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Advances in molecular genetics have aided our understanding of disease pathogenesis and have helped in making therapeutic decisions. Knowledge is still evolving, however, and care must be taken in extrapolating research-based data to genetic testing in clinical practice.
For many years functional heartburn has been linked to gastroesophageal reflux disease, despite a number of characteristics that set this disorder apart. As such little has been researched regarding the physiology and treatment of patients with functional heartburn as a distinct entity. This Viewpoint discusses the evidence for distinguishing this group of patients.
At present, the only available treatment for celiac disease is a strict gluten-exclusion diet. Increasing numbers of patients are being diagnosed with celiac disease, making the need for alternative treatments even more urgent. Recent advances have improved our understanding of the molecular basis of celiac disease and new targets for rational therapy have been identified. This Review discusses concepts for new treatments and their current status.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is an increasingly recognized health problem. Its presentation ranges from simple steatosis to its inflammatory representation of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. This Review considers various modalities that have been tried for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, such as weight loss and/or exercise, thiazolidinediones, metformin, lipid-lowering agents and antioxidants, as well as considering treatments that are on the horizon.
