Volume 72 - 2009 - Fasc.3 - Symposium
History of endoscopic devices for the exploration of the small bowel
The small bowel has gained new attention since the development of the wireless videocapsule in 2000, opening up the last 'black box' of the gastrointestinal tract. Although conventional push enteroscopy has been available for decades, since the wireless videocapsule new enteroscopes have been developed to examine the entire small bowel endoscopically in order to perform all conven- tional endoscopic procedures. The present review highlights the historic evolution of enteroscopy, from the first complete enteroscopy in 1971 over the current balloon-assisted and over- tube-guided methods of enteroscopy to future directions of evolutions towards perfection. (Acta gastroenterol. belg., 2009, 72, 335-337).
The dendritic therapy with its potential applications in pancreatic cancer
Several adult tumors remain a major challenge for the patients and physicians. Amongst these tumors, pancre- atic carcinoma (PC) and high grade glioma (HGG) are tumors with very poor prognosis in spite of optimal oncological treatment. During the last years, novel treat- ment approaches include targeted therapy, anti-angio- genesis, gene therapy and immunotherapy.
The Maastricht III consensus : summary and comments
The management of Helicobacter pylori infection as been readapted to recent information which resulted in new guidelines that were published in 2007 in Gut. Iron deficiency anemia with negative work up and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura were added to the indications for treatment while the known ones were reconfirmed. Much interest went to prevention of gastric cancer and treatment. In the prevention of gastric cancer the importance of treating infected individuals before the appearance of premalig- nant lesions was highlighted. The most important problem con- cerning treatment is the increasing resistance for clarithromycin with as a consequence a decreasing efficiency of the classical ther- apy. Alternatives are discussed and results of resistance for differ- ent antibiotics in Belgium are presented. (Acta gastroenterol. belg., 2009, 72, 344-349).
