Summary Background  Intestinal immune infiltration contributes to symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Aim  To assesses the effect of mesalazine (mesalamine) on mucosal immune cells in patients with IBS, through a pilot study. Methods  A randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial in 20 patients with IBS in tertiary care setting. Patients were randomized to receive placebo or 800 mg mesalazine three times daily for 8 weeks. The primary endpoint was a significant reduction in total colonic immune cells on biopsies obtained at the end of treatment compared to baseline. Secondary endpoints included effects on subsets of immune cells, inflammatory mediators and symptom severity. Intention‐to‐treat analysis was performed. Results  Mesalazine markedly reduced immune cells as compared with placebo (P = 0.0082); this effect was ascribed to a marked inhibition of mast cells (P = 0.0014). Mesalazine significantly increased general well‐being (P = 0.038), but had no significant effects on abdominal pain (P = 0.084), bloating (P = 0.177) or bowel habits. No serious drug‐related adverse events were reported during the study. Conclusions  Mesalazine is an effective and safe approach to reduce mast cell infiltration and may improve general well‐being in patients with IBS. These results support the hypothesis that immune mechanisms represent potential therapeutic targets in IBS.

The operation of Thick Gaseous Electron Multipliers (THGEM) in Ne and Ne/CH 4 mixtures, features high multiplication factors at relatively low operation potentials, in both single-and double-THGEM configurations. We present some systematic data measured with UV-photons and soft x-rays, in various Ne mixtures. It includes gain dependence on hole diameter and gas purity, photoelectron extraction efficiency from CsI photocathodes into the gas, long-term gain stability and pulse rise-time. Position resolution of a 100x100 mm 2 X-ray imaging detector is presented. Possible applications are discussed.

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