Pancreatic family history does not predict disease progression but connotes alcohol consumption in adolescents and young adults with acute pancreatitis: Analysis of an international cohort of 2,335 patients

Background

In pediatric acute pancreatitis (AP), a family history of pancreatic diseases is prognostic for earlier onset of recurrent AP (ARP) and chronic pancreatitis (CP). No evidence supports the same association in adult-onset pancreatitis. Age-specific reasons for familial aggregation are also unclear. We aimed to examine the prognostic role of pancreatic family history for ARP/CP and observe possible underlying mechanisms.

Methods

We conducted a secondary analysis of the Hungarian Pancreatic Study Group’s (HPSG) multicenter, international, prospective registry of patients with AP, both children and adults. We compared the positive family history and the negative family history of pancreatic diseases, in different age groups, and analyzed trends of accompanying factors. Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used.

Results

We found a higher rate of ARP/CP in the positive pancreatic family history group (33.7 vs. 25.9%, p = 0.018), peaking at 6–17 years. Idiopathic AP peaked in childhood in the positive family history group (75% 0–5 years) and was consistently 20–35% in the negative group. A higher rate of alcohol consumption/smoking was found in the positive groups at 12–17 years (62.5 vs. 15.8%, p = 0.013) and 18–29 years (90.9 vs. 58.1%, p = 0.049). The prevalence of diabetes and hyperlipidemia steadily rose with age in both groups.

Conclusion

Positive family history most likely signifies genetic background in early childhood. During adolescence and early adulthood, alcohol consumption and smoking emerge—clinicians should be aware and turn to intervention in such cases. Contrary to current viewpoints, positive pancreatic family history is not a prognostic factor for ARP and CP in adults, so it should not be regarded that way.

Somatic mosaicism and common genetic variation contribute to the risk of very-early-onset inflammatory bowel disease

Very-early-onset inflammatory bowel disease (VEO-IBD) is a heterogeneous phenotype associated with a spectrum of rare Mendelian disorders. Here, we perform whole-exome-sequencing and genome-wide genotyping in 145 patients (median age-at-diagnosis of 3.5 years), in whom no Mendelian disorders were clinically suspected. In five patients we detect a primary immunodeficiency or enteropathy, with clinical consequences (XIAP, CYBA, SH2D1A, PCSK1). We also present a case study of a VEO-IBD patient with a mosaic de novo, pathogenic allele in CYBB. The mutation is present in ~70% of phagocytes and sufficient to result in defective bacterial handling but not life-threatening infections. Finally, we show that VEO-IBD patients have, on average, higher IBD polygenic risk scores than population controls (99 patients and 18,780 controls; P < 4 × 10-10), and replicate this finding in an independent cohort of VEO-IBD cases and controls (117 patients and 2,603 controls; P < 5 × 10-10). This discovery indicates that a polygenic component operates in VEO-IBD pathogenesis.

Infliximab Therapy Could Decrease the Risk of the Development of Thyroid Disorders in Pediatric Patients With Crohn's Disease

Autoimmune diseases, including autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs), may be associated with Crohn's disease (CD). Taking into consideration the role of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) in the immune-mediated inflammation that underlies both diseases, we evaluated an ultrasound of thyroid gland in pediatric CD patients, naïve, and treated with infliximab (IFX), an anti-TNF-alpha antibody, to assess the risk for AITD and evaluated the usefulness of ultrasonography to diagnose AITD in patients with CD. Sixty-one patients with CD were enrolled in the study, including 36 patients (mean age 14.5 ± 3.5 years) treated with IFX (IFX group) for a mean of 13.9 ± 16.6 months and 25 patients (mean age 14.7 ± 2.3 years) who never received anti-TNF-alpha therapy (control group). An ultrasound examination of the thyroid gland was performed; thyroid function tests and thyroid antibodies were assessed. We found 10-times higher prevalence of decreased thyroid echogenicity in CD and IFX-naive patients compared to IFX-treated group [a significant reduction in thyroid echogenicity in 1/36 (2.8%) patients receiving IFX compared to 7/25 (28%) patients naive to biologic therapy]. The latter showed significantly lower thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels (p = 0.034) and higher levels of thyroid antibodies (p = 0.042) in comparison to control. Our data suggest the protective role of IFX therapy in the development of thyroid disorders and indicate the usefulness of thyroid ultrasound to identify the risk of probable AITD in pediatric patients with CD.

