This month in Gastroenterology Eugene B. Chang  Gastroenterology  Volume 127, Issue 3, Pages 697-699 (September 2004) DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2004.07.054 Copyright © 2004 American Gastroenterological Association Terms and Conditions

Figure 1 (A) Distal end of confocal microscope. (B) Adenoma with high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia. Videoendoscopy shows a large polyp (left panel). Confocal laser endomicroscopy shows tubular-shaped crypts with reduced amount of goblet cells and loss of cellular junctions (middle panel). (Right panel) Corresponding histology: (1) Branched crypt structure in the area of intraepithelial neoplasia; (2) Loss amount of goblet cells; (3) Loss of cellular junction; (4) Normal shaped crypts. Gastroenterology 2004 127, 697-699DOI: (10.1053/j.gastro.2004.07.054) Copyright © 2004 American Gastroenterological Association Terms and Conditions

Figure 2 (A) Cumulative clinical relapse rates according to treatment at 24 months. Log rank test: χ2 (1 df) 1.34; P value 0.2. (B) Clinical relapse-free survival. Likelihood of avoiding clinical relapse following ileocolonic resection with primary anastomosis (“baseline”) in Crohn’s disease patients randomized to 6-MP, mesalamine, or placebo. 6-MP vs. placebo: hazard ratio = 0.52, P = 0.045. Mesalamine vs. placebo: hazard ratio = 0.62, P = 0.123. Gastroenterology 2004 127, 697-699DOI: (10.1053/j.gastro.2004.07.054) Copyright © 2004 American Gastroenterological Association Terms and Conditions

Figure 3 (A) Analysis of 40-kilodalton ligand in coded sera. Samples from colorectal cancer patients (n = 9), patients with adenomatous polyps (n = 10), hyperplastic polyps (n = 10), or inflammatory bowel disease (n = 10), and from healthy normal controls (n = 10). (B) Expression of haptoglobin in colorectal tissues detected with monoclonal anti-haptoglobin of normal rectal mucosa, adenomatous polyp, colon cancer, and HM7 colon cancer cells. Gastroenterology 2004 127, 697-699DOI: (10.1053/j.gastro.2004.07.054) Copyright © 2004 American Gastroenterological Association Terms and Conditions

Figure 4 H&E-stained slides colonic tissue from non DSS-challenged mice (A and D); mice fed the CLA (B and E) or control (C and F) diets and challenged with 2.5% DSS for 7 days. At 40×, a thickening of the colonic mucosa was observed in (C) the group fed the control diet, when compared with (B) the CLA-fed group or (A) the nonchallenged group. At a magnification of 400×, the group fed the control diet (F) showed inflammatory cell infiltration, flattening of epithelial cells, and epithelial erosion. The group fed the CLA diet (E) showed a moderate thickening of the colonic mucosa without erosion or infiltration. The epithelial cells maintained their normal columnar shape (D and E). Mucus-producing cells were more abundant in colons of CLA-fed mice challenged with DSS or non-DSS challenged mice. Gastroenterology 2004 127, 697-699DOI: (10.1053/j.gastro.2004.07.054) Copyright © 2004 American Gastroenterological Association Terms and Conditions