment may be considered based on physical activity and underlying diseases.

Bisphosphonates are commonly used to treat osteoporosis. While renal toxicity is common with pamidronate and zoledronate, few ibandronate-related cases are reported. We describe a rare case of ibandronate-associated nephrotoxicity. An 88-year-old woman was admitted for edema. She had been receiving intravenous ibandronate treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis and had no other diagnosed diseases. She was presented with proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia (1.9 g/dL), and an elevated serum creatinine level (1.8 mg/dL). Renal biopsy revealed podocyte disease, favoring a diagnosis of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. She was treated with diuretics, tacrolimus, and fimasartan. Steroids were avoided due to severe osteoporosis. Three months later, the edema had subsided and the laboratory findings had improved (serum albumin 3.5 g/dL, serum creatinine 0.97 mg/dL). This case emphasizes the importance of careful monitoring of proteinuria and renal function during ibandronate treatment. In older adult patients, kidney biopsy and immunosuppressive treatment may be considered based on physical activity and underlying diseases.

Bisphosphonates are commonly used to treat osteoporosis. While renal toxicity is common with pamidronate and zoledronate, few ibandronate-related cases are reported. We describe a rare case of ibandronate-associated nephrotoxicity. An 88-year-old woman was admitted for edema. She had been receiving intravenous ibandronate treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis and had no other diagnosed diseases. She was presented with proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia (1.9 g/dL), and an elevated serum creatinine level (1.8 mg/dL). Renal biopsy revealed podocyte disease, favoring a diagnosis of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. She was treated with diuretics, tacrolimus, and fimasartan. Steroids were avoided due to severe osteoporosis. Three months later, the edema had subsided and the laboratory findings had improved (serum albumin 3.5 g/dL, serum creatinine 0.97 mg/dL). This case emphasizes the importance of careful monitoring of proteinuria and renal function during ibandronate treatment. In older adult patients, kidney biopsy and immunosuppressive treatment may be considered based on physical activity and underlying diseases.

Epidermal cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a tumor-associated antigen (TAA), which has been considered as a cancer vaccine candidate. The EpCAM protein fused to the fragment crystallizable region of immunoglobulin G (IgG) tagged with KDEL endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention signal (EpCAM-FcK) has been successfully expressed in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi) and purified from the plant leaf. In this study, we investigated the ability of the plant-derived EpCAM-FcK (EpCAM-FcKP ) to elicit an immune response in vivo. The animal group injected with the EpCAM-FcKP showed a higher differentiated germinal center (GC) B cell population (~9%) compared with the animal group injected with the recombinant rhEpCAM-Fc chimera (EpCAM-FcM ). The animal group injected with EpCAM-FcKP (~42%) had more differentiated T follicular helper cells (Tfh) than the animal group injected with EpCAM-FcM (~7%). This study demonstrated that the plant-derived EpCAM-FcK fusion antigenic protein induced a humoral immune response in mice.

Bisphosphonates are commonly used to treat osteoporosis. While renal toxicity is common with pamidronate and zoledronate, few ibandronate-related cases are reported. We describe a rare case of ibandronate-associated nephrotoxicity. An 88-year-old woman was admitted for edema. She had been receiving intravenous ibandronate treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis and had no other diagnosed diseases. She was presented with proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia (1.9 g/dL), and an elevated serum creatinine level (1.8 mg/dL). Renal biopsy revealed podocyte disease, favoring a diagnosis of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. She was treated with diuretics, tacrolimus, and fimasartan. Steroids were avoided due to severe osteoporosis. Three months later, the edema had subsided and the laboratory findings had improved (serum albumin 3.5 g/dL, serum creatinine 0.97 mg/dL). This case emphasizes the importance of careful monitoring of proteinuria and renal function during ibandronate treatment. In older adult patients, kidney biopsy and immunosuppressive treatment may be considered based on physical activity and underlying diseases.