Cosmetic Outcomes of Sutureless Closure in Gastroschisis

Purpose A sutureless gastroschisis repair allows for spontaneous closure of abdominal wall defect. We report our experience focusing on final esthetic outcome. Methods Retrospective data were collected from medical reports of all neonates with gastroschisis operated from January 2009 to December 2013. Variables recorded included patients descriptors, management modality, and cosmetic outcome. Results From the overall group of 38 patients with gastroschisis, 20 infants treated with sutureless closure were included in this study. In the analyzed cohort, 17 (85%) children were operated under general anesthesia and 3 (15%) without intubation. Primary reduction was possible in 15 (75%) cases, and in 5 (25%) we used silo. There were two (10%) deaths in late postoperative course due to septic complications. Three (15%) infants needed laparotomy because of adhesions and bowel obstruction. There were no infectious complications of the wound. Only 55% (10/18) of children presented umbilical hernia prior to discharge. Only two (11%) children with umbilical hernia were operated until now. Almost all patients (16/18; 89%) present excellent final cosmetic result without scar formation. Conclusion Sutureless closure of uncomplicated gastroschisis is a safe technique that reduces need of intubation and provides excellent cosmetic results.

[Retrospective analysis of epidemiological and clinical aspects of acute pancreatitis in children]

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is becoming more frequent cause of hospitalization in children. There are no guidelines concerning optimal medical treatment in this condition, up to know. The aim of the study was the epidemiological and clinical assessment of AP in pediatric population. The evaluation of influence of administered pharmacotherapy on symptoms remission and the time of laboratory tests normalization.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

There were 54 patients with AP, in the age of 3, 5-18 years, admitted to our hospital between 1994-2011. The investigation was led on the basis of retrospective analysis of medical data.

RESULTS

41 (75%) patients were admitted with the first episode of AP. The oedematous pancreatitis was confirmed in 49 patients (91%) and necrotizing pancreatitis in 5 cases (9%). The cause of the condition was determined in 44 cases. The most common clinical symptoms were epigastric pain (94%) and vomiting (43%).

CONCLUSIONS

There was no statistically significant difference in the time of obtaining normal range of serum and urine amylase activity and relief of symptoms according to administered pharmacotherapy and nutritional therapy

Serum concentrations of VEGF and TGF-β1 during exclusive enteral nutrition in IBD

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) is an effective method of treatment in achieving remission in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); however, its mechanism of action is still poorly understood. The objective of our study was to assess the influence of EEN on serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) in children and adolescents with IBD.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Thirty-nine children and adolescents with IBD (24 with Crohn disease [CD] and 15 with ulcerative colitis [UC]) and 25 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. VEGF and TGF-β1 were assessed at the baseline and after 2 and 4 weeks of EEN in CD and UC groups and once in controls using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay immunoassays.

RESULTS

At the baseline, we found increased serum VEGF in the CD versus UC group and controls (P < 0.05) and serum TGF-β1 in the UC versus CD group and controls (P < 0.05). During EEN, VEGF decreased in the UC and CD groups, whereas TGF-β1 increased in the CD group and decreased in the UC group. The CD group achieved disease remission faster than the UC group, and the weight gain of patients with CD during EEN was higher compared with patients with UC. Additionally, TGF-β1 concentration correlated with protein and energies daily intake in the CD group (R = 0.95; P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Different effectiveness of EEN in achieving remission in CD and UC may result from a modification of growth factor production. EEN stimulated TGF-β1 production in CD but not in UC, which possibly resulted in higher effectiveness of EEN in this group of patients.

