European journal of internal medicine
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Feb 2021
ReviewThe Brain-Gut-Microbiotal Axis: A framework for understanding functional GI illness and their therapeutic interventions.
Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs), characterized by chronic abdominal complaints without a structural or biochemical cause, are common diseases that are frequently encountered by specialists in internal medicine. Collectively, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia are estimated to affect up to 22% of the population, and are often associated with additional somatic and pain complaints, all without an obvious structural source [1,2]. An appreciation of the current understanding of the mechanistic basis for these disorders is key to developing treatment goals and optimization of patient management strategies. ⋯ This axis broadly includes all the systems involved with communication between the GI tract and central nervous system (CNS), with principle inputs into this network occurring between the CNS, enteric nervous system (ENS), and autonomic nervous systems (ANS), but also includes interfaces with numerous other factors, including endocrine hormones and immune effector cells as well as interactions with the gut microbiota. Perturbances to this system have been found to play a critical role in the development of visceral hypersensitivity, bowel dysregulation, and mood. This review will summarize the principle processes involved in the neurologic and biologic function of the brain-gut axis, our current understanding of its role in functional GI disorders, and potential targets for therapeutic intervention.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Feb 2021
ReviewCardiac imaging in heart failure in the personalized medicine era: Pathway to knowledge or Tiresias' paradox?
Tiresias was the blind prophet of Apollo in Thebes. Tiresias is a symbolic figure, which embodies a paradox: he is blind in the physical sense, but his knowledge surpasses all, as opposed to Oedipus who cannot see despite having a good eyesight. Cardiac imaging can be considered the technological extension of human eyes, which has clearly revolutionised the diagnostic approach in Cardiology and specifically in heart failure. ⋯ The explosion of "big data" in cardiac imaging may also impact on classifications and nomenclature and on our ability to cluster and categorize, an exercise that is becoming remarkably challenging when the quest for the particular is taken to the extreme and the infinitesimal. The essence of cardiac conditions causing heart failure would probably not entirely captured by an approach only focused on the direct visualization of the heart. Delivery of personalized medicine would not be based only on cardiac imaging, but through an holistic approach which overcomes the mere assessment of empiric reality as it appears to our eyes through the lens of increasingly advanced diagnostic techniques.