Crohn Disease: Cohen J

Whiteford MH, Kilkenny J, Hyman N, Buie WD, Cohen J, Orsay C, Dunn G, Perry WB, Ellis CN, Rakinic J, Gregorcyk S, Shellito P, Nelson R, Tjandra JJ, Newstead G, Anonymous00376, Anonymous00377. · Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, Vermont 05401, USA. · Dis Colon Rectum. · Pubmed #15933794 No free full text.

Abstract: The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons is dedicated to assuring high-quality patient care by advancing the science, prevention, and management of disorders and diseases of the colon, rectum, and anus. The Standards Committee is composed of Society members who are chosen because they have demonstrated expertise in the specialty of colon and rectal surgery. This Committee was created to lead international efforts in defining quality care for conditions related to the colon, rectum, and anus. This is accompanied by developing Clinical Practice Guidelines based on the best available evidence. These guidelines are inclusive, and not prescriptive. Their purpose is to provide information on which decisions can be made, rather than dictate a specific form of treatment. These guidelines are intended for the use of all practitioners, health care workers, and patients who desire information about the management of the conditions addressed by the topics covered in these guidelines. It should be recognized that these guidelines should not be deemed inclusive of all proper methods of care or exclusive of methods of care reasonably directed to obtaining the same results. The ultimate judgment regarding the propriety of any specific procedure must be made by the physician in light of all of the circumstances presented by the individual patient.

Agyekum S, Church A, Sohail M, Krausz T, Van Noorden S, Polak J, Cohen J. · Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College School of Medicine, Division of Investigative Science, Hammersmith Hospital, London W12 ONN, UK. · J Pathol. · Pubmed #12474234 No free full text.

Abstract: Functional studies in gene-knockout and transgenic mice systems have shown that lymphotoxin-alpha and lymphotoxin-beta (LT-alpha and LT-beta) are of fundamental importance in peripheral lymphoid organ development, but it remains unclear what role these cytokines have to play in the adult immune response and in the pathogenesis of disease. In this study, a polyclonal anti-serum to human LT-beta was used to investigate the distribution of LT-beta by immunohistochemistry in normal and diseased tissues. In the gut, lymph nodes, spleen, and tonsil, there was some LT-beta present on a variety of lymphoid cell types. In contrast, strong staining for LT-beta was observed on plasma cells and a subpopulation of CD4+ T cells in tissues affected by chronic inflammatory disease or infection, for example in inflammatory bowel disease, and in lymph nodes obtained from patients with sarcoidosis and tuberculosis. In tuberculous and sarcoid lymph nodes, LT-beta expression also occurred on some but not all epithelioid histiocytes within granulomas and on multi-nucleated giant cells. These findings support a role for LT-beta in human disease and suggest that it might represent a therapeutic target in a variety of common infective or inflammatory disorders.