The adipose hormone leptin and its receptor are important for regulation of food intake and energy metabolism. Leptin also is involved in the growth of different tissues. In this study, we show the expression of leptin in primary cultures of normal human osteoblasts (

SUMMARY BackgroundProton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are potent inhibitors of gastric acid secretion and give hypergastrinemia secondary to gastric hypoacidity. PPI treatment therefore induces enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cell hyperplasia. Longterm hypergastrinemia in rodents and man also leads to ECL cell neoplasia. Whether long-term PPI treatment will induce ECL cell neoplasia in man has been disputed.

Background and Aims: Certain appearances of the major duodenal papilla have been claimed to make cannulation more difficult during ERCP. This study uses a validated classification of the endoscopic appearance of the major duodenal papilla to determine if certain types of papilla predisposes to difficult cannulation. Methods: Patients, with a naïve papilla, scheduled for ERCP, were included. The papilla was classified into one of 4 papilla types before cannulation started. Time to successful bile duct cannulation, attempts and number of pancreatic duct passages were recorded. Difficult cannulation was defined as, after 5 minutes, 5 attempts, or 2 pancreatic guide-wire passages. Results: One thousand four hundred one patients were included from 9 different centers in the Nordic countries. The overall frequency of difficult cannulation was 42% (95% CI, 39%-44%). Type 2, small papilla, (52%; 95% CI, 45%-59%) and Type 3 protruding or pendulous papilla (48%; 95% CI, 42%-53%) were more frequently difficult to cannulate compared with Type 1, regular papilla (36%; 95% CI, 33%-40%, both p<0.001). If an inexperienced endoscopist started cannulation, the frequency of failed cannulation increased from 1.9% to 6.3% (p<0.0001), even though they were replaced by a senior endoscopist after 5 minutes. Conclusion: The endoscopic appearance of the major duodenal papilla influences bile duct cannulation. Small, Type 2, and protruding or pendulous Type 3 papillae are more frequently

SUMMARY BackgroundPatients with chronic atrophic gastritis have long-term gastric hypoacidity, and secondary hypergastrinaemia. Some also develop gastric ECL cells carcinoids (type 1 GC). Most type 1 GC remain indolent, but some metastasise. Patients undergo surveillance, and some are treated with somatostatin analogues, endoscopic resection or surgery. Netazepide (YF476) is a highly selective, potent and orally active gastrin receptor antagonist, which has anti-tumour activity in various rodent models of gastric neoplasia driven by hypergastrinaemia. Netazepide has been studied in healthy volunteers.