Three and six months of omeprazole therapy led to a complete recovery of DIS in 92.1% and 97.4% of cases, respectively. No significant differences of DIS between NERD and EE were noted. Complete recovery of DIS was accompanied by regression of heartburn in all cases.

Summary Background : The dilation of oesophageal intercellular spaces, clearly apparent in transmission electron microscopy images, is a marker of cellular damage induced by acid. Aim : To analyse the presence of dilated intercellular spaces and to quantify the scores in controls and in patients with gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease or duodenal gastro‐oesophageal reflux accompanied by erosive or non‐erosive reflux disease. Methods : Thirty‐eight symptomatic patients with gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease or duodenal gastro‐oesophageal reflux and 12 asymptomatic controls, classified on the basis of pH‐metry and bilimetry, underwent endoscopy. Six tissue biopsies were taken from the normal mucosa for light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy evaluation. Dilated intercellular spaces were measured on photomicrographs of the specimens (at least 100 transects were measured for each patient). Results : Twenty‐two patients with gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease had normal macroscopic mucosa but, at histology, five patients with erosive gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease had mild oesophagitis and one had moderate oesophagitis. Seven patients with duodenal gastro‐oesophageal reflux had normal mucosa, whilst three with erosive duodenal gastro‐oesophageal reflux had mild oesophagitis at histology. At transmission electron microscopy, all controls had dilated intercellular spaces of less than 1.69 µm. Each symptomatic patient had a mean dilated intercellular space value and a mean value of the maximum dilated intercellular space at least three or more times greater than that in controls (P < 0.001). No statistical differences were observed between erosive and non‐erosive oesophagitis. Conclusions : The dilated intercellular space is an extremely sensitive marker of damage in gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease, duodenal gastro‐oesophageal reflux and non‐erosive reflux disease, and serves as the most appropriate marker of damage evaluation in non‐erosive reflux disease reported to date. A mean dilated intercellular space of 0.74 µm provides a cut‐off score for damage. No quantitative or qualitative differences in dilated intercellular space scores were found between pure and mixed acid reflux.

The moderating effect of the need for closure in the relationship between job insecurity, job performance and mental health was investigated. The need for closure refers to a motivated need for certainty, intolerance of ambiguity and preference for predictability. It was argued that the need for closure may function as a psychological moderator in dealing with job insecurity. Participants comprised 287 workers, who were administered a self-reported questionnaire. Results confirmed the negative relationship between job insecurity, performance and mental health. The need for closure was positively related to job performance and unrelated to mental health. More interestingly, the need for closure exhibited multifaceted patterns of interactions with the different components of job insecurity. Higher need for closure revealed a buffering effect in conditions of higher quantitative job insecurity. In this case, individuals high (vs low) in the need for closure reported better job performance and mental health. Conversely, when qualitative job insecurity was higher, individuals high (vs low) in the need for closure reported an impaired job performance and mental health

246CHIRUMBOLO, ARENI, SENSALES importantes respecto a la dimension de responsabilidad del sistema. Los resultados se discuten a la luz del enfoque de la cognition social motivada (Jost, Glaser, Kruglanski, & Sulloway, 2003).

Treatment with mesalazine seems to be an effective therapeutic option for LC to date, while mesalazine + cholestyramine seems to be more useful in the treatment of CC.