Firmicutes bacteria produce metabolites that maintain the intestinal barrier and mucosal immunity. Firmicutes are reduced in the intestinal microbiota of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). In a phase 1b trial of patients with UC, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of SER-287, an oral formulation of Firmicutes spores, and the effects of vancomycin preconditioning on expansion (engraftment) of SER-287 species in the colon.

To evaluate the performance of a non-invasive test (Fibromax™, Ferring Pharmaceutical, Saint-Prex, Switzerland) and inflamatory markers (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, MCP-1) in the diagnosis and staging of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Treatments are needed for gastroparesis; antagonists of tachykinin receptor 1 (TACR1, also called NK1R) can reduce symptoms of nausea and vomiting. We investigated the safety and efficacy of tradipitant, an antagonist of NK1R, in patients with idiopathic or diabetic gastroparesis.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder associated with intestinal dysbiosis. Given the reported promising results of open-label fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) therapy in patients with predominant abdominal bloating, we studied efficacy of this treatment in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Focal liver lesions (FLLs) are a common finding during routine abdominal ultrasound (US). The differential diagnosis between diverse types of FLLs, especially between benign and malignant ones, is extremely important and can often be particularly challenging. Radiological techniques with contrast administration and/or liver biopsy are mostly necessary for establishing diagnosis, but they have several contraindications or complications. Due to limitations of these tools, there is urgent and still unmet need to develop a first line, non-invasive and simple method to diagnose FLLs. Elastography is an US-based imaging modality that provides information about the physical parameter corresponding to the tissue stiffness and can be considered a virtual biopsy. Several elastographic approaches have been developed, such as transient elastography, strain imaging and share wave imaging, which include point shear wave elastography and 2D shear wave elastography. These tools are already in use for evaluating liver fibrosis and in the assessment of focal lesions in other organs, like breast and thyroid gland. This review aims to assess the current evidence of different techniques based on elastography in the setting of FLLs, in order to evaluate accuracy, limitations and future perspectives. In particular, we focused on two contexts: the ability of discriminating between benign and malignant lesions, especially hepatocellular carcinoma and liver metastasis, and the surveillance after percutaneous therapy. This could have a high clinical impact making elastography crucial to identify the appropriate management of FLLs.

Small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE) was introduced into clinical practice almost 20 years ago and, nowadays, it is an essential tool for the study of the small bowel. SBCE allows a radiation-free examination of the entire mucosal surface of the small bowel with high-quality images, limited invasivity and a good safety profile. Nevertheless, the main limitation of SBCE is the lack of any possible direct therapeutic intervention. Indications for SBCE have evolved throughout the years, from "old" ones such as suspected small bowel bleeding (still the main indication for SBCE) to newer ones such as refractory celiac disease, hereditary polyposis syndromes and Crohn's disease. Thus, nowadays SBCE has a key role in the diagnostic algorithms in many conditions. Furthermore, the introduction in the SBCE field of cutting-edge technologies, as artificial intelligence systems, is likely to shorten the reading time making SBCE even more effective and easy to perform. Preliminary data are extremely promising and solid evidence is being gathered by current studies.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), that includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, can affect not only the gastrointestinal tract but a wide spectrum of organs. The extra-intestinal manifestations (EIMs) are one of the most challenging aspect of IBD, playing a significant role for the lifetime care and the quality of life of patients. Ocular manifestations are the third most frequent EIMs, preceded by articular and dermatological ones. The aim of this narrative review is to describe the different types of ocular involvements, focusing on their clinical management. Uveitis and episcleritis are the most common ocular EIMs, differing for many aspects. Uveitis are unrelated with IBD activity and they even precede the onset of the intestinal disease, while episcleritis are common defined as a good mark of IBD activity. Pain is uncommon in most cases of episcleritis, while severe eye pain and photophobia are the most frequent onset of anterior uveitis. Less common but even more severe, are orbital pseudotumor or posterior segment involvement. Most of the ocular EIMs can be successfully treated with topic and oral steroids and the underlying therapy for IBD can reduce or cut out at all the recurrence of these manifestations. Symptoms are commonly not specific, in some cases being unnoticed for years leading to permanent ocular consequences. Cooperation between different specialists is crucial to avoid all the possible consequences of a non-treated EIMs, especially for ocular ones.

The mechanisms of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced liver fibrosis and hepatocarcinogenesis are still poorly recognized. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of chronic HCV infection on the expression of the major regulators of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) including E-cadherin, Snail, Slug, and Twist2, in the Egyptian population. This will help to design more efficient strategies to treat HCV-associated cirrhosis and carcinoma.