Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J F Colombel

Publications and source records attributed to J F Colombel.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

Activated eosinophils and interleukin 5 expression in early recurrence of Crohn's disease.

Endoscopic recurrences after radical surgery for Crohn's disease are useful for studying the pathogenesis of initial lesions of Crohn's disease. Factors predisposing to recurrence are poorly understood, but it has been shown that eosinophilic infiltration of the neoileum may occur within a few weeks of resection. The aim of this study was to compare, in nine patients having an ileocolectomy, the infiltration of eosinophils and their activation state in normal and diseased areas of the neoileum, three months after surgery. Tissue eosinophils were studied by histochemical methods and electron microscopy. Mucosal expression of interleukin 5 (IL 5), an important eosinophil activating factor was studied using in situ hybridisation. Sixty per cent of patients had endoscopic recurrence at three months. Eosinophil infiltration was more pronounced in diseased than in endoscopically normal areas and was associated with a high expression of IL 5 mRNA. Ultrastructural analysis showed features of eosinophil activation, but no cytotoxic lesions of surrounding inflammatory or epithelial cells. This study suggests that local synthesis of IL 5 associated with eosinophil activation in the tissues could participate in early mucosal damage in Crohn's disease.

Adult↗

Identifying patients with a high risk of relapse in quiescent Crohn's disease. The GETAID Group. The Groupe d'Etudes Thérapeutiques des Affections Inflammatoires Digestives.

No reliable identification of quiescent Crohn's disease (CD) patients with a high risk of relapse is available. The aim of this study was to develop a prognostic index to identify those patients. Untreated adult patients with quiescent disease (not induced by surgery) included in three phase III clinical trials were analysed retrospectively with respect to time to relapse. Nineteen factors related to biology, disease history, and topography were investigated. A relapse was defined as either a CD Activity Index (CDAI) > or = 200, a CDAI > or = 150 but over the baseline value by more than 100, or acute complications requiring surgery. The inclusion criteria were fulfilled by 178 patients. The median follow up was 23 months. The Cox model retained the following bad prognostic factors: age < or = 25 years, interval since first symptoms > 5 years, interval since previous relapse < or = 6 months, and colonic involvement (p < 0.001). Bootstrapping confirmed the variable selection. Patients were classified into three groups with an increasing risk of relapse (p < 0.001). The worst risk group was composed of patients presenting at least three of the four bad prognostic factors. These results make possible the design of clinical trials in quiescent CD patients with a high risk of relapse.

Adolescent↗

Remaining small bowel endoscopic lesions at surgery have no influence on early anastomotic recurrences in Crohn's disease.

OBJECTIVES: We recently demonstrated that 65% of patients operated on for Crohn's disease (CD) had lesions of the small bowel at perioperative endoscopy (POE). These lesions were unrecognized before surgery in more than half of the patients. The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic value of endoscopic small bowel lesions let in place at time of surgery on further anastomotic endoscopic relapse. METHODS: Twenty one patients (10 women, 11 men, mean age 34 yr) had an enteroscopy from the terminal ileum to the ligament of Treitz during an ileocolectomy performed for CD. All patients were subsequently enrolled in a placebo-controlled trial of mesalazine for the prevention of early endoscopic relapse; 10 patients received placebo, and 11 received mesalazine (1.5 g/day) for 12 wk after surgery. At the end of this trial, they all had a colonoscopy with inspection of the anastomosis and the neoterminal ileum. RESULTS: POE was completed up to the angle of Treitz in all 21 patients. In 10/21 cases (47%), mild lesions were found distributed at random along the small intestine 30 cm beyond the resection margin. At colonoscopy performed 12 wk later, lesions were found in 11/21 cases (52%) between section margin and were estimated to be 25 cm over the anastomosis. Endoscopic recurrence occurred in 5/10 patients who received placebo and 6/11 patients who received mesalazine. Endoscopic recurrence occurred in 5/10 patients having lesions at POE and in 6/11 patients who had no lesions. There was no relationship between endoscopic recurrence at 12 wk and presence of lesions at initial POE, whatever the postoperative treatment. CONCLUSION: Endoscopic lesions let in place after "curative" surgery have no influence on early endoscopic anastomotic recurrences in CD.

