Encysted pneumatocele: a complication of diverticular disease.
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Polyamines are low molecular weight aliphatic amines required for normal cellular growth which are ubiquitously found in all living tissues. Polyamine biosynthesis is known to increase with mitogenesis, and elevated polyamine concentrations are found in hyperproliferative tissues. Quantitation of tissue polyamine content may thus provide a biochemical measure of proliferation, with potential biomarker application to the colonic mucosa where dysregulated epithelial proliferation is associated with cancer risk. This study was performed to validate polyamine analyses as a measure of cellular proliferation, and to preliminarily assess polyamine characteristics when applied to clinical samples. Using FHC, a human colonic epithelial cell line, for in vitro experimentation, deoxycholic acid or retinol was added to freshly passaged cultures to either stimulate or inhibit proliferation, respectively. Parallel cultures were then assayed for (1) proliferation by sulforhodamine B staining; and (2) polyamine content by a high-performance liquid chromatographic method. Deoxycholic acid stimulated, and retinol inhibited proliferation in dose-dependent fashion. Polyamine content, specifically the spermidine content and the spermidine/spermine ratio, also increased or decreased in response to culture with deoxycholic acid or retinol, respectively. Significant linear correlations between proliferation and spermidine (r = 0.858, P < 0.001), and with the spermidine/spermine ratio (r = 0.574, P < 0.05) were observed. When quantitative polyamine analyses were applied to human colonic specimens, replicate mucosal sampling revealed a high degree of intra-individual variability, indicating a heterogeneous distribution of polyamines within anatomically confined colonic segments. The results support a role for quantitative polyamine analyses as a correlative measure of colonic epithelial proliferation; however, intraindividual variability may limit the utility of colorectal biomarker measurements.
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Treatment of systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) presents a challenge to both the patient and the physician. Established approaches include long-term physiotherapy, disease-modifying agents such as D-penicillamine, and treatment of organ involvement. These efforts are often unsatisfactory since the results are poor. However, recent advances include treatment of Raynaud's phenomenon (plasmapheresis, stanozolol, and prostacyclin analogues), scleroderma renal crisis (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors), and gastric hypomotility (cisapride). This article covers the current approaches to the disease-modifying therapy including those related to the function of collagen-producing fibroblasts, vascular alterations, and the cellular and humoral immune system, as well as treatment of involved organs.
Pneumatosis coli is a rare condition in which gas filled cysts occur in the wall of the intestines. Most symptomatic patients can be managed conservatively but those who fail medical management or who develop bowel obstruction will require surgery. Surgery usually involves a limited colectomy with a potential for recurrence. We describe a case of pneumatosis coli managed successfully by restorative proctocolectomy and ileal pouch-anal anastomosis.
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Pneumatosis coli was diagnosed in a 66-year-old atopic woman with a 6-month history of chronic cough and intermittent wheeze. A sequence of chest x-rays demonstrated the appearance of gas-filled cysts in the splenic flexure of the colon approximately 2 months before the development of bowel symptoms. The pneumatosis coli and symptoms disappeared in 6 days with the administration of oxygen at a flow rate of 6 liters/min by nasal prongs. The case demonstrates the slow progression of the condition from x-ray recognition to development of symptoms and the simple, effective treatment of the condition with nasal oxygen.
Intramural perforation of the colon proximal to the rectosigmoid is a rare complication of the barium enema examination. We present a case in which air and barium entered the wall of the transverse colon, and then dissected through the transverse mesocolon during double-contrast barium enema in an asymptomatic patient with no known underlying colonic disease.
Pneumatosis coli (PC) is a process characterized by gas-filled cysts in the wall of the large intestine. The barium enema examinations of 14 patients with idiopathic PC were assessed: 93% involved the sigmoid colon, and 84% of patients with sigmoid pneumatosis had sigmoid colon redundancy in comparison to 14% of the control population (p less than 0.001). It is proposed that the sigmoid cysts result in redundancy by affecting the mesentery and colon length. This redundancy may account for the increased risk of sigmoid volvulus in this condition.
Pneumatosis cystoides coli in most cases is a disease of unknown etiology. In a few patients, it is secondary to an infarction or ulcerative colitis. Associated pulmonary emphysema is not uncommon. The gas pockets, whcih may be of varying size, can be identified along the contour of the bowel. The left side of the colon is more frequently involved than the right. The lesion is usually segmental. The rectum is almost always spared. Symptoms are negligible and operation is not required.
The management of pneumatosis coli by oxygen therapy is now well established. In one of five patients treated by this method, routine colonoscopy after such therapy revealed a previously unsuspected carcinoma of the sigmoid colon. The need to thoroughly examine the colon after oxygen treatment to rule out coexistent pathologic conditions is emphasized.
Breathing high concentrations of oxygen at atmospheric pressure has been effective in achieving prompt objective and subjective relief in pneumatosis coli. A 22-year-old man was treated with 40% oxygen--a smaller concentration than used by previous physicians--supplied through a nonrebreathing mask. During meals, oxygen was given at 5 1/minute by nasal cannula. Oxygen therapy was maintained for seven days. A year after treatment the patient was still asymptomatic and free from disease. Using this therapeutic measure the benefit/risk ratio of oxygen therapy could be increased.
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Ultrasound is exquisitely sensitive for the identification of portal vein pneumatosis, which in neonates is commonly caused by necrotizing enterocolitis. We describe the ultrasound finding of systemic arterial pneumatosis in a case of necrotizing enterocolitis associated with congenital heart disease. A combination of a patent ductus venosus and an extracardiac right-to-left shunt via the great vessels through a patent ductus arteriosus provided a pathway for the pneumatosis from the portal vein to the abdominal aorta.