Materials and Methods:  Endoscopic images of the corpus lesser curvature were studied in 50 patients with CAFG. Extent of CAFG was evaluated with autofluorescence imaging endoscopy. The areae gastricae pattern was evaluated with 0.2% indigo carmine chromoendoscopy. Micro-mucosal structure was examined with magnifying chromoendoscopy and narrow band imaging. Results:  In patients with small extent of CAFG, polygonal areae gastricae separated by a narrow intervening part of areae gastricae was observed, whereas

Afatinib in patients with wide extent of CAFG, the size of the areae gastricae decreased and the width of the intervening part of areae gastricae increased (p < 0.001). Most areae gastricae showed a foveola-type micro-mucosal structure (82.7%), while intervening part of areae gastricae had a groove-type structure (98.0%, p < 0.001). Groove-type mucosa had a higher grade of atrophy (p < 0.001) and intestinal metaplasia (p < 0.001) compared with foveola type. Conclusions:  As extent of

CAFG widened, multifocal groove-type mucosa that had high-grade atrophy and intestinal metaplasia developed among areae gastricae and increased along the intervening part of areae gastricae. Our observations facilitate our understanding of the development and progression of CAFG. “
“The present manuscript focuses on the new information that was published in the field of diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori this past year. While there is little news about the invasive tests, selleck screening library more data are coming concerning the endoscopic features of H. pylori infection. Major efforts were also done to improve molecular detection of the mutations involved in antibiotic resistance. New antibody-based tests (stool antigen test or indirect antibody tests) were also developed. There have been an increasing number of attempts to diagnose features of Helicobacter pylori infection during endoscopic examination. In 2 studies from Japan, selleck conventional endoscopy was used. Kato et al. conducted a prospective study in 24 centers where indigo carmine contrast was used in 275

patients. This method was found very sensitive in both the corpus (94.3%) and the antrum (88.1%) while not specific (62.8 and 52.8%, respectively) in comparison with H. pylori diagnosis by histology and serology [1]. The second study by Watanabe et al. was not based on staining. They based their diagnosis on 11 specific endoscopic findings. The diagnostic yield was 88.9% for H. pylori eradicated patients. The importance of training was emphasized. Magnifying endoscopy (ME) may improve the diagnosis. The specificity of the patterns predicting H. pylori infection was significantly higher when i-scan (a newly developed image enhanced endoscopy system) was used (93.5%) compared to white light microscopy (80.6%), while sensitivity was the same [2]. Narrow band imaging (NBI) coupled with ME is now a commonly used technique.