Small bowel obstruction caused by congenital mesocolic hernia: case report

Transmesocolic hernias are extremely rare. Their exact incidence is still unknown. A strangulated hernia through a mesocolic opening is a rare operative finding. Preoperative diagnosis still is difficult in spite of imaging techniques currently available. This is the case of a 4-month-old boy with transmesocolic internal hernia and coincident intestinal malrotation and volvulus of small bowel.     

Repeated administration of the selective kappa-opioid receptor agonist U-69593 increases stimulated dopamine extracellular levels in the rat nucleus accumbens

Reinforcing properties of drugs of abuse are reduced by the coadministration of kappa opioid receptor (KOR) agonists. This effect is related to the inhibition of dopamine (DA) release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) produced by the acute administration of KOR agonists. The present study was undertaken to investigate the in vivo effect of the repeated administration of KOR agonist on extracellular DA levels in the NAc. Rats were injected once daily with the selective KOR agonist U-69593 (0.16-0.32 mg/kg) or vehicle for 4 days. Microdialysis studies assessing extracellular concentration of DA in the NAc under basal and K(+)-stimulatory conditions were conducted 1 day later. The microdialysis studies revealed that preexposure to U-69593 had no effect on basal extracellular DA levels but significantly augmented the amount of extracellular DA induced by high K(+) compared with vehicle pretreated rats. The D2 receptor agonist quinpirole perfused through the dialysis probe in the NAc, although it produced a significant decrease on basal and K(+)-stimulated DA levels in control rats, it did not decrease significantly either basal or K(+)-stimulated DA levels in U-69593 preexposed rats. Preexposure to U-69593 did not alter the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase or dopamine transporter in the ventral tegmental area. These results show that repeated administration of U-696593 increases the amount of extracellular DA induced by high K in the NAc, an effect that may be related to decreased D2 autoreceptor function. It is suggested that repeated activation of KOR changes the response status of dopaminergic neurons in the NAc.     

Update on laser-evoked potential findings in fibromyalgia patients in light of clinical and skin biopsy features

In fibromyalgia (FM), reduced habituation of laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) suggests a dysfunction of pain processing at a central level. In this study, we aimed to further examine the nociceptive pathways at the peripheral to the central level in a large group of FM patients by means of LEPs and skin biopsy, in light of healthy controls findings and main clinical features. One hundred and ninety-nine FM patients and 109 age- and sex-matched controls were submitted to LEPs by the dorsum of the right hand and the skin over the right chest and knee tender point stimulation. Skin biopsy was performed in 21 randomly selected FM patients and 60 age- and sex-matched controls. The mean N2–P2 amplitude was reduced in the whole FM group, with normal or even increased values in patients with migraine as comorbidity and reduced values in other patients including those presenting with distal sensory deficits. All patients had reduced N2–P2 habituation in respect to controls. In the FM group, LEPs habituation was correlated with pain at tender points and bad quality of life. Epidermal fiber density was significantly reduced in FM patients versus controls, and correlated with N2–P2 amplitude by the hand and chest tender-point stimulation. Dysfunction in the nociceptive system at both the central and peripheral levels may concur to explain phenotypical eterogeneity and clinical symptom complexity in fibromyalgia.     

Measuring internet use: comparisons of different assessments and with internet addiction

Background: The measurement of Internet use is an under-documented topic despite the worldwide growth of problematic Internet use and the recent debate in addiction research suggesting that heavy use over time should be suitable for population-based assessment. This study compared different measures of Internet use to identify the most relevant one, and tested whether Internet use was a good proxy of self-reported Internet addiction.

Methods: Data were collected in the ado@internet.ch study among 3054 Swiss 8th grade adolescents. Different assessments of Internet use (frequency, number of hours spent on Internet, quantity-frequency measure, latent score) were compared using rank invariance across instruments. We also examined associations of Internet use with health outcomes (Internet addiction, wellbeing, somatic health problems, and quantity of sleeping). Additionally, associations of Internet addiction with health outcomes were investigated.

Results: Quantity-frequency captured 82% of the variability of average quantity and 64% of the variability of frequency, whereas the latent score captured respectively 94% and 52%. Regression models showed that frequency displayed the lowest associations with Internet addiction (b?=?0.128) and wellbeing (b=?0.038). The associations of other Internet use measures were very similar. Associations of Internet addiction with wellbeing were higher than those of Internet use with wellbeing, whereas the other associations were similar.

Conclusions: The quantity-frequency appeared as the most reliable and straightforward measure of Internet use. However, Internet use seemed to be only one factor in Internet addiction. This study was a first step toward proposing a unique relevant tool of Internet use in epidemiological research.     

Correction to: Efficacy and safety of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir in HCV-infected Japanese patients with prior DAA experience,severe renal impairment,or genotype 3 infection

Journal of Gastroenterology - Unfortunately, in the original publication of this article, the copyright line was incorrectly published in PDF as “© The Author(s) 2017” instead of...