Regenerative medicine technology applied to gastroenterology: Current status and future perspectives

This special issue of World Journal of Gastroenterology has been conceived to illustrate to gastroenterology operators the role that regenerative medicine (RM) will have in the progress of gastrointestinal (GI) medicine. RM is a multidisciplinary field aiming to replace, regenerate or repair diseased tissues or organs. The past decade has been marked by numerous ground-breaking achievements that led experts in the field to manufacture functional substitutes of relatively simple organs. This progress is paving the ground for investigations that aims to the bioengineering and regeneration of more complex organs like livers, pancreas and intestine. In this special issue, the reader will be introduced, hand-in-hand, to explore the field of RM and will be educated on the progress, pitfalls and promise of RM technologies as applied to GI medicine.     

Covenant between gastroenterology and internal medicine in The Netherlands: a major step forward

Recently, The Netherlands Society of Gastroenterohepatology (Nederlands Genootschap Maag-Darm-Leverartsen; NGMDL) and the Netherlands Association of Internal Medicine (Nederlandse Internisten Vereniging; NIV) set up a covenant to optimise the collaboration between internists and gastroenterologists. Important points: certification of endoscopic skills; training of residents of internal medicine with regard to pathology of the stomach, intestines and liver as well as to endoscopy, and the training in internal medicine of residents in gastroenterology; defining competence of gastroenterologists for night and weekend duties in internal medicine.     

消化病中西医结合基础研究评述

近年来,中西医结合在消化领域取得了长足的发展.本文从消化病相关证的客观化研究,模型动物在消化病中西医结合研究中的运用以及消化疾病中药作用机制的研究三个方面,总结了中西医结合消化病学基础研究的现状,并提出将现代生命科学和祖国医学的理论知识和诊治经验有机地结合起来,逐步发展中西医结合新消化病学.     

Complementary and alternative medicine in gastroenterology: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

A large proportion of the American population avails itself of a variety of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) interventions. Allopathic practitioners often dismiss CAM because of distrust or a belief that there is no sound scientific evidence that has established its utility. However, although not widely appreciated, there are thousands of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that have addressed the efficacy of CAM. We reviewed the RCTs of herbal and other natural products, acupuncture, and homeopathy as examples of typical CAM modalities, focusing on conditions of interest to gastroenterologists. Peppermint (alone or in combination) has supportive evidence for use in patients with dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, and as an intraluminal spasmolytic agent during barium enemas or endoscopy. Ginger appeared to be effective in relieving nausea and vomiting due to motion sickness or pregnancy. Probiotics were useful in childhood diarrhea or in diarrhea due to antibiotics; one particular formulation (VSL#3) prevented pouchitis. Acupuncture appeared to ameliorate postoperative nausea and vomiting and might be useful elsewhere. There is even a suggestion that homeopathy has efficacy in treatment of gastrointestinal problems or symptoms. The major problem in interpreting these CAM data is the generally low quality of the RCTs, although that quality might not be different compared to RCTs in the general medical literature. Gastroenterologists should become familiar with these techniques; it is likely that their patients already are.