Department of Gastroenterology

DEPARTMENT OF GASTROENTEROLOGY

Head of the department – assoc. prof. dr. Juozas Kupcinskas

Phone: (+370 37) 326898

E-mail: juozas.kupcinskas@lsmuni.lt

Department of Gastroenterology is the largest digestive diseases clinic in Baltic States, where the care for all liver and digestive system diseases is provided for Lithuanian and foreign citizens, including liver pre-transplant and post-transplant care, rare GI diseases, GI oncology, etc. Department is equipped with modern endoscopic, ultrasound and functional diagnostic equipment that is needed for management of all gastrointestinal disorders according to the up to date international standards. Over the last years a wide range of modern diagnostic and treatment modalities have been introduced into clinical practise including capsule endoscopy, microbiota transplantation, enteroscopy, confocal laser endomicroscopy, cholangioscopy, endoscopic stenting of esophagus, endoscopic mucosectomy for early gastric and colonic cancer, transjugular liver biopsy, measurement of hepatic venous pressure gradient, TIPS placement, etc.

Department of Gastroenterology includes two units - Gastroenterology Unit (head - assoc. prof. dr. V. Petrenkiene) and Endoscopy unit (head - prof. dr. K. Adamonis).

FOCUS OF CLINICAL ACTIVITIES: Liver transplant program; advanced diagnostic and interventional endoscopic techniques; endoscopic ultrasound; contrast enhanced ultrasound; capsule endoscopy; fecal microbiome transplantation; inflammatory bowel diseases; rare liver diseases; rare esophageal diseases.

RESEARCH FOCUS:

• Inflammatory bowel diseases: ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease (epidemiology, genetics, microbiota, animal models, clinical trials).
• Diseases associated with H.pylori – atrophic gastritis, gastric cancer (epidemiology, cell-lines, genetics, clinical trials, microbiome).
• Rare gastrointestinal and liver diseases (Wilson's disease, hemochromatosis, Budd-Chiari syndrome, rare GI tumors, autoimmune liver diseases and other rare GI conditions).
• Molecular biomarkers of premalignant and malignant gastrointestinal diseases (microRNAs, ln-RNA, cfDNA, microbiome, etc.).

CENTER OF RARE GASTROINTESTINAL AND LIVER DISEASE

Head of the Center – assoc. prof. dr. Vitalija Petrenkiene

E-mail: vitalija.petrenkiene@kaunoklinikos.lt

Phone: (+370 37) 326188

The consultant of the Center – prof. habil. dr. Limas Kupcinskas

E-mail: limas.kupcinskas@lsmuni.lt

This center was established in 2013. The center provided care for patients with Wilsons’s disease, hemochromatosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, primary biliary cholangitis, Budd-Chiari syndrome, rare liver diseases of oregnancy, autoimmune hepatitis, collagenous and lymphocytic colitis, microscopic colitis etc. Genetic testing is available for inherited metabolic diseases of the liver. On the 8th of June 2017, the Center of Rare Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases has been endorsed by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Lithuania as the national reference centre for the participation in the activities of the European Reference Networks. The center is working with close collaboration with the Institute for Digestive Research and Laboratory of clinical genetics.

NATIONAL PROJECTS:

• "Micro-RNA as biomarkers for early diagnosis of premalignant and malignant diseases of gastrointestinal tract" (VP1–3.1- ŠMM-07-K-01–156, 2011-2014).
• "Functional role of miR20b, miR451, miR29c, miR125b in pathogenesis of gastric and colorectal cancer" (Nr. MIP-007/2014, 2014-2016).
• "MicroRNA profiling and functional analysis in gastrointestinal stromal tumors" (Nr. MIP-006/2014, 2014-2016).
• "The aging gut: genetic and enteric nervous system alterations in intestinal diverticulosis" (SEN-06/2015/PRM15-135, 2015-2018).
• "Gastric microbiome: a twin study" (APP-2/2016, 2016-2019).
• "Role of IsomiR in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer: from miRNome-wide bioinformatic analysis to their functional validation" (S-MIP-17-22, 2017-2020).
• "Multi-layer omics approach to gastric cancer: circulating biomarker profiling in the blood on genetic, epigenetic and microbiome levels" (MULTIOMICS, Nr. 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-01-0130, 2018-2021).
• "Development of novel methods for gut mircobiome modification"(CPVA-K-703-02-0013/PRM18-87, 2018-2021).

INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS:

• "Comparison of Bacterial Metagenomes between Countries with Low and High Incidence of Inflammatory Bowel Disease", 2006-2008.
• "International IBD Genetics Project", 2011-2013.
•  "European ECCO-EpiCom epidemiology East-West IBD gradient project", 2010-2015.
• "The PANcreatic disease ReseArch (PANDoRA) consortium: An update", 2013.
•  "Development and validation of gastric cancer associated autoantibody test for early gastric cancer detection" (TAP LLT 04/2014, 2014-2016).
• "Volatile biomarkers for early detection and characterization of gastric and colorectal neoplasms" (EURONANOMED 2 - 01/2014, 2014-2017).
• "Improvement of quality of the National Cancer Screening Programmes implementation", 2015.
• "MicroRNA Profiling in Tissues and Primary Intestinal Epithelial Cells of Patients with Active and Inactive Ulcerative Colitis" (PRM15-193, 2016).
• "Gastric microbiome: a twin study" (APP-2/2016, 2016-2019).

ACHIEVEMENTS:

• 2018 – The honorary name "Honored medical doctor of Lithuania", prof. dr. K. Adamonis
• 2016 – "The Most Promising Doctor of Kaunas", Award, assoc. prof. J. Kupcinskas
• 2015 – "The Most Sincere Doctor of Kaunas",  Award, prof. dr. K. Adamonis
• 2016 – Kaunas City Science Awards, The best Kaunas Scientist, prof. dr. L. Kupcinskas
• 2012 – "Veidas" journal, "Mini Nobel 2012", Award, prof. dr. L. Kupcinskas
• 2010 – National Premium of Science of Lithuania, prof. dr. L. Kupcinskas
• 2011 – Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Knight Cross, prof. dr. L. Kupcinskas
• 2009 – The honorary name "Honored medical doctor of Lithuania", prof. dr. L. Kupcinskas
• 2008 – "Tree of life" Award for Scientific Activity in Medicine, prof. dr. L. Kupcinskas

CONTACT:

LSMU Department of Gastroenterology
Address: Eivenių g. 2, LT-50009 Kaunas, Phone: (+370 37) 326898, E-mail: gastroenterologijos.klinika@kaunoklinikos.lt