Gastroenterology & Hepatology Letters

Gastrointestinal (GI) health is important because a healthy gut can maintain our general health and protect our body from infection or illness. Apart from vitamins and minerals, probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics have become increasingly famous as a supplement in our daily diet. Previously, a large number of studies had been performed to study the efficacy of probiotics in the prevention or treatment of illnesses. The purpose of our review is to discuss recent data on the benefits of probiotics in human’s GI health. Promising results on the effect of probiotics in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, particularly ulcerative colitis and pouchitis have been obtained from studies. Other reports also showed that a few probiotics can improve symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome. Saccharomyces boulardii was shown to prevent traveler’s diarrhea but further studies are needed for firm conclusions. Lactobaccilus rhamnosus and S. boulardii are recommended in the treatment of acute infectious diarrhea. There are promising indications that probiotics could be useful in the prevention or treatment of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and a Lactobacillus-containing combination has been shown to prevent diarrhea caused by Clostridioides difficile. Addition of probiotics to current Helicobacter pylori eradication regime can further increase the eradication rate.

Abstract: Liver cancer, which is one of the most common malignancies, has a high incidence and case fatality rate, and is the third most common cause of death attributed to cancer. Warburg effect is a form of modified cell metabolism by which tumor cells obtain energy by glycolysis instead of oxidative phosphorylation, whether in an aerobic or anaerobic environment. It plays an important role in tumor proliferation, growth, invasion, and treatment. Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), an essential key enzyme in the glycolytic process, is significantly elevated in multiple tumor tissues and plays a crucial role in the Warburg effect. Recently, increasing attention has been devoted to the mechanism of action of PKM2 in tumors, and interference with the glycolysis pathway is one of the new strategies for cancer treatment. This paper provides a review of the Warburg effect of PKM2 activation and its relationship with tumorigenesis and development and the potential value of Warburg effect in clinical diagnosis, treatment, and prognostic evaluation of liver cancer.

Esophageal tuberculosis (TB) is relatively a rare disease, and its diagnosis is often unknown due to the lack of specific clinical symptoms and endoscopic manifestations, as well as the low success rate of pathological biopsy. In this case report, we describe a patient who presented with dysphagia as the chief complaint, manifested as a submucosal eminence under endoscopy. Endoscopic ultrasonography showed hypoechoic changes, disappearance of some layers and esophageal boundaries, and echo of fused lymph nodes around the esophagus. The patient had strongly positive results of the purified protein derivative skin test and T-SPOT.TB. Subsequently, the patient received treatment of anti-TB drugs, and the clinical symptoms improved. According to the patient’s medical history and endoscopic ultrasonography results, esophageal TB was the most probable diagnosis. Therefore, this case report offers new ideas that endoscopic ultrasonography and a review of clinical manifestations can be used to diagnose esophageal TB.