Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a condition characterized by abdominal pain, bloating, flatus, and altered bowel habits. The role of dietary components in inducing IBS symptoms is difficult to explore. To date, foods are not considered a cause but rather symptom-triggering factors. Particular interest has been given to the so-called FODMAPs (fermentable oligo-, di-, and monosaccharides and polyols). We aimed to summarize the evidence from the most common approaches to manage suspected food intolerance in IBS, with a particular interest in the role of FODMAPs and the effects of a low FODMAP diet. We reviewed literature, consulting PubMed and Medline by using the search terms FODMAP(s), fructose, lactose, fructans, galactans, polyols (sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, xylitol, erythritol, polydextrose, and isomalt), irritable bowel syndrome, and functional gastrointestinal symptoms. FODMAP-restricted diets have been used for a long time to manage patients with IBS. The innovation in the so-called FODMAP concept is that a global restriction should have a more consistent effect than a limited one in preventing abdominal distension. Even though all the potential low FODMAP diets provide good relief of symptoms in many patients, there is just a little relief in others. Several studies highlight the role of low FODMAP diets to improve symptoms in patients with IBS. The evidence on this dietary approach supports the hypothesis that a low FODMAP diet should be the first dietary approach. However, many points remain to be clarified, including the evaluation of possibly significant nutrition concerns.

Leishmaniasis represents a severe, increasing, public health problem. The perspective of its control is highly dependent on research progress, on therapeutic manipulations of the immune system, and on vaccine development. There is a correlation between the clinical outcome of Leishmania infection and the cytokine response profile. While a protective immune response against Leishmania has been clearly identified to be related to the influence of a type-l response and IFN-y production, the precise role of T helper (TH) 2 cytokines in non-healing infections requires further exploration. IL-4 and IL-13 (TH2 cytokines) can promote disease progression in cutaneous leishmaniasis, whereas IL-4 would appear to enhance protective type-l responses in visceral leishmaniasis. Thus, the THlITH2 paradigm of resistance/ susceptibility to intracellular parasites is probably an oversimplification of a more complicated network of regulatory/counter regulatory interactions. Moreover, the presence of antigen specific regulatory T cell subsets may provide an environment that contributes to the balance between THI and T H2 cells. Finally, the involvement of CD8+ T cells has been described, but the modality of their function in this kind of infection has not been so far elucidated.Leishmaniasis represents a severe, increasing public health problem (1-2). Moreover, many of the 50 million people who travel from industrialized to developing countries each year report some infective illness associated with their travel, included leishmaniasis, which is endemic in the areas of tropics, subtropics, and southern Europe (3). The perspective of control is still highly dependent on research progresses, to obtain better tools and more cost-effective strategy for vector control and case management, through therapeutic manipulations of the immune system, and vaccine development (4).Leishmaniasis comprises a group of diseases caused by protozoan parasites of the Leishmania genus. Leishmaniasis is characterized by different clinical manifestations, which are dependent not only on host genetic control, but also on the infecting species, which to date are more than 20 (5).The parasites which cause the various forms of leishmaniasis in humans are classified in the subgenus Leishmania (L.) or Viannia (V. (V.) braziliensis, Leishmania (V.) guyanensis, Leishmania (V.) lainsoni, Leishmania (V.) naiffi, Leishmania (V.) panamensis, Leishmania (v.)

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et al. / Digestive and Liver Disease xxx (2019) xxx-xxxpaid particular attention to practical issues with the aim to support gastroenterologists in their clinical practice when dealing with patients with anaemia.

Background: Non-Celiac Wheat Sensitivity (NCWS) has recently been included among the gluten-related disorders. As no biomarkers of this disease exist, its frequency has been estimated based on self-reported symptoms, but to date no data are available about self-reported NCWS in teenagers. Aim: To explore the prevalence of self-reported NCWS in a group of high school students and to study their demographic and clinical characteristics. Methods: The study was performed between April 2015 and January 2016 in two high schools of a coastal town in the south of Sicily (Italy). A total of 555 students (mean age 17 years, 191 male, 364 female) completed a modified validated questionnaire for self-reported NCWS. The subjects who self-reported NCWS were then compared with all the others. Results: Seven individuals (1.26%) had an established diagnosis of CD. The prevalence of self-reported NCWS was 12.2%, and 2.9% were following a gluten-free diet (GFD). Only 15 out of 68 (23%) NCWS self-reporters had consulted a doctor for this problem and only nine (14%) had undergone serological tests for celiac disease. The NCWS self-reporters very often had IBS symptoms (44%). Conclusions: Self-reported NCWS was found to be common in teenagers, with a frequency of 12.2%; the frequency of GFD use was 2.9%, which was much higher than the percentage of known CD in the same population (1.26%). A greater awareness of the possible implications on the part of the subjects involved, and a more thorough medical approach to the study of self-reported wheat-induced symptoms are required.

OBJECTIVES:Non-celiac wheat sensitivity (NCWS) is defined as a reaction to ingested wheat after exclusion of celiac disease and wheat allergy. As its pathogenesis is incompletely understood, we evaluated the inflammatory response in the rectal mucosa of patients with well-defined NCWS.METHODS:The prospective study included 22 patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)-like clinical presentation, diagnosed with NCWS by double-blind placebo-controlled challenge. Eight IBS patients not improving on wheat-free diet were used as controls. Two weeks after oral challenge was performed with 80 grams of wheat daily, cells were isolated from rectal biopsies and thoroughly characterized by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis for intracellular cytokines and surface markers.RESULTS:Rectal biopsies from wheat-challenged NCWS patients showed that a significant mucosal CD45+ infiltrate consisted of CD3+ and CD3− lymphocytes, with the latter spontaneously producing more interferon (IFN)-γ than IBS controls. About 30% of IFN-γ-producing CD45+ cells were T-bet+, CD56−, NKP44−, and CD117−, defining them as a type-1 innate lymphoid cells (ILC1). IFN-γ-producing ILC1 cells significantly decreased in 10 patients analyzed 2 weeks after they resumed a wheat-free diet.CONCLUSIONS:These data indicate that, in patients with active NCWS, IFN-γ-producing ILC1 cells infiltrate rectal mucosa and support a role for this innate lymphoid cell population in the pathogenesis of NCWS.

Despite the availability of all advanced diagnostic tools, fever of unknown origin (FUO) remains a diagnostic challenge for physicians. The objective was to define, through a retrospective study, the categories of the diseases of Sicilian patients admitted at the Department of Clinical Medicine and Emerging Diseases, University of Palermo, Italy, for classical FUO. Using the registration system for patients admitted from 1991 to 2002, 508 charts of patients admitted because of fever were reviewed. Of these, only 91 patients fulfilled the criteria for classical FUO. The origin of FUO was diagnosed in 62 (68.1%) patients. Infection was the most common cause of FUO with 29 cases (31.8% of total of FUO), neoplasms accounted for 13 cases (14.2%), collagen vascular disease for 11 cases (12.0%), and miscellaneous for 9 cases (9.8%). Undiagnosed FUO were 29 (31.8%) and, of them, 22 cases were followed-up for 2 years. A definite diagnosis could be established only in 8 cases, 13 subjects completely recovered and 4 of them died. In the 73.4% of cases, the FUO have been the result of misleading factors in the diagnostic approaches as made by the physician. The results of our study are similar to those already reported by other authors in other populations, with infections as first, neoplasm as second, and collagen vascular diseases as third most important causes of FUO. In our study the prognosis for undiagnosed FUO cases was good, but a definite diagnosis could be established only in few cases. Therefore, further multicentric, prospective studies of good design are required.