Adipose tissue is one of the main sources of inflammatory mediators, with interleukin-6 (IL-6) among them. Although high systemic levels of inflammatory mediators are cachectogenic and/or anorexic, today it is a widely propagated thesis that in the background of obesity, a low level of chronic inflammation can be found, with IL-6 being one of the many suggested mediators. This paper reviews the studies describing elevated IL-6 levels in obese patients and the role of adipocytes and adipose-tissue macrophages in the production of IL-6. The secretion of IL-6 is regulated by several physiologic or pathologic factors: hormones, cytokines, diet, physical activity, stress, hypoxia, and others. Adipose tissue-derived IL-6 may have an effect on metabolism through several mechanisms, including adipose tissue-specific gene expression, triglyceride release, lipoprotein lipase downregulation, insulin sensitivity, and so on. Having a better understanding of these mechanisms may contribute to the prevention and treatment of obesity.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which is characterized by recurrent abdominal pain and disordered bowel habits, is one of the most common functional bowel disorders. IBS is a substantial burden on both patient health-related quality of life and healthcare costs. Several pathophysiologic mechanisms have been postulated for the occurrence of IBS, including altered gastrointestinal motility, visceral hypersensitivity, changes in gut permeability, immune activation, gut-brain dysregulation, central nervous system dysfunction, and changes in the gut microbiota. Of note, both qualitative and quantitative differences have been observed in the gut microbiota of a population with IBS versus a healthy population. Because of the substantial interest in the gut microbiota and its role as a therapeutic target in IBS, this article provides an overview of specific interventions with the potential to modulate the gut microbiota in IBS, including elimination diets, prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics, and nonsystemic antibiotics. Although probiotics and synbiotics are generally well tolerated, differences in the composition and concentration of different bacterial species and inclusion or exclusion of prebiotic components varies widely across studies and has prevented strong recommendations on their use in IBS. For nonsystemic antibiotics, rifaximin is indicated in the United States for the treatment of IBS with diarrhea in adults and has been shown to be efficacious and well tolerated in well-designed clinical trials. Overall, more consistent evidence is needed regarding the efficacy and safety of elimination diets, prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics for the treatment of patients with IBS. Furthermore, additional well-designed studies are needed that examine alterations in the gut microbiota that occur with these interventions and their potential associations with clinical symptoms of IBS. ARTICLE HISTORY

Hereditary causes due to mutations and defects in certain genes account for roughly 5% to 10% of all colorectal cancers. These inherited syndromes have been associated with a 60% to 100% lifetime risk for development of colorectal cancer, depending on the genetic syndrome, and many also carry an increased risk for multiple extracolonic malignancies. In this second part of a review series on hereditary cancer syndromes, the focus will be to provide guidance on the features and management of the most commonly encountered hereditary colorectal cancers and polyposis conditions including Lynch syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis, MUTYH-associated polyposis, and hamartomatous polyposis.

The factors involved in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, the two major types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are summarized. Intestinal antigens composed of bacterial flora along with antigen presentation and impaired mucosal barrier have an important role in the initiation of IBD. The bacterial community may be modified by the use of antibiotics and probiotics. The dentritic cells recognize the antigens by cell surface Toll like receptor and the cytoplasmic CARD/NOD system. The balance between Th1/Th2/Th17 cell populations being the source of a variety of cytokines regulates the inflammatory mechanisms and the clearance of microbes. The intracellular killing and digestion, including autophagy, are important in the protection against microbes and their toxins. The homing process determines the location and distribution of the immune cells along the gut. All these players are potential targets of pharmacological manipulation of disease status.

Hardware/Software: PC or MAC with Internet access. AbstractCancer is the second leading cause of death in both men and women in the United States, with colorectal cancer and breast cancer being two of the most frequent cancer types. Hereditary causes occurring due to pathogenic sequence variants and defects in certain genes makes up roughly 5% of all colorectal cancers and breast-ovarian cancers. High-risk hereditary predisposition syndromes have been associated with a substantially increased lifetime risk for the development of colorectal cancers and breast-ovarian cancers depending on the genetic syndrome, and many people also carry an increased risk of several other cancers compared with the general population. The aim of this review was to provide comprehensive literature on the most commonly encountered hereditary predisposition syndromes, including Lynch syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis, MUTYH-associated polyposis, hamartomatous polyposis, and breast-ovarian cancer conditions. This will be presented as a 2-part series: the first part will cover the