Mayo Clinic

Infection enteritis is associated with the development of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia. This study aimed to examine the long-term risk of IBS and functional dyspepsia, and associated health care utilisation following infection enteritis. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using TriNetX U.S. Network. Adults with infection enteritis were identified and matched to controls, balancing demographics and comorbidities. Primary outcomes were the risk of incident IBS and functional dyspepsia diagnoses at 1, 5, and 10 years. Secondary outcomes were rates of IBS- and functional dyspepsia-related medications, endoscopy, abdominal imaging, and hospitalizations. Pathogen-specific and multivariate analyses were performed to assess variations in IBS risk. After matching, 202,244 patients were identified in each study cohort. At 1year of follow-up, the infection enteritis cohort had higher rates of IBS (RR = 2.35; 95% CI: 2.14-2.59), functional dyspepsia (RR = 2.02; 95% CI: 1.84-2.22), use of IBS-related medications (RR = 1.29; 95% CI: 1.26-1.31), functional dyspepsia-related medications (RR = 1.56; 95% CI: 1.55-1.59), abdominal imaging (RR = 2.42; 95% CI: 2.29-2.54), and Oesophagogastroduodenoscopy/colonoscopy (RR = 1.57; 95% CI: 1.50-1.65). These risks remained significantly higher in the IE cohort at 5 and 10 years. Salmonella/Shigella (RR = 6.48), and Giardia lamblia (RR = 5.05) had the highest risk of developing incident IBS. Infection enteritis was associated with increased risk of IBS and functional dyspepsia, rates of related medication use, and greater healthcare utilisation.

In cartilage tissue engineering, there is a growing interest in dynamic hydrogels that promote spheroid fusion and cartilaginous matrix deposition, while maintaining sufficient stability for long-term construct maturation. In this study, Diels-Alder click chemistry is employed as a dynamic-covalent crosslinking method to create hydrogels composed of hyaluronic acid, gelatin, and PEG. By adjusting the pH during crosslinking, the tuneability of hydrogel stiffness and stability at pH values around the physiological pH of native cartilage is demonstrated. This pH modulation does not compromise hydrogel functionality, as encapsulated equine articular cartilage progenitor cell spheroids remain viable and functional for a culture period of 28 days. The hydrogel environment supports the deposition of cartilaginous extracellular matrix components, including collagens and sulphated glycosaminoglycans. Enhanced chondrogenesis and deposition of collagen type II are observed at higher spheroid concentrations, corresponding to inter-spheroid distances of 100-150µm following hydrogel swelling, compared to lower concentrations at a distance of >500µm. To further improve construct robustness, the hydrogel constructs can be reinforced on day 1 with a melt electrowritten scaffold, increasing the compressive modulus 100-fold by day 28 compared to non-reinforced constructs, highlighting the potential of this system for engineering cartilage implants.