1,721,008 research outputs found
Impact of menopause on the clinical management of chronic hepatitis c in women
No full textThe liver, although not a classical target for estrogens, is sensitive to their effects, particularly in cases of deprivation. Menopause is a key event in the life of a woman: apart from the hormonal changes, it determines a shift from a low-inflammatory to a proinflammatory state. This has a series of well-known consequences on many different organs and tissues, including bone, heart, brain, adipose tissue, and, among others, liver. The consequences are extremely evident in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive women: in these, HCV infection and menopause cooperate to induce higher necroinflammatory activity, increased hepatic steatosis, and eventually faster progression of fibrosis. Furthermore, menopause is the strongest negative factor for sustained viral response (SVR) in HCV-positive females, especially HCV genotype 1 patients (in whom this is the only independent factor for failure of antiviral therapy). This suggests that HCV-positive women should be treated early during fertile age to obtain maximal response to antiviral therapy. © 2010 FBCommunication s.r.l. a socio unico
Gender differences in chronic alcoholic and viral liver diseases
No full textChronic liver disease progresses in men and women at different rates, regardless of the etiology of the disease itself. In general, the natural history of chronic liver disease is more favorable in women than in men. The biological basis of these marked differences, in an organ that is not considered a classical hormone-dependent organ, is the presence in the liver of receptors both for estrogens and for androgens, which make the liver susceptible to changes in hormone levels during the various stages of reproductive life. In the literature, there are several studies that demon-strate, both in experimental animal models and in humans, that the presence of estrogens, at levels similar to those of the fertile period, is in principle protective against the develop-ment of a more severe disease, while on the contrary the effect of androgenic modulation has negative effects. Estrogen protection disappears when a woman goes into menopause. As estrogen levels decrease, the tendency to develop a more pronounced fibrosis increases. Most impor-tantly, there is a marked propensity to develop primary liver cancer, which in women over 65 has a similar incidence to that of men
Peptic ulcer and Helicobacter pylori.
No full textAs evidence about the relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and peptic ulcers accumulates, accurate testing and treatment are becoming increasingly important. However, big questions remain about the best strategies for detecting and managing this infection. In this article, the authors discuss the association between H pylori and peptic ulcer disease, the available tests for detecting the infection, and the latest treatment strategies for effective eradication
Helicobacter pylori infection: anything new should we know?
No full textOver the past year, 2003-4, there have been a number of studies consolidating previous work in relation to pathogenesis of disease, diagnosis and management of Helicobacter pylori. Studies into the pathogenesis of disease have identified the main adhesin of H. pylori as an important virulence marker and as a potential target for therapy. Molecular investigations of both the strain and host variations have identified the action of several of the virulence factors, e.g. cagA, vacA, on disrupting host cell signalling and the consequences in respect of the release of chemokines from the damaged gastric epithelium and the effect on apoptosis. Over the past year, there have been further diagnostic kits developed based on modifications of current technology. Two promising areas of research for diagnosis are the use of host/strain genome polymorphisms as a means of identifying high-risk patients who may develop severe disease and the use of proteomics to identify potential antigens of diagnostic (or therapeutic) use. The three main antibiotics that are used in first-line eradication regimens are clarithromycin, metronidazole and amoxycillin. Of these, metronidazole has the highest prevalence of resistance, followed by clarithromycin; amoxycillin resistance is only rarely reported. The decreasing success of current first-line therapy is the driving force for the development of new antibiotic combinations and a search for novel sources for chemotherapeutic agents and novel therapeutic targets
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Non-invasive analyses for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection. A critical review of the literature
No full textHelicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection may be diagnosed by means of invasive techniques requiring endoscopy and biopsy (histological examination, rapid urease test, culture, polymerase chain reaction) and by non-invasive techniques (urea breath test, detection of specific antibodies in the serum or urine, detection of the H. pylori antigen in a stool specimen). Some non-invasive tests detect active infection e.g. the urea breath test and the stool antigen test and are called active tests. Other non-invasive tests are markers of exposure to H. pylori (e.g. serology or urine) but do not indicate whether active infection is ongoing and are called passive tests. Non-invasive tests and treatment strategies are widely recommended in primary care settings and the choice of the appropriate test depends on the pre-test probability of infection, the characteristics of the test being used and its cost-effectiveness. The available non-invasive tests are reviewed in this article. © 2005 CEPI Srl
Diagnostic accuracy of a new rapid urease test (Pronto Dry), before and after treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection
No full textA rapid Immunochromatographic assay for Helicobacter pylori in stool before and after treatment
No full textDiagnostic accuracy of a new rapid urease test (Pronto Dry) before and after treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection
No full textAim. The diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection can be made easily by the rapid urease test during endoscopy. The mainly commercial rapid urease test available in routine practice, is in liquid phase, need to be stored at 4°C and generally they are not ready to use. Recently a new rapid urease test, the Pronto Dry, has been reported to be faster in the final reading, ready to use, and it can be stored at room temperature. Aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and the reaction time of Pronto Dry vs liquid phase-rapid urease test, before and after treatment of Helicobacter pylori infections. Methods. A total of 315 untreated dyspeptic patients and 323 post-treatment patients, were enrolled in this study. At endoscopy, 5 biopsy samples were obtained from the antrum and from the corpus for histology; culture and rapid urease tests (liquid phase and Dry test). Helicobacter pylori status was defined according to European guidelines. Sensitivity and specificity of both rapid urease test were assessed at 5, 15, 30 minutes, and 3 and 24 hours after the endoscopy. Results. One hundred and eleven out of 315 untreated dyspeptic patients were found to be positive for Helicobacter pylori infection, and 56/323 patients were found still positive after treatment. Sensitivity at 5,15, 30 minutes, and 3 and 24 hours in untreated patients were 45%, 71.2%, 81.1%, 90.1% and 91.9% respectively for the Pronto Dry vs 6.3%, 31.5%, 51.3%, 78.4% and 90.1% for liquid phase rapid urease test. Sensitivity at the same times in not eradicated patients were 33.9%, 66.1%, 85.7%, 92.8 and 92.8% respectively for the Pronto Dry vs 3.6%, 37.5%, 55.3%, 73.2%, 92.8% for liquid phase rapid urease test. Conclusion. Pronto Dry showed to have higher sensitivity in pre and post treatment setting compared to liquid phase-rapid urease test within 3 hours of incubation time
- …
