Angiogenesis plays a crucial role in neoplastic and non-neoplastic chronic inflammatory disorders, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Several reports have shown that blockade of angiogenesis in preclinical models of IBD is a promising new therapeutic approach. Visualize angiogenesis in vivo may represent the first step for such a therapeutic approach. Narrow-band imaging (NBI) is a new endoscopic technology that highlights mucosal surface structures and microcapillaries.
Performing the conventional and NBI colonoscopy in 14 patients with colonic inflammation (8 ulcerative colitis and 6 Crohn’s disease), a research team from Italy analyzed the use of NBI for the in vivo detection of angiogenesis in IBD patients. Their study will be published on May 21, 2010 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.
They found that NBI could be used to visualize areas of abnormal microvascular changes, not observed with white light colonoscopy. Blockade of angiogenesis could be beneficial in patients with chronic inflammation and some drugs that have demonstrated efficacy for the treatment of IBD, such tumor necrosis factor-? inhibitors, have potent antiangiogenic activity. The findings suggest that NBI could be a novel tool for the in vivo assessment of mucosal angiogenesis. However, larger studies are needed to define the exact role of NBI in IBD patient follow-up.
Reference: Danese S, Fiorino G, Angelucci E, Vetrano S, Pagano N, Rando G, Spinelli A, Malesci A, Repici A. Narrow-band imaging endoscopy to assess mucosal angiogenesis in inflammatory bowel disease: A pilot study. World J Gastroenterol 2010; 16(19): 2396-2400
http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/full/v16/i19/2396.htm
Correspondence to: Silvio Danese, MD, PhD, Division of Gastroenterology, IRCCS Istituto Clinico Humanitas, Viale Manzoni, Rozzano, Milan 20089, Italy. [email protected]
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About World Journal of Gastroenterology
World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H. pylori infection and provides a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2008 IF: 2.081. WJG is a weekly journal published by WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of every month. WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the name of China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.