Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease / 24.05.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nicholas J. Talley, MD, PhD Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global ResearchUniversity of Newcastle, Australia Adjunct Professor of Medicine Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Department of Medicine University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill    MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What is meant by Eosinophilic Gastritis and/or Duodenitis?  Response: Eosinophilic gastritis and/or eosinophilic duodenitis (EG/EoD) is an eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease (EGID) characterized by chronic gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and elevated eosinophils in the stomach and/or the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine). When patients have both EG and EoD, it is sometimes referred to as eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EGE). You may have heard of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), which is the more well understood EGID characterized by elevated eosinophils in the esophagus. Until recently, EG/EoD was thought to be very rare, but prevalence had never been assessed in a prospective, systematic manner. New research indicates that EG/EoD may be a common cause of chronic, moderate-to-severe GI symptoms. Related, millions of patients in the United States suffer with chronic GI symptoms or are diagnosed with a functional GI disorder (FGID). FGIDs are diagnoses of exclusion, and excitingly the study results we present at DDW 2021 suggest that EG/EoD may be the underlying cause of many of these patients’ chronic, moderate-to-severe GI symptoms. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Hepatitis - Liver Disease, Occupational Health, Outcomes & Safety / 30.04.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mishal Reja, MD,  MD Resident in Internal Medicine Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: World Trade Center first responders were exposed to environmental toxicants that have resulted in negative health consequences. Gastrointestinal aerodigestive disorders such as GERD and Barrett’s esophagus have been frequently reported in this population. Additionally, an increasing body of literature has shown that fatty liver disease is not only secondary to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and obesity, as previously thought, but can also result from environmental and industrial toxicants. Chemicals such as Vinyl Chloride, Tetrachloroethylene, Perchloroethylene, and many others are frequently found in industrial occupations and have resulted in fatty liver disease, steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Many of these chemicals were also present at ground zero, thus exposing many of first responders to the hepatotoxic effects of these chemicals. To date this is the first study to look at liver disease in World Trade Center first responders. (more…)