In group B, H. pylori eradication rate was 91.25%, which is higher than the ideal 80% eradication rate. The results of the present study show that adding the prescribed doses of vitamins E and C to antimicrobial therapy is effective in eradicating H. pylori infection.

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Entecavir and tenofovir are similarly effective in nucleos(t)ide-naive chronic hepatitis B patients with high viral load and/or high fibrosis scores after 48 weeks of therapy.

Amaç: Bu çal›flmadaki amac›m›z kronik hepatit C'li hastalarda belirgin fibrozis ve sirozun belirlenmesinde aspartat aminotransferaz-platelet oran› indeksi, Forns indeksi ve FIB-4'ün tan›sal güvenilirli¤ini karaci¤er biopsisi ile karfl›laflt›rmal› olarak de¤erlen-dirmektir. Metod: 2004de¤erlen-dirmektir. Metod: -2008 Background/aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of aspartate aminotransferase-platelet ratio index, the Forns index and FIB-4 for the assessment of hepatic fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C patients by comparison with liver biopsy. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed our computerized data of chronic hepatitis C patients who admitted to the Gastroenterology Clinic between 2004 and 2008. Treatment-naive chronic hepatitis C patients who had undergone liver biopsy and had laboratory test results allowing the calculation of aspartate aminotransferase-platelet ratio index, the Forns index and FIB-4 were included in this study. The degree of fibrosis was scored according to the METAVIR staging system. Significant fibrosis was defined as F2-4 and cirrhosis as F4. Aspartate aminotransferase-platelet ratio index, the Forns index and FIB-4 were calculated based on the original studies. Tests results were compared between groups F0-1 (no or mild fibrosis) versus F2-4 (significant fibrosis) and F0-3 (no cirrhosis) versus F4 (cirrhosis). Results: One hundred and fifty patients with chronic hepatitis C were included in this study. The areas under the ROC curves of the Forns index, aspartate aminotransferase-platelet ratio index and FIB-4 to

Certain viral and bacterial infections may contribute to the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study is to determine whether Helicobacter pylori (HP) seropositivity contributes to conventional atherosclerosis risk factors in the development of an early sign of atherosclerosis: intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery. Eighty-four patients who had at least two conventional atherosclerosis risk factors and a control group of 50 patients having no risk factors for atherosclerosis were enrolled in the study. None of the patients had ever received HP eradication treatment. HP IgG antibodies were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Carotid artery IMT was measured 1 cm before the carotid bifurcation. Seventy-five percent of the study group was HP seropositive. HP seropositive (n = 64) and seronegative (n = 21) groups were identical in terms of sex distribution, smoking pattern, mean age, hemoglobin, leukocyte, platelet, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure levels. There was no significant difference between the mean carotid IMT of HP seropositive (0.8 ± 0.3 mm) and negative (0.8 ± 0.3 mm) patients in the study group. Similar to the study group, there was no statistically significant difference between mean carotid IMT of HP seropositive (0.56 ± 0.19 mm) and negative patients (0.67 ± 0.13 mm) in the control group (p = 0.2). Future studies concerning virulent strains are needed to determine the probable role of HP in atherosclerosis.

Extended duration of amoxicillin treatment during the entire tetracycline containing sequential therapy period did not improve the H. pylori eradication rate. As a consequence, sequential therapy using 5-day amoxicillin is an acceptable first-line therapy option for the eradication of H. pylori in Turkey.

Gastric neuroendocrine neoplasms (g-NENs) or neuroendocrine tumors are generally slow-growing tumors with increasing incidence. They arise from enterochromaffin like cells and are divided into four types according to clinical characteristic features. Type 1 and 2 are gastrin dependent, whereas type 3 and 4 are sporadic. The reason for hypergastrinemia is atrophic gastritis in type 1, and gastrin releasing tumor (gastrinoma) in type 2 g-NEN. The diagnosis of g-NENs needs histopathological investigation taken by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. g-NENs are positively stained with chomogranin A and synaptophysin. Grading is made with mitotic index and ki-67 proliferation index on histopathological analysis. It is crucial to discriminate between types of g-NENs, because the management, treatment and prognosis differ significantly between subtypes. Treatment options for g-NENs include endoscopic resection, surgical resection with or without antrectomy, medical treatment with somatostatin analogues, netazepide or chemotherapy regimens. Follow-up without excision is another option in appropriate cases. The prognosis of type 1 and 2 g-NENs are good, whereas the prognosis of type 3 and 4 g-NENs are close to the prognosis of gastric adenocancer.

Infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) strains secreting cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA) and vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA) proteins is associated with more severe gastroduodenal pathologies. However, this association varies among geographical regions and ethnic groups. We investigated the frequencies of antibodies to CagA and VacA proteins in 131 H. pylori-infected dyspeptic patients [40 duodenal ulcer (DU), 19 gastric ulcer (GU), 28 gastric cancer (GC), and 44 non-ulcer dyspepsia (NUD)] across 30 H. pylori-infected and endoscopically normal asymptomatic subjects (AS). Anti-CagA and anti-VacA antibodies were detected by Western blotting. The positivity rates of anti-CagA and anti-VacA antibodies were higher in patients with DU (92.5 and 75%), GU (89.5 and 84.2%) and GC (96.4 and 85.7%) than patients with NUD (70.5 and 50%) and AS (50 and 23.3%) (p < 0.05). CagA+ VacA+ phenotype was more frequent in patients with DU, GU and GC than patients with NUD and AS (75, 84.2, 85.7 vs. 47.7 and 20%, respectively) (p < 0.01). Our results showed that there is a significantly positive association between the presence of anti-CagA and anti-VacA antibodies and DU, GU and GC in our region.