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SUMMARY BackgroundControversy exists surrounding the optimal treatment for inducing remission in active Crohn's disease.

n-3 LC-PUFA supplementation during pregnancy may enhance pregnancy duration and head circumference, but the mean effect size is small. The implications of these findings for later growth and development remain to be elucidated.

SUMMARY BackgroundFunctional abdominal pain disorders (FAPD) are common in schoolaged children; however, there is no reliable treatment.

SUMMARY BackgroundProblems with currently recommended Helicobacter pylori eradication therapies include unsatisfactory eradication rates and ⁄ or therapy-associated side effects.

This meta-analysis shows that thickened food is only moderately effective in treating gastroesophageal reflux in healthy infants.

It is hypothesized that the intake of long-chain PUFA (LC-PUFA) throughout pregnancy could protect against pre-eclampsia, pregnancy-induced hypertension or intra-uterine growth retardation, and is essential for optimal neural development. The objective of the present study was to systematically evaluate the effect of LC-PUFA supplementation of high-risk pregnant women's diets on pregnancy outcomes and growth measures at birth. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library through March 2006 and references in reviewed articles for randomized controlled trials (RCT) comparing LC-PUFA supplementation with placebo or no supplementation in women with high-risk pregnancies. We found no evidence that supplementation influenced the duration of pregnancy or the percentage of preterm deliveries ,37 weeks of gestation. However, compared with controls, supplementation was associated with a significantly lower rate of early preterm delivery (,34 weeks of gestation) (two RCT; n 291; relative risk 0·39 (95 % CI 0·18, 0·84)). There was no significant difference in the infant birth weight, the rate of low birth weight (,2500 g or ,10th percentile) and the recurrence of intra-uterine growth retardation. Other pregnancy outcomes (for example, the rate of pregnancy-induced hypertension, the rate of pre-eclampsia and the rate of Caesarean section) were also similar in both groups. In conclusion, the present data suggest that supplementation with n-3 LC-PUFA in women with high-risk pregnancies reduced the risk of early preterm delivery in the fatty acid-supplemented group compared with the placebo group, while no other effects on pregnancy outcomes were detected. Polyunsaturated fatty acids: Fatty acids: High-risk pregnancyNumerous studies reveal that long-chain PUFA (LC-PUFA) biological systems have the potential to influence maternal health during pregnancy as well as fetal and child health 1 . Children delivered at term receive an important supply of n-3 fatty acids, especially in the third trimester of pregnancy. This supply is essential for optimal fetal growth and neurodevelopment 2 -4 . When the gestational period is shortened, a child delivered prematurely receives less exposure to fatty acids. It has been suggested that imbalance between n-3 and n-6 fatty acids may be associated with disturbances in the production of PG (prostacyclin and thromboxane) which are responsible for placental blood flow (indispensable for normal fetus growth and development) and participate in the initiation of labour 5 . Thus, LC-PUFA supplementation may decrease the risk of certain pregnancy complications, particularly pre-eclampsia, pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR) and preterm delivery (PD).Recently, we published the results of a meta-analysis 6 of six randomized controlled trials (RCT) showing that n-3 LC-PUFA supplementation during low-risk pregnancy may enhance the duration of pregnancy and head circumference, although the mean effect size was small. We found no additional benefits f...

SUMMARY BackgroundA lack of reliable treatments for abdominal pain-related functional gastrointestinal disorders prompts interest in new therapies.