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Background: Gastrointestinal hemorrhage occurs frequently. We reviewed the tendency of occurrence of bleeding gastric and duodenal ulcers and their association with antithrombotic therapy before and after the widespread use of Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines for Peptic Ulcer 2009 (1st edition), which was published to improve treatment outcomes and prevent peptic ulcers., Methods: The study enrolled 1105 patients with bleeding gastric and duodenal ulcers treated at our hospital between January 2000 and March 2016. They were divided into the preguideline group (807 patients treated between January 2000 and December 2010) and the postguideline group (298 patients treated between January 2011 and March 2016). The use of medications, severity, the incidence of Helicobacter pylori infection, the presence of any underlying disease, and other factors were compared between the pre- and postguideline groups., Results: The number of patients receiving antithrombotic therapy was slightly higher in the postguideline group without a significant difference ( P  = 0.50). The incidence of H. pylori infection was significantly lower in the postguideline group ( P  < 0.001). The rate of premedication with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) and the rate of severe ulcers were significantly higher in the postguideline group ( P  = 0.001 and P  < 0.001, respectively). The rebleeding rate showed no significant difference, whereas the recurrence rate was significantly higher in the postguideline group ( P  = 0.041)., Conclusions: The major cause of hemorrhagic gastroduodenal ulcers seems to be shifting from H. pylori infection to the administration of drugs with gastrointestinal risk. Antithrombotic therapy tends to be associated with severe ulcers but without statistical significance.

Background & Aims: AJM300 is an orally active small-molecule antagonist of the α4 integrin subunit. We performed a randomized trial to investigate the efficacy and safety of AJM300 in patients with active ulcerative colitis (UC)., Methods: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2a study, 102 patients with moderately active UC (Mayo Clinic scores of 6-10, endoscopic subscores ≥2, and rectal bleeding subscores ≥1) who had inadequate response or intolerance to mesalamine or corticosteroids were randomly assigned to receive AJM300 (960 mg) or placebo 3 times daily for 8 weeks. The primary end point was a clinical response at week 8, defined as a decrease in Mayo Clinic score of at least 3 points and a decrease of at least 30% from baseline, with a decrease in the rectal bleeding subscore of at least 1 point or an absolute rectal bleeding subscore of 0 or 1., Results: Clinical response rates were 62.7% and 25.5% at week 8 in the AJM300 group and placebo group, respectively (odds ratio [OR] = 5.35; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.23-12.82; P = .0002). Rates of clinical remission (Mayo Clinic score ≤2 and no subscore >1) were 23.5% and 3.9% in the AJM300 group and placebo groups, respectively (OR = 7.81; 95% CI: 1.64-37.24; P = .0099), and rates of mucosal healing (endoscopic subscores of 0 or 1) were 58.8% and 29.4% (OR = 4.65; 95% CI: 1.81-11.90; P = .0014). No serious adverse event, including progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, was observed, although more investigations are needed to confirm the safety profile of this drug., Conclusions: AJM300 was well tolerated and more effective than placebo in inducing clinical response, clinical remission, and mucosal healing in patients with moderately active UC. ClinicalTrials.jp no: JapicCTI-132293., (Copyright © 2015 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is widely used for the diagnosis of malignant tumors. However, we occasionally encounter cases in which pathological accumulation is indistinguishable from physiological accumulation. We conducted a retrospective study of the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and the distribution pattern of FDG accumulation in 80 evaluable patients with records of accumulation in the small intestine identified from data acquired at Dokkyo Medical University PET Center from March 2005 to December 2010. Our aim was to distinguish pathological accumulation from physiological accumulation. Nineteen of the 80 patients had lesions that required some form of treatment. These lesions were categorized as pathological accumulation, while other 65 lesions in 61 patients were categorized as physiological accumulation. Cases with diffuse accumulation in the intestinal tract were assigned to Group L (linear), all others to Group F (focal), in our analysis. Lesions were focal in 22 patients and linear in 62. The pathological accumulation group had a mean SUVmax of 12.2, which was higher than that of 5.0 in the physiological accumulation group, and included more lesions that were categorized into Group F (16 of 19 lesions). The sensitivity and specificity for detecting focal accumulation regarded as being pathological accumulation were 84% and 91%, respectively, and accuracy was 89%. The sensitivity and specificity with a cut-off SUVmax of 5.87 obtained in the ROC analysis were 84% and 78%, respectively, and accuracy was 80%. Evaluation of SUVmax in the small intestine and the distribution pattern of FDG accumulation may be useful for diagnosing lesions in the small intestine.

A 16-year-old girl had been given a diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) at age 4, and a diagnosis of nephrotic syndrome caused by lupus nephritis at age 9. Medical treatment began with steroids from age 4. She developed acute pancreatitis in May 2007. Abdominal computed tomography showed cystic lesions in the abdominal cavity, and surgical drainage was performed for intracystic bleeding, infection and alimentary canal perforation.

Background/aims: ESD is a new diagnostic and treatment technique for early gastric cancer. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effects observed at our department., Methodology: The subject group included 95 patients with 100 early-stage gastric cancers. According to the Gastric Cancer Treatment Guidelines published by the Japanease Gastric Cancer Association (JGCA) in 2001. Sixty-seven lesions presented a tumor measuring less than 20 mm and were concave (if not flat) without ulceration (specified indication of the guidelines of the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association), and 33 lesions were expanded indications. We then compared one-piece resection rates, en-bloc resection rates (one-piece resection that is lateral- and vertical-stump negative), curative en-bloc resection rates (en-bloc resection that fulfills the following three criteria: 1. differentiated adenocarcinoma; 2. no lymphtic or venous invasion, 3a. intramucosal cancer regardless of tumor size without ulceration, 3b. intramucosal cancer 30 mm in size with ulceration, 3c. minute submucosal cancer 30 mm in size)., Results: Among the specified indications and expanded indications, one-piece resection rates accounted for 97.0% and 75.8%, en-bloc resection rates for 83.6% and 60.6%, and curative en-bloc resection rates for 83.6% and 57.6%. The numbers of accident cases were three (postoperative hemorrhage; n = 1 perforation; n = 2) and four (postoperative hemorrhage; n = 1, perforation; n = 3), respectively., Conclusions: These studies indicated higher one-piece resection rates, en-bloc resection rates and curative en-bloc resection rates for lesions based on the guidelines than those based on the expanded guidelines.