Aranzazu Jauregui-Amezaga

KU Leuven | ku leuven · Translational Research Center for Gastrointestinal Disorders (TARGID)

Background and aims Mucosal healing is considered a key therapeutic endpoint in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and comprises endoscopic improvement of inflammation without taking barrier healing into account. Mucins are critical components of the mucosal barrier function that give rise to structurally diverse isoforms. Unraveling disease-associa...

The management of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) aims to control inflammation through the use of immunosuppressive treatments that target various points in the inflammatory cascade. However, the efficacy of these therapies in the long term is limited, and they often are associated with severe side effects. Although the pathophysiolo...

Background: Data regarding the clinical outcome of patients with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-induced colitis are scant. We aimed to describe the 12-month clinical outcome of patients with ICI-induced colitis. Materials and methods: This was a retrospective, European, multicentre study. Endoscopy/histology-proven ICI-induced colitis patients w...

Background Data regarding the clinical outcome of patients with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-induced colitis are scant. We aimed to describe the 12-month clinical outcome of patients with ICI-induced colitis. Materials and methods This was a retrospective, European, multicentre study. Endoscopy/histology-proven ICI-induced colitis patients we...

Background and aims No consensus exists on optimal strategy to prevent postoperative recurrence (POR) after ileocecal resection (ICR) for Crohn’s disease (CD). We compared early medical prophylaxis versus expectant management with treatment driven by findings at elective endoscopy 6-12 months after ICR. Methods A retrospective, multicentric, obser...

Background: Data on ustekinumab and vedolizumab in the elderly inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) population are limited. The aim of the current study was to assess the safety and effectiveness of both in an elderly real-life population. Methods: A multicentric retrospective study was performed on IBD patients who started vedolizumab or ustekinumab b...

Overexpression of the transmembrane mucin MUC13, as seen in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), could potentially impact barrier function. This study aimed to explore how inflammation-induced MUC13 disrupts epithelial barrier integrity by affecting junctional protein expression in IBD, thereby also considering the involvement of MUC1. RNA sequencing...

Introduction: The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in cancer immunotherapy has shown increased overall survival in a wide range of cancer types with the associated risk of developing severe immune-mediated adverse events, commonly involving the gastrointestinal tract. Aim: The aim of this position statement is to provide an updated pra...

Intestinal ultrasound (IUS) has gained popularity as a first line technique for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) due to its many advantages. It is a non-invasive imaging technique with non-ionizing radiation exposure. It can be easily performed not only by radiologists but also by trained gastroenterol...

Background and aims: There is evidence for a disturbed intestinal barrier function in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Because mucins represent the major components of the mucus barrier and disturbed mucin expression is reported in the colon of IBD patients, we studied the association between mucin expre...

The limited efficacy of the currently available medical therapies in a proportion of patients with Crohn’s disease has led to the research and development of molecules that can block new inflammatory pathways. Ustekinumab is a fully human IgG1 monoclonal antibody which targets the common p40 subunit of the cytokines interleukin-12 as well as interl...

Background: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is considered a therapeutic option for patients with severe Crohn's disease (CD) unresponsive to currently available therapies. Methods: Autologous HSCT was considered for CD patients with active disease, unresponsive or intolerant to approved medications and unsuitable for surgery. Afte...

Objectives: The aims of this study were to assess the risk of relapse after discontinuation of anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), to identify the factors associated with relapse, and to evaluate the overcome after retreatment with the same anti-TNF in those who relapsed. Methods: This w...

Background & Aims The original Geboes Score (OGS) is the most commonly used histological score in ulcerative colitis (UC), but rather complicated to use in daily clinical practice. The aim of this study was to develop a Simplified Geboes Score (SGS) and to compare it with the OGS in patients newly diagnosed with UC. Methods All patients diagnosed...

