Obesity

Inverse associations between long-term weight change and serum concentrations of persistent organic pollutants Lim, J. S. et al. Int. J. Obes. (Lond.) doi:10.1038/ijo.2010.188

Persistent organic pollutants—which are associated with an increased risk of developing various chronic disorders—accumulate in adipose tissue and can be released into the bloodstream as a result of weight loss. Serum levels of several persistent organic pollutants were higher in individuals aged ≥40 years who reported weight loss than in those who had gained weight over a period of 10 years.

IBD

The CHOICE trial: adalimumab demonstrates safety, fistula healing, improved quality of life and increased work productivity in patients with Crohn's disease who failed prior infliximab therapy Lichtiger, S. et al. Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. 32, 1228–1239 (2010)

Switching to adalimumab could benefit patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease who cannot tolerate or do not respond to infliximab. In an open-label trial, 673 patients (17% primary nonresponders, 83% initial responders) were given adalimumab as both induction and maintenance therapy for a minimum of 8 weeks. 34 of 88 patients demonstrated complete fistula healing, and all patients showed sustained improvements in quality of life and work productivity.

Barrett esophagus

Endoscopic radiofrequency ablation for Barrett's esophagus: 5-year outcomes from a prospective multicenter trial Fleischer, D. E. et al. Endoscopy 42, 781–789 (2010)

Treatment with radiofrequency ablation is an effective method of eradicating intestinal metaplasia in patients with nondysplastic Barret esophagus. 5-year follow-up data on 50 participants in the AIM-II trial showed that eradication was durable in 92% of patients. In the four patients with evidence of recurrence, a further single radiofrequency ablation session completely eliminated the metaplastic cells.

Liver

Non-alcoholic cirrhosis and the risk of stroke: a 5-year follow-up study Chen, Y.-H. et al. Liver Int. doi:10.1111/j.1478-3231.2010.02350.x

In a population-based study from Taiwan, 7.5% of 2,336 patients with nonalcoholic cirrhosis and 8.7% of 11,680 randomly selected controls experienced stroke during a 5-year period. After accounting for factors including cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes, patients with nonalcoholic cirrhosis still had a reduced risk of stroke (hazard ratio 0.59, 95% CI 0.52–0.67).