Therapy of chronic hepatitis delta with standard interferon therapy has met with limited efficacy. This study was designed to examine the efficacy and safety of peginterferon with or without ribavirin. Thirty-eight serum hepatitis B surface antigen-and HDV RNA-positive patients with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) more than 1.5 times the upper normal limit received peginterferon alpha-2b (1.5 g/kg) alone as monotherapy (n ‫؍‬ 16) or in combination with ribavirin (n ‫؍‬ 22), for 48 weeks. Thereafter, all the patients were maintained on peginterferon for 24 weeks and followed for 24 weeks off therapy. The primary end point studied was the virological and biochemical response at the end of follow-up. HDV RNA was determined by single or nested polymerase chain reaction assays. Twenty-seven patients (71%), 11 receiving monotherapy and 16 receiving the combination treatment, completed the follow-up. At the end of treatment, a virological response was observed in 3 of the patients treated with peginterferon (19%) and in 2 of the patients treated with combination therapy (9%), and a biochemical response was observed in 6 (37.5%) and 9 patients (41%), respectively. In nonresponders, ALT diminished from a mean of 174 ؎ 53 to 86 ؎ 41 IU/L. At the end of follow-up, serum HDV RNA was negative in 8 patients (21%), and a biochemical response was detected in 10 patients (26%). Treatment was discontinued in 25% of the patients, and dosing was modified in 58%. In conclusion, a prolonged course of peginterferon alpha-2b resulted in clearance of serum HDV RNA and ALT normalization in a fifth of patients with chronic hepatitis D, while ribavirin had no effect on the viral clearance rate. Overall tolerance of therapy was poor. (HEPATOLOGY 2006;44:713-720.)

SUMMARYBackground: Eradication rates of Helicobacter pylori with standard triple therapy are disappointing, and studies from several countries confirm this poor performance. Aim: To assess the eradication rate of a new sequential treatment regimen compared with conventional triple therapy for the eradication of H. pylori infection. Methods: One thousand and forty-nine dyspeptic patients were studied prospectively. H. pylori-infected patients were randomized to receive 10-day sequential therapy [rabeprazole (40 mg daily) plus amoxicillin (1 g twice daily) for the first 5 days, followed by rabeprazole (20 mg), clarithromycin (500 mg) and tinidazole (500 mg) twice daily for the remaining 5 days]

SUMMARY BackgroundBreath tests represent a valid and non-invasive diagnostic tool in many gastroenterological conditions. The rationale of hydrogen-breath tests is based on the concept that part of the gas produced by colonic bacterial fermentation diffuses into the blood and is excreted by breath, where it can be quantified easily. There are many differences in the methodology, and the tests are increasingly popular.

In patients who failed standard eradicating treatments, a 10-day course of rifabutin with pantoprazole and amoxycillin is more effective and well tolerated than the quadruple therapy.

Hp infection is associated with promoter methylation of genes which are relevant in the initiation and progression of gastric carcinogenesis. While CDH1 methylation seems to be an early event in Hp gastritis, MLH1 methylation occurs late along with IM. Hp eradication is able to significantly reduce gene methylation thus delaying or reversing Hp-induced gastric carcinogenesis.

The ideal therapy to cure Helicobacter pylori is still lacking. Currently recommended eradication treatments are based on drug combinations in which an antisecretory drug (or ranitidine bismuth citrate) is administered with two of the following: clarithromycin, nitroimidazoles, tetracycline, and amoxycillin.1 In case of treatment failure, either a second course of triple regimen or a quadruple therapy (proton-pump inhibitor plus bismuth-based triple therapy) has been proposed.2 Until now, however, these regimens have been used as second-line therapies in a few patients and seem to be less effective than when used as ®rst-line treatments. 3±9 Therefore, new alternative strategies are needed.10 Preliminary studies have shown that H. pylori is highly susceptible in vitro to rifabutin, a spiropiperidyl derivative of rifamycin-S. 11 The aim of this study was to assess the ef®cacy and tolerability of rifabutin in infected patients who failed two or more courses of standard proton pump inhibitor-based triple regimens. PATIENTS AND METHODSThis open single-centre pilot study was conducted in Italy in 1997. Patients who were still H. pylori-positive on 13 C-urea breath test after at least two courses of SUMMARY Background: The ideal treatment for patients who have failed eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection after standard proton pump inhibitor-based triple therapies has still to be determined. Although either a second course of triple therapy or a quadruple therapy (proton pump inhibitor plus bismuth-based triple therapy) has been proposed, the ef®cacy of these second-line therapies is relatively unknown. Therefore, alternative strategies are needed. Aim: To assess the ef®cacy and tolerability of rifabutin, a derivative of rifamycin-S, in patients who were still H. pylori infected after two or more courses of 1-week triple therapies. Methods: Patients were given a 1-week regimen of pantoprazole 40 mg b.d. + amoxycillin 1 g b.d. + rifa-

It is thought that Helicobacter pylori infection may influence growth rate in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of H pylori infection in healthy Italian children, and to look for diVerences in height between infected and non-infected subjects. Two hundred and sixteen children, aged 3 to 14 years, were tested for H pylori infection by 13 C-urea breath test. Centile values for height were calculated. Composite indices for socioeconomic class and household crowding were also determined. Forty nine of 216 children (22.7%) were H pylori positive. The prevalence of infection increased with age. Eight of 49 H pylori positive children (16.3%) were below the 25th centile for height, compared with 13 of 167 H pylori negative children (7.8%). This diVerence became significant in children aged 8.5 to 14 years; in this group (n = 127), eight of 31 infected children (25.8%) were below the 25th centile for height, compared with eight of 96 noninfected children (8.3%). A significant correlation was found between socioeconomic conditions, household crowding, and H pylori status. By using stepwise logistic regression, only the centile value for height was significantly related to H pylori status in older children. Thus H pylori infection was associated with growth delay in older children, poor socioeconomic conditions, and household overcrowding. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that H pylori infection is one of the environmental factors capable of aVecting growth.

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