Background: The objective was to assess the long-term effect of biological treatment on transmural lesions of Crohn's disease evaluated with ultrasound, including contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Methods: Fifty-one patients with active Crohn's disease were included in a prospective multicenter longitudinal study. All patients underwent a clinical a...

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic, progressive, and disabling disease that leads in most cases to the development of bowel damage presenting as a fistula, abscess, or stricture. For years, therapy for Crohn’s disease has been based on a “step-up” approach, in which anti-TNF agents are administered after the failure of steroids and immunosuppressant...

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease have an additional risk of developing cancer compared with the general population. This is due to local chronic inflammation that leads to the development of gastrointestinal cancers and the use of thiopurines, associated with a higher risk of lymphoproliferative disorders, skin cancers, or uterine cervical...

Background and aims: Autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is considered a salvage therapy for patients with refractory immune-mediated diseases. Syngeneic HSCT may be an alternative to autologous HSCT, with potential advantages in terms of safety and efficacy. Methods: A patient with severe Crohn's disease refractory to ava...

Introduction: Despite having adopted preventive measures, tuberculosis (TB) in anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) treated inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients may still occur. Data about the causes and characteristics of TB cases in this scenario are lacking. Aims & methods: Our aim is to describe the characteristics of TB in anti-TNF tr...

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and toxicity of autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for the treatment of refractory Crohn's disease (CD). Design: In this prospective study, patients with refractory CD suffering an aggressive disease course despite medical treatment, impaired quality of life and in whom surgery was n...

Microscopic colitis is a common cause of chronic diarrhea. It is characterized by non-bloody watery diarrhea with macroscopically normal colonic mucosa. Its specific histological characteristics confirm the diagnosis. Two distinct histological forms can be identified, namely, collagenous colitis and lymphocytic colitis. In collagenous colitis, a th...

Background and aims: Ex-vivo generated autologous tolerogenic dendritic cells (tolDCs) can restore immune tolerance in experimental colitis. The aim of this study was to determine the safety and tolerability of administration of autologous tolDCs in refratory Crohn's disease (CD) patients. Methods: A phase-I, single-center, sequential-cohorts, d...

Objectives: Measurement of the component of fibrosis in Crohn's disease (CD) may have important therapeutic implications. The aim of this study was to characterize the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) findings that are differentially associated with the presence of fibrosis and those associated with inflammatory activity, using the pathological an...

Objective Severe endoscopic lesions (SEL) in patients with colonic Crohn's disease (CD) have been linked to higher risk of colectomy. The aims of this study were to reassess the predictive value of colonoscopy compared against MRI for requirement of resection surgery in patients with CD and determine the influence of current therapeutic options. De...

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of advanced endoscopy for prediction of relapse in ulcerative colitis, in comparison with serum and fecal biomarkers. Methods: Patients with ulcerative colitis with sustained clinical remission defined as absence of blood in stool for a minimum of 3 months and Mayo endoscopic subsco...

& Aims: We assessed the accuracy of magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) in monitoring response to therapy in patients with CD, using ileocolonoscopy as reference standard. We performed a prospective multi-center study of 48 patients with active CD and ulcers in at least 1 ileocolonic segment. All patients underwent ileocolonoscopy and MRE at base...

The inflammatory response in patients with inflammatory bowel disease is a complex self-amplifying process with multiple cellular and molecular pathways controlling activation and shut-off of the process. Available therapeutic interventions with drugs that have a very selective action, such as anti-tumor necrosis factor antibodies, or broader effec...

Background: In patients treated with TNF-antagonists, incident cases of tuberculosis (TB) after a negative screening have been reported, leading to the suggestion that improved TB testing is necessary. Aim: The aim of the current study is to establish the incidence of TB and its characteristics in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) unde...

The perception that Crohn's disease is a more severe process than ulcerative colitis, led to the initial development of a majority drugs, and testing of treatment strategies, in the former. In the absence of similar studies in ulcerative colitis, information of Crohn's disease studies may help the clinician in decision making in UC. Studies on amin...