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The effect of eradication of Helicobacter pylori on early stage gastric low-grade MALT lymphoma in 76 patients with follow-up of at least 1 year (12-63 months, mean 28) is reported. No regression was found in five cases after 12-48 months. In one case surgical resection detected the involvement of perigastric lymph nodes overlooked by endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). Neither progression of the disease nor a high-grade component was documented by repeated gastric mappings, EUS and complete stagings in the other four cases. After histological remission five relapses of low-grade and one relapse of high-grade MALT lymphoma were found 12-48 months after eradication. Subsequent histological remission, without any additional therapy, was found in three relapsed cases. A rapid and persistent histological remission was obtained in 56 patients (73%). A late remission was observed in six cases. Monoclonal remission was found in half of the patients and was frequently delayed. Persistent monoclonality was associated with histological remission in the vast majority of patients. Our data confirm H. pylori eradication as the first choice therapy for early stage gastric low-grade MALT lymphoma and recommend extensive bioptic mapping and endoscopic sonography both in the local staging and in the regression evaluation. The rare cases of late remission encourage us to wait for at least 1 year after eradication of H. pylori. Longer follow-up studies will clarify the meaning of histological relapse/persistence and late remission. The study of non-responder cases could show us a step in lymphomagenesis.

To assess changes in caliber of the main pancreatic duct, we performed abdominal ultrasonography after maximal stimulation with secretin (US-S test) in 14 patients with idiopathic recurrent acute pancreatitis, in six with recurrent acute pancreatitis secondary to pancreas divisum, in 14 recovered from a single attack of acute pancreatitis, and in 21 control subjects. In five patients, the test was repeated 10 days after endoscopic sphincterotomy. We repeated the test 48 h later in nine subjects to evaluate its reliability. We evaluated changes in lipase serum values in some of these subjects. In the acute pancreatitis patients, the main pancreatic duct diameter was significantly increased over baseline and control values throughout the observation period. In the patients undergoing sphincterotomy, the poststimulation diameter of the main duct was substantially reduced after the operation. The reliability of the test ranged from 77 to 91.5%. In the acute pancreatitis patients, serum enzymes after secretin stimulation showed a persistent increase over controls. These results suggest that pancreatic outlet obstruction, mainly at the sphincter of Oddi level, may be an important pathogenetic factor in the course of the disease and that, if this condition is present after an attack of acute pancreatitis, endoscopic sphincterotomy may be in order. The simplicity and satisfactory reproducibility of the US-S test suggest a strong case for its routine clinical use.

To evaluate the efficacy of salmon calcitonin (sCT) suppositories in inhibiting postmenopausal bone demineralization and the tolerability of this formulation, we treated ten women oophorectomized in reproductive age with intrarectal sCT at the dose of 200 IU/day for 12 months postoperatively. Modifications of calcium and phosphate metabolism were quantified by measurements of vertebral and peripheral bone mineral content, serum alkaline phosphatase, and hydroxyprolinuria at baseline and at 6 and 12 months of treatment. Tolerability was assessed by recording the appearance of local or systemic side-effects. sCT suppositories were demonstrated to inhibit post-oophorectomy calcium loss, and tolerability was good.

The frequency and histological pattern of multiple hepatitis virus infection was studied in 161 Italian patients who had consecutively undergone liver biopsy from 1989 to 1991. The histological features were compared with that of infection with a single virus. Thirty-nine per cent of patients had evidence of past or present multiple infection, the commonest of which was hepatitis C virus (HCV) in patients with evidence of previous infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV). In general, the severity of the histological pattern of each viral infection was maintained even when more than one virus was involved; there was neither exacerbation nor diminution of the histological changes. The delta-virus (HDV) was not associated with severe necro-inflammatory lesions, but HDV-positive patients were few in this cohort. Lymphoid follicle formation (a putative histological marker of HCV infection) was also found in a high proportion of HCV-negative patients but expressing much HBcAg or HDAg in liver tissue. Possible explanations for this finding are that follicles are relatively non-specific for HCV infection, or that these cases represent HCV infection with false-negative serology. The results of this study suggest that multiple hepatitis virus infection is common in the population investigated and that HBV and HCV co-infection cannot be reliably diagnosed histologically. Whether double infection with these viruses influences the cirrhotic evolution of the liver lesion remains unclear.

Healing rates were examined retrospectively in 124 outpatients with peptic ulcer who had received cimetidine for at least four weeks. Treatment was unsuccessful in 73 patients. A statistical analysis of the factors involved in treatment failure revealed that in patients with duodenal ulcers 60.6% of the treatment successes versus 26.8% of the treatment failures were nonsmokers (P less than 0.001). There was a significantly higher (P less than 0.01) incidence of varioliform gastritis among treatment failures (19.2%) than treatment successes (3.9%). The following factors seemed to have no influence on rates of ulcer healing: age, sex, duration of ulcer disease, duration (beyond four weeks) of cimetidine therapy, family history of peptic ulcer, alcohol consumption, and coffee consumption. Although there was a higher gastric:duodenal ulcer ratio as well as higher consumption of anti-inflammatory drugs in treatment failures than in treatment successes, the difference was not statistically significant.