Adult↗

Idiopathic acute pancreatitis and sarcoidosis.

Pancreatic involvement is rare in sarcoidosis. We describe a 30-year-old man who had two episodes of acute pancreatitis within one month with no current aetiology. Diagnosis of sarcoidosis was based on the presence of bilateral mediastinal adenopathies, alveolar lymphocytosis on bronchoalveolar lavage and biopsy of an enlarged lymph node showing multiple granulomas. This case and five others previously reported in the literature suggest the diagnosis of sarcoidosis should be considered in apparently acute idiopathic pancreatitis.

Acute Disease↗

The relationship of granulomas to blood vessels in intestinal Crohn's disease.

It has been suggested that granulomatous vasculitis is a primary mechanism in the production of pathologic changes seen in Crohn's disease. We set out to investigate the relationship of granulomas to blood vessels and to confirm or refute previous reports of granulomatous vasculitis in Crohn's disease. Thirty paraffin embedded tissues from 11 patients with Crohn's disease were selected after examination of H&E stained sections for the presence of granulomas. Using an immunohistochemical method, various monoclonal antibodies were applied to sequential sections from each tissue to demonstrate vascular structures and granulomas. In three patients none of the granulomas occurred in association with blood vessels, in five a small proportion of the granulomas affected blood vessels, and in three granulomatous vasculitis appeared occlusive and significant. A total of 232 granulomas were identified, 22% of which were closely associated with blood vessels, which included both arteries and veins; 16% were perivascular, while 6% were intravascular. Perivascular granulomas did not surround blood vessels or invade the medial layers. They were asymmetric, suggesting that they originated by encroachment of nearby lymphatic or connective tissue granulomas. These results indicate that the granulomas of Crohn's disease are usually not associated with blood vessels; however, there is a minority of patients in whom vascular granulomatous inflammation may be important, although probably as a secondary phenomenon.

Adult↗

Anti-endothelial cell antibodies in sera from patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

IgG anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECA) have been described in sera from patients with vasculitis and other immune disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus. Presence of AECA may be relevant to the hypothesis that Crohn's disease (CD) is a form of intestinal vasculitis. The aim of this study was to search for IgG AECA among 141 patients with CD, 94 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 71 healthy blood donors and to assess the relationship between AECA and demographic or disease data. The cut-off point was defined from the mean OD values + 2 SD obtained from healthy blood donors. Seventeen percent of sera from patients with CD were positive for IgG AECA, whereas 24.5% of sera from patients with UC were positive. Among disease data, only a significant relationship between presence of IgG AECA and CD activity was noticed. These results might reinforce the hypothesis that intestinal vascular injury may be an important event in CD. However, detection of AECA in an almost similar percentage of patients with UC is more suggestive of an immune response to hidden endothelial self-antigen exposed after endothelial cell damage or a further marker of disturbed immunoregulation in inflammatory bowel disease.

Adolescent↗

[Treatment of diversion colitis with short-chain fatty acids. Bacteriological study].

OBJECTIVES: Bacterial imbalance may be involved in the pathogenesis of diversion colitis, via diminished production of short chain fatty acids. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of short chain fatty acids on microbial flora of patients with diversion colitis and to compare this flora to the microbial flora of controls. METHODS: We prospectively evaluated the effectiveness of short chain fatty acids irrigation on bacterial flora of the excluded colon in 13 patients (8 males, 5 females; mean age: 43.7 years). The causes of diversion were inflammatory bowel disease (n = 4) colonic cancer (n = 2) sigmoid diverticulitis with perforation (n = 3) ischio-rectal abscess (n = 2) and miscellaneous (n = 2). Patients were given, twice a day for 14 days in a double blind manner, a 60 mL enema containing either short chain fatty acids (acetate: 60 mmol/L; propionate: 30 mmol/L; and n-butyrate: 40 mmol/L) (group 1; n = 7) or isotonic NaCl (group 2; n = 6). Bacteriological studies were carried on before starting the trial (D1) and 14 days later (D14). RESULTS: Before and after treatment, there was no difference between group 1 and group 2 concerning bacterial counts and species. Bacterial flora of patients with diversion colitis was characterized by: a) an increase of the count of aerobic bacteria; b) an increase of aerobic and aeroanaerobic species; c) the presence of black pigmented Gram negative anaerobic rods such as Prevotella intermedia and Porphyromonas asaccharolytica which were not found in rectal flora of the control group (16 volunteers, mean age: 27 years). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that: a) enema with short chain fatty acids does not induce significant changes in the composition of the microbial flora in patients with diversion colitis; b) bacterial dysbiosis may be involved in pathogenesis of diversion colitis without involving the action of short chain fatty acids.