Peptides from adipose tissue in monitoring energy balance in infants

BACKGROUND/AIM

Overnutrition as well as undernutrition is a serious problem in hospitalized patients, especially in infants. Routine laboratory tests detecting disturbances in energy balance are not specific or accurate. The aim of this study was to evaluate adiponectin and leptin as markers of short-time energy malnutrition.

METHODS

Forty-five infants fed orally and parenterally were included in the study. Plasma glucose, leptin and adiponectin were measured in a fasting state and postprandially (1 h after the meal), after a minimum of 24 h of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) and after a minimum of 8 h of intravenous infusion of glucose and crystalloids.

RESULTS

Postprandial glucose levels in children fed orally was similar to that observed in children who received intravenous infusion of glucose. The TPN children had slightly higher glucose concentration in contrast to leptin levels which were significantly lower in this group (1.08 mg/mL +/- 0.43) as compared to the others (p < 0.05 in both cases). The mean postprandial levels of the adiponectin in orally fed children were significantly higher (10.7 microg/mL +/- 2.4) than in children with TPN (5.8 microg/mL +/- 2.4; p < 0.001) and in children hydrated intravenously (3.3 microg/mL +/- 2.3; p < 0.001). The concentration of adiponectin correlated significantly with calorie intake.

CONCLUSIONS

Oral meal does not affect the plasma concentrations of leptin and adiponectin in infants. Adiponectin is a good short-time marker of energy malnutrition in infants.

[Influence of enteral nutrition therapy on serum angiogenic growth factors concentrations in children]

INTRODUCTION

Effectiveness of enteral nutrition therapy is not only connected with improvement of the nutritional status of the patient, but also with its strong anti-inflammatory activity. Angiogenic growth factors play an important role in the early stage of inflammation. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) stimulate the angiogenesis and healing processes. The objective of our study was to assess the influence of the enteral nutrition therapy on the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) concentrations in serum in children with different diseases of gastro-intestinal tract, in which enteral nutrition therapy is effective method of treatment.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Sixty two children (29 boys, 33 girls, mean age: 12.5 yrs, range: 6-18 yrs) and 25 healthy controls were included into the study. The Crohn's disease group (CD) consisted of 25 patients, ulcerative colitis group (UC)-18 patients, acute pancreatitis (AP) group-12 patients and severe malnutrition (N) group-7 patients. Serum VEGF and TGF-beta 1 concentrations were assessed at baseline, before starting and after 2 and 4 weeks of enteral nutrition therapy using ELISA immunoassays (R and D Systems, USA).

RESULTS

Before starting enteral nutrition, we found increased VEGF concentration in CD group (Me = 600 pg/ml) compared to UC group (266.9 pg/ml), AP group (552.6 pg/ml), N group (238.5 pg/ml) and controls (172 pg/ml) (p < 0.05). We found decrease of VEGF concentrations during enteral nutrition in CD, UC and N group and increase in AP at the beginning, followed by decrease to the initial values. Assessing TGF-beta 1, we found its concentration increased before starting enteral nutrition in UC group (37.5 ng/ml) compared to CD group (29.7 ng/ ml) and controls (24.8 ng/ml) (p < 0.05). During enteral nutrition we observed decrease of TGF-beta 1 concentration in UC group and increase in CD group (32,7 ng/ml) and AP group (26,6 ng/ml) (p < 0.05) The best improvement of nutritional status was observed in CD patients compared to N and AP patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Differentiation of serum VEGF and TGF-beta 1 concentrations, what was observed in various gastro-intestinal diseases, reflects different mechanisms of enteral nutrition therapy acting on the inflammatory process. The most efficient therapeutic effect was seen in CD, where stimulation of TGF-beta 1 production was observed.

