Why internists should care about Helicobacter pylori: recapitulating gastric cancer prevention.

Infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a leading but also modifiable cause of gastric cancer. However, evidence indicates that the goal of a primary prevention of gastric cancer is still far from being achieved.

Why internists should be concerned about glyphosate.

Environmental health should be an ethical obligation for experts in internal medicine. Besides the harmful health effects of air pollution, endocrine-disrupting chemicals and climate change, growing evidence points to glyphosate, a widely used herbicide, which generates risks to public health in terms of noncommunicable diseases and cancer. Detection of glyphosate in humans has been associated with all-cause mortality, increased frailty, insulin resistance, impaired glucose homeostasis and diabetes, increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases, fatty liver, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Opioid-induced constipation in internal medicine: recognition and management pathways.

Opioid-induced constipation (OIC) remains one of the most frequent and distressing gastrointestinal side effects encountered by patients on chronic opioid therapy. Despite the high prevalence, OIC is frequently underdiagnosed and inadequately managed, with critical effects on the quality of life of patients. Aim of this review is to promote the awareness about OIC in the context of internal medicine.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Assessing metabolic dysfunction, cardiovascular risk factors, and lifestyle habits.

Background And Aims: Steatotic liver disease (SLD), a hallmark of metabolic dysfunction, is closely associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). This study investigated gender differences, metabolic risk factors, and lifestyle habits in a large cohort of dysmetabolic patients with SLD, reclassified under the novel MASLD framework.

Methods: A total of 400 patients (mean age: 58.

Bridging the gap in obesity research: A consensus statement from the European Society for Clinical Investigation.

Background: Most forms of obesity are associated with chronic diseases that remain a global public health challenge.

Aims: Despite significant advancements in understanding its pathophysiology, effective management of obesity is hindered by the persistence of knowledge gaps in epidemiology, phenotypic heterogeneity and policy implementation.

Materials And Methods: This consensus statement by the European Society for Clinical Investigation identifies eight critical areas requiring urgent attention.

Predictors of proteinuria, amyloidosis and kidney failure in familial Mediterranean fever: data from the International AIDA Network Registry.

Objectives: Proteinuria, amyloidosis and kidney failure are the main long-term renal complications of FMF. This study assesses their risk factors, independent of ethnicity or residence.

Methods: Patients' data were drawn from the International AIDA Network registry for monogenic autoinflammatory diseases.

Ultrasonographic assessment of gastric and gallbladder dynamics in human health and disease.

The diagnosis of functional disorders of the upper gastrointestinal tract relies on clinical evaluation after exclusion of most frequent organic diseases. Diagnostic techniques contribute to better characterization of disease, choice of specific therapy, and follow-up. Functional ultrasonography was introduced in the early '80 s for the non-invasive study of gastric and gallbladder emptying without ionizing radiation, during fasting and postprandially.

Herbal Medicine in Three Different Mediterranean Living Areas During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Polyphenolic-Rich Thyme-like Plants.

Despite herbal medicine being popular across the Mediterranean basin, there is no evidence in favor of COVID-19 infection. This study investigates the utilization and effects of medicinal plants in Italy, Lebanon, and Tunisia during COVID-19 and its effects on post-COVID-19 pandemics. We used a tailored, web-based "Google Form" questionnaire with the random sampling method.

Unraveling the Role of the Human Gut Microbiome in Health and Diseases.

The human gut is a complex ecosystem that supports billions of living species, including bacteria, viruses, archaea, phages, fungi, and unicellular eukaryotes. Bacteria give genes and enzymes for microbial and host-produced compounds, establishing a symbiotic link between the external environment and the host at both the gut and systemic levels. The gut microbiome, which is primarily made up of commensal bacteria, is critical for maintaining the healthy host's immune system, aiding digestion, synthesizing essential nutrients, and protecting against pathogenic bacteria, as well as influencing endocrine, neural, humoral, and immunological functions and metabolic pathways.

Aquaporins in Biliary Function: Pathophysiological Implications and Therapeutic Targeting.

Aquaporins (AQPs) are transmembrane proteins permeable to water and a series of small solutes. AQPs play a key role in pathways of hepatobiliary secretion at the level of the liver, bile ducts, and gallbladder. AQP8 and -9 are pivotal in facilitating the osmotic water movement of hepatic bile, which is composed of 95% water.

Distinct biophysiological effects of Ramadan fasting and traditional intermittent fasting on markers of body fat storage. A real-life study.

Background: Ramadan Intermittent fasting (RIF) exerts beneficial metabolic effects and improves gastrointestinal motility. However, a comparison between RIF and the traditional 16-hours intermittent fasting (16IF), a strategy for weight loss, is lacking.

Methods: A total of 34 subjects (median age 32.

Advances in the pathophysiology, diagnosis and management of chronic diarrhoea from bile acid malabsorption: a systematic review.

Bile acid malabsorption (BAM) is an important disorder of digestive pathophysiology as it generates chronic diarrhoea. This condition originates from intricate pathways involving bile acid synthesis and metabolism in the liver and gut, the composition of gut microbiota, enterohepatic circulation and key receptors as farnesoid X receptor (FXR), fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4), and the G-protein bile acid receptor-1 (GPBAR-1). Although symptoms can resemble those related to disorders of gut brain interaction, accurate diagnosis of BAM may greatly benefit the patient.

A call from 40 public health scientists for an end to the continuing humanitarian and environmental catastrophe in Gaza.

An under-recognised aspect of the current humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is the impact of the war on the environment and the associated risks for human health. This commentary contextualises these impacts against the background of human suffering produced by the overwhelming violence associated with the use of military force against the general population of Gaza. In calling for an immediate cessation to the violence, the authors draw attention to the urgent need to rebuild the health care system and restore the physical and human infrastructure that makes a liveable environment possible and promotes human health and well-being, especially for the most vulnerable in the population.

Environmental health and clinicians: time to promote more action.

Climate change and ambient air pollution are threats to human health, with dramatic short- and long-term effects on mortality and morbidity. Pollution generates fears among citizens who rarely receive adequate information for risk mitigation. A large burden of evidence is describing since decades the health effects of pollution, linking environmental exposure to pathophysiological mechanisms (mainly, low-grade chronic inflammation) that lead to an array of chronic non-communicable diseases.

Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: From Pathogenesis to Current Therapeutic Options.

The epidemiological burden of liver steatosis associated with metabolic diseases is continuously growing worldwide and in all age classes. This condition generates possible progression of liver damage (i.e.