Changes Over Time in the Lémann Index and the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Disability Index in a Prospective Cohort of Patients With Crohn's Disease

BACKGROUND

Crohn's disease (CD) is a progressive, destructive, and disabling disorder. Our study aimed to assess changes over time in the Lémann index (LI) and the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Disability Index (IBD-DI) in a cohort of CD patients.

METHODS

This was a single-center prospective cohort study of 130 consecutive CD patients with a follow-up of at least 4 years. The LI 1 and the IBD-DI 1 questionnaires were assessed in 2016 and again between September 2020 and October 2021 (LI 2 and IBD-DI 2).

RESULTS

Of the 130 patients with assessment of both LI 1 and IBD-DI 1, 61 had calculation of the LI 2 and 98 patients answered the IBD-DI 2 questionnaire, with a median time between the 2 evaluations of 4.2 years. The LI increased for 16 (26%), decreased for 26 (43%), and remained unchanged for 19 (31%) patients. The median LI did not change over time (9.6 vs 9.3; P = .14). Clinical disease activity was significantly associated with bowel damage progression. A high initial LI (>7.9) was not associated with CD progression (surgery, drug dose escalation, or change of biologic). The IBD-DI decreased for 59 (60.2%), increased for 37 (37.8%), and remained unchanged for 2 (2%) patients. The median IBD-DI decreased significantly over time (23.2 vs 21.4; P = .006). There was no correlation between the 2 indexes.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first prospective cohort study assessing changes over time in both the LI and the IBD-DI in CD patients. After 4 years, the LI appeared to be stable and the IBD-DI decreased, with no correlation between the 2 indexes.

Characterization of a new set of mutants deficient in fermentation-induced loss of stress resistance for use in frozen dough applications

In frozen dough applications a prefermentation period during the preparation of the dough is unavoidable and might also be important to obtain bread with a good texture. A major disadvantage of the prefermentation period is that it is associated with a rapid loss of the freeze resistance of the yeast cells. A major goal for the development of new baker's yeast strains for use in frozen dough applications is the availability of strains that maintain a better freeze resistance during the prefermentation period. We have isolated mutants that retain a better stress resistance during the initiation of fermentation. Some of these showed the same growth rate and fermentation capacity as the wild type cells. These mutants are called 'fil', for deficient infermentation induced loss of stress resistance. First we used laboratory strains and heat stress treatment, given shortly after the initiation of fermentation, as the selection protocol. The first two mutants isolated in this way were affected in the glucose-activation mechanism of the Ras-cAMP pathway. The fil1 mutant had a partially inactivating point mutation in CYR1, the gene encoding adenylate cyclase, while fil2 contained a nonsense mutation in GPR1. GPR1 encodes a member of the G-protein coupled receptor family which acts as a putative glucose receptor for activation of the Ras-cAMP pathway. In a next step we isolated fil mutants directly in industrial strains using repetitive freeze treatment of doughs as selection protocol. Surviving yeast strains were tested individually for maintenance of fermentation capacity after freeze treatment in laboratory conditions and also for the best performing strains in frozen doughs prepared with yeast cultivated on a pilot scale. The most promising mutant, AT25, displayed under all conditions a better maintenance of gassing power during freeze-storage. It was not affected in other commercially important properties and will now be characterised extensively at the biochemical and molecular level.

Colloidal iron used at pH's lower than 1 as electron stain for surface proteins

The effects of hydrochloric acid on stability, charge and selective affinity of the colloidal ferric hydroxide were studied. The charge was tested electrophoretically. The stability was controlled by measuring the turbidity. The affinity was determined by applying colloid to gelled agarose sections containing hyaluronic acid, polyvinyl sulfate or polylysine. Affinity was also determined by applying the colloid to free tumor cells previously submitted to various types of chemical and enzymatic treatments (esterification, acetylation, periodic acid-hydroxylamine method; neuraminidase, phospholipase C, hyaluronidase) and to isolated rat liver surface membranes pretreated by lipid extraction or incubated with phospholipase C. It was found that the chloride ions at pH's lower than 1 bring about the recharging of the conventional positively charged colloid to a negative form. This negative colloid can be used as a new cytochemical method at the electron microscopic level, to visualize with relative specificity positively ionized groups such as the basic amino groups of protein side chains in the outer and inner hydrophilic leaflets of the cell surface membrane.