A role of hydrogen peroxide producing commensal bacteria present in colon of adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease in perpetuation of the inflammatory process

Bacteria in the gut play a central role in the initiation and progress of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study was prepared to elucidate the role in the inflammatory process of the bacterial species which are able to produce hydrogen peroxide, present in samples taken from colon lesions in adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease. Fifty eight adolescents were enrolled into the study from January 2004 to October 2006 in Cracow, Poland. Biopsies and stool samples were collected. Bacteriological examinations and measurements of hydrogen peroxide production by enterococci, streptococci and lactobacilli were performed. For the first time it has been shown here that HP producing bacteria may contribute to increased amounts of hydrogen peroxide in the inflamed mucosa of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis patients. Moreover, we have been able to demonstrate an increase of total populations of aerobic bacteria but not anaerobes in the studied samples of mucosa of adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease which is an indirect evidence of higher oxygen tension present in inflamed tissues in IBD. We have also been able to demonstrate the direct relationship between presence of blood in stools of IBD adolescents and increased populations of Enterobacteriaceae but not streptococci in samples of colon mucosa. It is, therefore, possible that different products of Enterobacteriaceae and especially their lipopolysaccharides may also contribute to perpetuation of the chronic colon inflammation.

[The low prevalence of Helicobacter pylori gastritis in newly diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease children and adolescent]

Data concerning prevalence rate of Helicobacter pylori gastritis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients is conflicting. We had studied the prevalence of Hp gastritis in newly diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease children before any pharmacological treatment was introduced. Ninety four consecutive children with inflammatory bowel diseased were enrolled into study, mean age 12.9 +/- 3.75 years, including 50 with Crohn's Disease (CD) and 44 with ulcerative colitis (UC). One hundred and four patients (mean age 13.6 +/- 4.2 year) referred for diagnostic evaluation because of recurrent abdominal pain, matched for age, sex and socioeconomic status served as a control. The results revealed a highly statistically lower prevalence of Hp gastritis in children with IBD as compared with controls (9.6% vs. 38.4%, p < 0.0001). Significantly more often Hp gastritis occurred in CD than UC patients. There was no statistical difference in mean age of IBD onset between Hp gastritis positive and negative groups (14.3 +/- 3.75 vs. 13.6 +/- 4.3 yr) was found. Our results show that in newly diagnosed IBD children, Hp gastritis is not unusual, but the prevalence rate is significantly lower comparing to the control group. The low Hp gastritis rate is not related to medical treatment, since the patients were studied before any was introduced.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IGF-IGFBP system in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND

Some studies suggest that IL-6 is connected with glucose metabolism and insulin action, so like IGF-IGFBPs system it could play the role in diabetes etiopathogenesis.

AIM

The aim of the study was therefore to test the hypothesis that in children and adolescents IL-6 is of importance for the etiopathogenesis of diabetes mellitus type 1 and that IL-6 is connected with carbohydrate metabolism and IGF-IGFBPs action.

METHODS

There were 49 patients with type 1 diabetes: 10 persons at onset diabetes and 39 with disease lasted at least 1 year and 33 age-matched healthy children included into the study. Serum IGF-I concentrations were measured by RIA; IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-2 by IRMA and IL-6 concentrations using quantitative ELISA immunoassays. HbA1c was measured by HPLC method. Multiple regression, ANOVA, and Student's t-test were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

IL-6 and IGF-I, IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-2 levels did not differ statistically significant between diabetic patients and controls. IL-6 concentrations were statistically higher at onset diabetes than in diabetic patients with long-term disease. IL-6 did not correlate with IGF-I and its binding proteins - 1 and - 2 in examined groups. At onset of disease IL-6 correlated with insulin requirement. There were not found correlations between IL-6 and HbA1c in diabetic groups. IGF-I positively correlated with age and growth in both groups and with IGFBP-2 in diabetic patients. IGFBP-2 correlated negatively with BMI in all examined groups.

CONCLUSIONS

IL-6 might play a significant role in type 1 diabetes mellitus etiopathogenesis. It seems that IL-6 does not regulate IGF-IGFBP system in diabetic children and adolescents or IL-6 maybe cooperate with IGF-I, but their significant dependence on insulin action influences their mutual relationships.