Adult↗

[Lymphomas of the colon complicating hemorrhagic rectocolitis].

Colonic lymphoma is a rare complication of ulcerative colitis. We report two cases of B cell colonic lymphoma occurring in two patients who had a left-sided ulcerative colitis for 7 and 24 years respectively. The diagnosis was made during surgery in one case and at colonoscopy in the other. Complete remission was achieved after surgery and chemotherapy with a 8-year and 15-month follow-up respectively.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

[Etiology of Crohn disease. Current data].

Both genetic and environmental factors appear to play an aetiologic role in Crohn's disease. The hypothesis of genetic susceptibility is based on the frequency of familial forms (6-33%) and higher relative risk in first degree relatives (x10 to x21). Three genetic segregation analyses have defined a genetic model favouring autosomal recessive transmission and incomplete penetration. The frequency of the deleterious allele would be 0.01 in the general population. One-third of all patients would be homozygous. To date, no genetic marker has been found for Crohn's disease although in one study, molecular biology techniques revealed a significant association between the HLA-DR1, DQW5 genotypes, and the association DR1/DQW5, and Crohn's disease. There are also many arguments in favour of an environmental cause, including: increased incidence since the Second World War, a north-south incidence gradient (established in the US and probable in Europe), predominance in urban areas. In addition, 21 conjugal forms were recently reported in the US, including 14 which appeared after marriage. We have also observed 10 conjugal forms in a limited area in northern France and in Belgium. Smoking has also been shown to have a detrimental effect, perhaps via modifications in the microcirculation of the intestinal wall. Despite contradictory results, oestrogen-progesterone treatment does not appear to increase the risk of Crohn's disease and there is no convincing evidence that any particular food could be incriminated. In contradiction with a widely believed myth, there is no evidence showing that psychiatric factors have an effect on appearance or aggravation of the disease. Perinatal infection has however been recently shown to affect incidence and subjects born during periods of flu epidemics have a higher relative risk. Still other studies have emphasized the dual role of genetic/environmental factors. Based on current knowledge, the sequence leading to the appearance of Crohn's disease would include one or more perinatal event(s) such as viral infection acting on a genetically susceptible subject and leading to modified immune response in a vulnerable system (perinatal period). Later in life an aggression (environment) would lead to inappropriate immune response. Current research is directed towards identifying infectious agents capable of triggering the disease and on markers of genetic susceptibility.

Crohn Disease↗

Incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in northern France (1988-1990).

There were no data concerning the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in France. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in northern France. This prospective population based study was realised through the gastroenterologists of the region Nord-Pas de Calais and the Somme Department. Each gastroenterologist referred patients consulting for the first time with clinical symptoms compatible with IBD. Data were collected by an interviewer practitioner present at the gastroenterologist's consulting room. Two independent expert gastroenterologists assessed each case in a blind manner and made a final diagnosis of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, ulcerative proctitis, or unclassifiable chronic colitis. From 1988 to 1990, 1291 cases of IBD were recorded: 674 (52%) Crohn's disease, 466 (36%) ulcerative colitis including 162 proctitis (35%), and 151 (12%) unclassifiable chronic colitis. The mean annual incidence was 4.9 per 100,000 for Crohn's disease and 3.2 for ulcerative colitis. The sex ratio F/M was 1.3 for Crohn's disease and 0.8 for ulcerative colitis. The highest age specific incidence rate for Crohn's disease was between 20 and 29 years: 13.1 for women and 9.8 for men. The highest age specific incidence rate for ulcerative colitis was between 20 and 39 years: 5.5 for women and 6.5 for men. This first French prospective study has shown an incidence rate for Crohn's disease comparable with that seen in north European studies but lower than that seen for ulcerative colitis. These results could be related to the different environmental factors or the genetic background of the population studied, or both.

Adolescent↗