Highly palatable and/or calorically dense foods, such as those rich in fat, engage the striatum to govern and set complex behaviors. Striatal dopamine signaling has been implicated in hedonic feeding and the development of obesity. Dieting and bariatric surgery have markedly different outcomes on weight loss, yet how these interventions affect central homeostatic and food reward processing remains poorly understood. Here, we propose that dieting and gastric bypass produce distinct changes in peripheral factors with known roles in regulating energy homeostasis, resulting in differential modulation of nigrostriatal and mesolimbic dopaminergic reward circuits. Enhancement of intestinal fat metabolism after gastric bypass may also modify striatal dopamine signaling contributing to its unique long-term effects on feeding behavior and body weight in obese individuals.

Background: Feeding alfalfa hay is often recommended for its buffering components, like protein and calcium, to prevent lesions of the gastric mucosa in horses. Until now, there has been no information regarding the influence of alfalfa particle size on the gastric mucosa. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of feeding two alfalfa preparations with different particle sizes (alfalfa chaff vs alfalfa pellets) in comparison with grass hay on the gastric mucosa in weanling horses. We hypothesized that feeding a high proportion of fine alfalfa particles would negatively impact gastric mucosa and that feeding long alfalfa chaff would improve gastric mucosal health in weanlings. Results: Before weaning, the prevalence of gastric mucosa lesions (one or more lesions considering all locations in the stomach) was 84.3 %; at 14 days after weaning, it was almost 100 %. Before and after weaning, most of the lesions were found at the greater curvature of the squamous mucosa and at the lesser curvature. After weaning, gastric mucosal lesions at the pylorus were significantly more severe in the group fed alfalfa chaff (p = 0.002). In the other regions, no differences related to the feeding regimes were observed. Conclusions: Feeding alfalfa failed to improve gastric mucosal lesion scores in weanlings. Furthermore, foals fed alfalfa chaff had higher lesion scores at the pylorus. Alfalfa leaves contain a superior protein source and high amounts of calcium and magnesium, providing extra nutritional advantages in growing horses. At this time, either traditional grass hay rations or grass hay with alfalfa pellets can be recommended.

Highly palatable and/or calorically dense foods, such as those rich in fat, engage the striatum to govern and set complex behaviors. Striatal dopamine signaling has been implicated in hedonic feeding and the development of obesity. Dieting and bariatric surgery have markedly different outcomes on weight loss, yet how these interventions affect central homeostatic and food reward processing remains poorly understood. Here, we propose that dieting and gastric bypass produce distinct changes in peripheral factors with known roles in regulating energy homeostasis, resulting in differential modulation of nigrostriatal and mesolimbic dopaminergic reward circuits. Enhancement of intestinal fat metabolism after gastric bypass may also modify striatal dopamine signaling contributing to its unique long-term effects on feeding behavior and body weight in obese individuals.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur gastric bypass-opererade individer upplever sin orala hälsa efter kirurgin. En empirisk studie med en kvalitativ ansats genomfördes. Datainsamlingen som användes var semistrukturerade intervjuer med en intervjuguide som underlag. Urvalet bestod av åtta informanter i åldrarna 24–64 och som valdes genom ett snöbollsurval. En kvalitativ innehållsanalys användes för att analysera intervjuerna. Resultatet redovisas utifrån temat Förändringar efter gastric bypass-operation relaterat till oral hälsa. Informanterna upplevde att de fått erosionsskador, karies, muntorrhet, oral halitosis och parodontala problem postoperativt. Samtliga informanter upplevde en försämrad allmänhälsa efter operationen och förändrade kostvanor som innebar att de började äta regelbundna måltider med korta tidsintervall. Slutsatsen av studien visar att informanterna upplevde en försämrad oral hälsa efter gastric bypass-operationen, där erosionsskador, karies, muntorrhet, oral halitosis och parodontala problem angavs till följd av de förändrade kostvanorna samt den påverkan på den allmänna hälsan som uppstod till följd av operationen.

