No abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between gastritis and leptin and ghrelin in elderly patients. Patients older than 75 years undergoing an endoscopy were included. We reported data on nutritional status and Helicobacter pylori infection diagnosis (serology, 13C-urea breath test, culture, histology, and polymerase chain reaction on gastric biopsies). Gastric messenger RNA expression of leptin and ghrelin were quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Sixty-two patients were included (84.7 +/- 5.2 years). H. pylori infection was associated with decreased gastric expression of leptin (p = .021), ghrelin (p =.002), and plasma ghrelin levels (p = .018). Atrophy was associated with decreased gastric leptin (p = .007) and ghrelin (p = .02). H. pylori infection correlated negatively with patient energy intake (r = -0.36; p = .001) and body mass index (r = -0.34; p = .018). The negative association between ghrelin and H. pylori infection may be related to a higher prevalence of atrophy and raises the possibility that H. pylori may be contributing to undernutrition in some older people.

No abstract

Archives ofDisease in Childhood 1991; 66: 1002 lung lying in front of the heart. With other causes of mediastinal shift the heart should be easily seen unless there is air in front of it; in diaphragmatic hernia the heart should be visible in its displaced position2 until bowel gas accumulates. Ultrasound is therefore a new technique to diagnose pneumothorax, but it is clearly not the best, and any suspicion should be confirmed using conventional methods before treatment. Nevertheless, pneumothorax can be a catastrophic complication of hyaline membrane disease, and those performing echocardiography on sick, ventilated neonates should be aware of this, so if the heart is difficult to visualise, or is laterally displaced, the attending clinicians can be informed immediately.