André Geubel

Intragastric distribution of a standardized meal in health and functional dyspepsia: correlation with specific symptoms.

Abstractu2002 In functional dyspepsia, abnormal intragastric distribution of a test meal has been identified but has never been correlated to any symptom pattern. The aim of this study was to compare the intragastric distribution of a meal between functional dyspepsia patients and controls, and to correlate distribution with symptom patterns, using scintigraphic gastric emptying studies. In forty patients with functional dyspepsia and 29 healthy volunteers, scintigraphic planar images were obtained immediately after ingestion of a mixed radiolabelled test meal and every 20u2003min for 2u2003h. The images of the stomach were divided into proximal and distal compartments. The mean intragastric distribution was similar in patients and controls. Over the whole test, 18 (45%) and 20 (50%) patients had a distal redistribution of the solid and liquid phase of the meal, respectively, while proximal retention of these phases was found in 13 (33%) and 9 (23%) patients. Early satiety was associated with early distal redistribution of the liquid phase and fullness was associated with late proximal retention. This study shows similar intragastric distribution of a test meal in health and functional dyspepsia. Within the patient group, an association between abnormal intragastric distribution patterns and symptom profiles was found, which might be related to different pathophysiological mechanisms.

Hypervitaminosis A-induced liver fibrosis: stellate cell activation and daily dose consumption.

Abstract: Hypervitaminosis A‐related liver toxicity may be severe and may even lead to cirrhosis. In the normal liver, vitamin A is stored in hepatic stellate cells (HSC), which are prone to becoming activated and acquiring a myofibroblast‐like phenotype, producing large amounts of extracellular matrix.

Long-term survival after isolated liver transplantation for intrahepatic biliary papillomatosis.

Since the first report in 1894 by Chappet [1] and the first anatomic description by Caroli in 1959 [2], about 60 cases of biliary papillomatosis (BP) have been reported. This disease is complicated mainly by the recurrent cholangitis and malignant transformation [3,4]. Localized BP may be treated by local resection, nevertheless only up to 40% of patients treated in this way survive for more than 5 years [5,6].

Severe exacerbation of liver disease during pregnancy in a thalassemic GBV-C/HGV–positive patient and neonatal hepatitis in offspring

The case of a young woman with GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV‐C/HGV) infection and with a severe exacerbation of chronic hepatitis of unknown etiology during pregnancy is described. In the offspring, severe neonatal hepatitis with subsequent mild chronic liver disease of at least 16‐month duration was followed by the development of antibodies to the envelope protein (E2) of GBV‐C/HGV, suggesting that the child was recovering from GBV‐C/HGV infection. There was an improvement in clinical and biochemical parameters in the mother following delivery and alpha‐interferon therapy was associated with a transient biochemical response. J. Med. Virol. 57:122–125, 1999.