The fecal markers Lf, Cal, and PMN-e are able to differentiate active IBD from inactive IBD as well as from IBS. None of these three stool markers is consistently superior in its ability to reflect endoscopic inflammation, but all three are superior to CRP in their diagnostic accuracy. A combination of the stool markers with the CRP and a disease-specific activity index in a categorical comprehensive activity index can increase the diagnostic accuracy with reference to the endoscopic inflammation in UC.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder characterized by chronic anovulation and hyperandrogenism. PCOS is one of the leading causes of infertility and manifests with hirsutism, acne, and obesity. To investigate its impact on health-related quality of life and sexuality, 50 women with PCOS and 50 controls were evaluated with standardized questionnaires (36-item short-form health survey, symptom checklist revised, and life satisfaction questionnaire). The impact of hirsutism, obesity, and infertility was assessed using five-point rating scales, and sexual satisfaction was analyzed with visual analog scales. Patients showed greater psychological disturbances on the symptom checklist revised dimensions, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, aggression, and psychoticism, along with a lower degree of life satisfaction in the life satisfaction questionnaire scales health, self, and sex. Health-related quality of life measured with the 36-item short-form health survey revealed significantly decreased scores for physical role function, bodily pain, vitality, social function, emotional role function, and mental health in patients with PCOS. Although patients had the same partner status and frequency of sexual intercourse, they were significantly less satisfied with their sex life and found themselves less attractive. Most of the differences were not affected by correction for body weight. In conclusion, PCOS causes a major reduction in the quality of life and severely limits sexual satisfaction.

Objective: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been shown to cause a reduction in quality of life. This study examines the extent of different PCOS symptoms on quality-of-life, psychosocial wellbeing and sexual satisfaction. Methods: Complete metabolic, hormonal, clinical and psychosocial data were obtained from a total of 120 women with PCOS. Patients were compared with 50 healthy women to establish reductions in quality-of-life and emotional well-being. In addition, the correlation between psychosocial variables and the major clinical PCOS features obesity (body mass index (BMI)), excessive body hair (hirsutism score), acne, hyperandrogenism (serum testosterone levels), disturbed insulin regulation (area under the insulin response curve and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance), menstrual cycle disturbances and infertility were analyzed. Results: PCOS patients showed significant reductions in quality-of-life, increased psychological disturbances, and decreased sexual satisfaction when compared with healthy controls. BMI and hirsutism scores, but not the presence of acne, were associated with physical aspects of quality-of-life and sexual satisfaction. No clear effect of androgens or insulin resistance on psychosocial variables was detected. Similarly, the type of menstrual cycle disturbances or infertility had no impact on psychological well-being. Conclusion: In PCOS, changes in appearance, particularly obesity and hirsutism, reduce physical dimensions of quality-of-life and decrease sexual satisfaction. The role of biochemical, endocrine and metabolic parameters as well as menstrual irregularities and infertility appeared to be less important. Clinicians should pay attention to the psychosocial dimensions of PCOS on an individual basis, regardless of symptom severity or treatment response. 153 853-860 European Journal of Endocrinology

Lack of social support constitutes an important risk factor for maternal well-being during pregnancy and has adverse effects on pregnancy outcomes.

| Functional dyspepsia is one of the most prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorders. Functional dyspepsia comprises three subtypes with presumed different pathophysiology and aetiology: postprandial distress syndrome (PDS), epigastric pain syndrome (EPS) and a subtype with overlapping PDS and EPS features. Functional dyspepsia symptoms can be caused by disturbed gastric motility (for example, inadequate fundic accommodation or delayed gastric emptying), gastric sensation (for example, sensations associated with hypersensitivity to gas and bloating) or gastric and duodenal inflammation. A genetic predisposition is probable but less evident than in other functional gastrointestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Psychiatric comorbidity and psychopathological state and trait characteristics could also play a part, although they are not specific to functional dyspepsia and are less pronounced than in IBS. Possible differential diagnoses include Helicobacter pylori infection and peptic ulceration. Pharmacological therapy is mostly based on the subtype of functional dyspepsia, such as prokinetic and fundus-relaxing drugs for PDS and acid-suppressive drugs for EPS, whereas centrally active neuromodulators and herbal drugs play a minor part. Psychotherapy is effective only in a small subset of patients, whereas quality of life can be severely affected in nearly all patients. Future therapies might include novel compounds that attempt to treat the underlying gastric and duodenal inflammation. NATURE REVIEWS | DISEASE PRIMERS VOLUME 3 | ARTICLE NUMBER 17081 | 1 PRIMER © 2 0 1 7 M a c m i l l a n P u b l i s h e r s L i m i t e d , p a r t o f S p r i n g e r N a t u r e . A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .standard therapy for gastro -oesophageal reflux disease. Paediatric dyspeptic symptoms are being addressed in a separate classification effort 10 . This Primer covers functional dyspepsia in adults only, although we sporadically refer to paediatric functional dyspepsia when similarities exist. EpidemiologyThe population prevalence of functional dyspepsia is quite variable across the globe, with overall high numbers (10-40%) in Western countries and low numbers (5-30%) in Asia, independent of the respective functional dyspepsia definitions 11 . A large-scale health and nutrition survey from France 12 (which involved >35,000 people) identified that 15% of individuals had suspected functional dyspepsia, 28% had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and 6% had both. The population of patients who are affected by both IBS and functional dyspepsia has been reported to range between 10% and 27% in previous studies 13 and to approach 30% in popu lation samples; it could be even higher in specific populations 14,15 . This observation has given rise to the term 'overlap syndrome' (REF. 13), which calls into question the sensitivity and specificity of the Rome criteria, at least for IBS and functional dyspepsia. This argument is also supported by the observation that patients with functional dyspepsia m...