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the effect of carbenoxolone after a non-oral administration on the levels of prostaglandins E2 and F2 alpha in gastric juice. The gastric secretion of 6 healthy volunteers (in basal conditions and after administration of a stimulus of 6 micrograms/kg weight of pentagastrin i.m.) was studied before and after seven days of treatment with 150 mg b.i.d. of carbenoxolone suppository. Concentration and output of prostaglandins E2 and F2 alpha (measured by radioimmunoassay), hydrochloric acid, pepsin and N-acetylneuraminic acid in gastric juice were determined. Compared to control values, no statistically significant difference in acid, pepsin or prostaglandin F2 alpha content, or in gastric juice volume, was observed after treatment. However a significant increase was observed in the concentration and output of prostaglandin E2 after administration of pentagastrin. The concentration and output of N-acetyl-neuraminic acid increased significantly only in basal conditions in carbenoxolone-treated subjects. The present study suggests that the cytoprotective action of carbenoxolone on gastric mucosa in man could be due to an increased prostaglandin E2 activity. This effect is observed after rectal administration, therefore suggesting that carbenoxolone also has a systemic action.

A case of tubular duplication of the oesophagus in a 10-year-old boy is presented. The boy, previously healthy, experienced dysphagia of sudden onset after an episode of pharyngitis. The clinical, radiologic and endoscopic findings are described. A twelve-month follow-up is reported.

The Authors show a set of 9 cases of patients suffering from oesophagus flaky carcinoma, judged radically non-operable, and treated with endoscopic laser-therapy by N.D. Yag Laser. They illustrate the patients' main clinical data, method followed, complications observed and results obtained. What seems to emerge from the analysis of the data is: the effectiveness of laser-therapy in the control of disphagia, simplicity of the technique and its acceptability by the patient, as well as the rareness of complications. Three are the clinical parameters used for the checking of patients before and after the laser treatment: disphagia, odynophagia and thoracic ache. The intenseness of symptoms was classed from 0 up to 3. Before the treatment, six patients out of nine showed class 3 disphagia; after the treatment, two could assume fluids (class 2), two fed also on minced foods (class 1), and two fed normally; in the two cases with initial class 2 disphagia a normal feed could be adopted; in one case no initial disphagia was present. Odynophagia was initially present in one case only at class 3, in three cases at class 1, and in all the other cases it was absent (0). After the treatment, odynophagia disappeared totally, except in one class 1 case, which remained unchanged. The presence of thoracic ache before the treatment was class 1 in four cases, class 3 in one case, and absent in four cases. After the treatment, the class 3 ache turned into class 1: in one class 1 case it was not modified; in the remaining cases the ache, if present, disappeared. Some questions remain opened, concerning the effect on survival, even in relation to other palliative methods, to the duration of the palliation obtained and to the eventual associability of lasertherapy to radiotherapy.

Since August 1984 18 patients suffering from inoperable esophageal cancer have been treated by Nd. Yag Laser therapy under endoscopic control in the Verona University Institute of Clinical Surgery. Three patients, all males ranging in age from 68 to 80 years, had endo-esophageal prostheses which were occluded as a result of the neoplasms. Occlusion of the prostheses had been ascertained by both x-rays and endoscopy. The symptoms consisted of severe dysphagia of solid foods in 2 cases and of solids and liquids in 1 case. The original sites of the tumors were the lower 3rd in two cases and the mid 3rd in 1 case. Histologically, the tumors were identified as 2 squamous-cell carcinomas and 1 adenocarcinoma. Laser treatment was given on average once every 7 days. Patients were admitted to the day hospital, thus avoiding negative repercussions in terms of quality of life or length of hospital stay. In 2 cases there was an improvement in symptoms with the possibility of semi-solid nutrition after a single treatment with 6000-5032 Joules. In the third case, to obtain the same result, 2 treatments were necessary at an interval of 7 days with a total of 9396 J. One patient died of cardiorespiratory failure 24 days after the first treatment. A second patient was treated a further 3 times with a total of 12356 J and is now on a liquid and solid diet 5 months after the first treatment. The third patient was treated 4 times with a total of 15769 J; this patient was on a liquid and solid diet, but died of cardiorespiratory failure 3 months after the first treatment. In the light of our experience, Nd. Yag Laser disocclusion of endo-esophageal prostheses occluded by neoplasms presented no complications and was an appropriate indication in these cases with satisfactory long-term results.

To obtain a dynamic and non-invasive picture of hepatic fibrosis in pre-cirrhotic liver diseases we measured both the concentration of the N-terminal peptide of procollagen III, as a marker of collagen synthesis, and the activity of PZ-peptidase, an enzyme involved in collagen degradation, in the serum of alcoholic or chronic viral hepatitis patients. Peptide serum levels were similar in chronic persistent hepatitis and controls, but significantly higher in chronic active hepatitis. Chronic persistent hepatitis patients had PZ-peptidase levels higher than controls, but similar to chronic active hepatitis. The increase in collagen synthesis without a parallel increase in collagen degradation seen in chronic active hepatitis could be regarded as a sign of impending cirrhosis, whereas the unbalanced rise in PZ-peptidase observed in chronic persistent hepatitis is consistent with the non-progressive character of this disorder. In alcoholic hepatitis both peptide concentration and PZ-peptidase activity were elevated, thus suggesting that both collagen synthesis and degradation are activated. However, the greater increase in PZ-peptidase than in peptide serum levels seen in some patients seems to indicate a minor tendency to progressive fibrosis or a trend towards resolution. Unlike liver disease patients, normal peptide and PZ-peptidase levels were found in patients with pancreatic fibrosis. Since circulating inhibitors and activators of the PZ-peptidase activity can be excluded, as proved by this study, joint peptide and PZ-peptidase serum measurements would seem to offer a simple reliable non-invasive method for differentiating and monitoring progressive and non-progressive forms of hepatic fibrosis.