Introduction. The operative link for gastritis assessment (OLGA) and the operative link on gastric intestinal meta-plasia assessment (OLGIM) staging systems have been sug-gested to provide risk of assessment for gastric cancer. Objec-tive. To evaluate the distribution of OLGA and OLGIM staging by age and Helicobacter pylori status. Material and methods. We studied 197 subjects undergoing elective upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. The presence of the H. pylori and histological changes were evaluated using the updated Sydney system. Stages III and IV of OLGA/OLGIM were considered high risk stages. Results. The H. pylori rate was 56.85% (112/197). High-risk OLGA/OLGIM cases were rare: 7/112 (6.5%) cases of OLGA in the H. pylori positive group and 6/85 (7%) in the H. pylori negative group; 5 (4.4%) cases of OLGIM in the H. pylori positive and 6 (7%) in the H. pylori negative. The proportion of advanced stages of OLGA and OLGIM increased with age (p < 0.001). High-risk OLGA was not found before age 40 regardless of the presence of H. pylori, but increased to 16.2%, 10.3%, 17.3% and 40.8% in subjects in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh decade of life respectively. The OLGIM high risk showed a similar trend: 0% before 40 years and up to 22.6% in people of 70 years. Conclusions. High-risk OLGA/OLGIM cases are infrequent before age 40 and increase significantly with age. No relation was found with the presence of the H. pylori. According to these protocols, only a fifth of the patients would strictly require endoscopic control. / Revisión por pares

<p>Gastroparesis and functional dyspepsia are debilitating stomach disorders that together affect 10% of the world population. Modulating gastric function is an important target function for alternative therapies like gastric electrical stimulation (GES). The Enterra device is the only FDA approved implantable device currently available that can administer GES to entrain gastric slow wave activity. However, recent evidence has called into question the clinical utility of this system. In this work, I present the development and in vivo application of a new, closed loop, chronically implantable electroceutical device capable of continuously recording gastric motility and administering synchronous GES, that will form the needed foundation for neuromodulation protocols that can correct shortcomings in past, first-generation bioelectronic attempts to ameliorate and monitor gastric disorders. This system captures gastric serosal myoelectric activity using electrogastrography, as well as gastric contraction activity using strain gauge force transducers. I present data captured from anesthetized and freely behaving rats, demonstrating the ability of the device to capture physiologically relevant gastric motility patterns and changes, safely and effectively. I present a framework built on continuous wavelet transforms to analyze frequency and amplitude changes in captured data to inform potential therapies. I present data demonstrating the ability of the device to selectively stimulate enteric neurons in sync with gastric slow waves, resulting in a relaxation of the pyloric sphincter muscle, in a closed loop fashion. I present the development of a large animal preclinical proof-of-principle version of this system, and data captured from its implantation in freely behaving pigs, as a translational step to future human trials. In the future, this system will enable further studies into future closed loop therapies aimed at increasing gastric accommodation, stimulating physiological gastric emptying and/or pyloric opening with physiologically appropriate timing and extent. </p>

Gastric cancer is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Systemic treatment comprising chemotherapy and targeted therapy is the standard of care in advanced/metastatic gastric cancer. Comprehensive molecular characterization of gastric adenocarcinomas by the TCGA Consortium and ACRG has resulted in the definition of distinct molecular subtypes. These efforts have in parallel built a basis for the development of novel molecularly stratified treatment approaches. Based on this molecular characterization, an increasing number of specific genomic alterations can potentially serve as treatment targets. Consequently, the development of promising compounds is ongoing. In this review, key molecular alterations in gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers will be addressed. Finally, the current status of the translation of targeted therapy towards clinical applications will be reviewed.

In-depth characterization has introduced new molecular subtypes of gastric cancer (GC). To identify these, new approaches and techniques are required. Liquid biopsies are trendsetting and provide an easy and feasible method to identify and to monitor GC patients. In a prospective cohort of 87 GC patients, extracellular vesicles (EVs) were isolated from 250 µL of plasma. The total RNA was isolated with TRIZOL. The total RNA amount and the relative mRNA levels of CD44, PTEN, and FASN were measured by qRT-PCR. The isolation of EVs and their contained mRNA was possible in all 87 samples investigated. The relative mRNA levels of PTEN were higher in patients already treated by chemotherapy than in chemo-naïve patients. In patients who had undergone neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by gastrectomy, a decrease in the total RNA amount was observed after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and gastrectomy, while FASN and CD44 mRNA levels decreased only after gastrectomy. The amount of RNA and the relative mRNA levels of FASN and CD44 in EVs were affected more significantly by chemotherapy and gastrectomy than by chemotherapy alone. Therefore, they are a potential biomarker for monitoring treatment response. Future analyses are needed to identify GC-specific key RNAs in EVs, which could be used for the diagnosis of gastric cancer patients in order to determine their molecular subtype and to accompany the therapeutic response.

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No description available.