1,721,100 research outputs found
Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotics: Functional hepatic reserve and survival
No full textBackground/Aims: Transarterial chemoembolization is widely used for-palliative treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, but patient's characteristics associated with maximal benefit are still undefined.Methodology: In 81 cirrhotic patients with unresectable hepatocegular carcinoma, who underwent transarterial chemoembolization, variables correlated with survival were studied. In 46/81, the antipyrine metabolism test has been performed before and 72 hours after first transarterial chemoembolization.Results: Mean overall survival of whole population was 22 months. One-, two-, and three-year survival rates were respectively 85%, 38.6%, and 18.1%. Better survival was observed in those patients who received more than one treatment (p=0.016), while no relationship was found with treatment response, drug used, or number of lobes involved. Univariate analysis of the subgroup with antipyrine pharmacokinetic data revealed a significant relation between survival and baseline albumin (p=0.039), total cholesterol. (p=0.036), AST (p=0.017), log of, total bilirubin (p=0.017), and Child-Pugh class (p=0.029), but not with parameters of antipyrine metabolism. Antipyrine metabolism was not significantly modified by transarterial chemoembolization in the, subgroup tested before,and, after the first treatment. Using Cox regression analysis and selecting AST and log of total bilirubin, a prognostic index was defined: prognostic index 0.006 (AST-83.044) + 0.638 [log of total bihrubin-0.1175]. One-, two-, and three-year survival rates were respectively 92%, 59.2%, and 29.6% for the patient group with prognostic index <0, and 7.6%, 14.3%, and 4.8% for the group with prognostic index >0 (p<0.01).Conclusions: Transarterial chemoembolization is a safe procedure and appears beneficial for those patients with a good functional hepatic reserve. The antipyrine metabolism test does not provide any additional prognostic information
Correlation of the transaminases alteration with the clinical severity of patients with COVID-19: A meta-analysis of the first global outbreak
No full textN/
Free light chains: Eclectic multipurpose biomarker
No full texthe production of antibodies is accompanied by a slight excess of synthesis of kappa and lambda, immunoglobulin light chains; small amounts of them are released in the peripheral blood and can also be found in various body fluids, such as synovial fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, urine and saliva. They are rapidly filtered by the glomerulus and > 99% are reabsorbed from the cells of the proximal convoluted tubule, making them present in the urine in only trace amounts. The production of an excess of protein without a reason or a specific function in a biological system is rare. Free light chains, considered for years a waste product of Ig synthesis, are currently known to be very active molecules, able to bind antigens as well as whole immunoglobulin and helping to develop specific antibody affinity. The ability of free light chains to activate mast cells and then become an active part of the pathogenic mechanisms of chronic inflammatory diseases has increased interest in their clinical use, both as an attractive therapeutic target or as a biochemical marker of disease evolution or remission.
This is an overview of relevant scientific interest that immunoglobulin light chains kappa and lambda. have attracted over the years, a report on the progress in knowledge about their structure and function, with a special focus on their biological meaning and potential clinical utility in different diseases
IgG3 subclass: A possible trigger of mixed cryoglobulin cascade in hepatitis C virus chronic infection
No full textHCV is a hepatotropic and lymphotropic virus and is the most frequent cause of "benign" mono-oligoclonal B-lymphocyte proliferation, observed in mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC). The study aims to investigate the presence, prevalence and characteristics of the subclasses of cryoglobulins in HCV-patients to look for a relationship with MC. Fifty HCV-infected patients with cryoglobulins were enrolled. IgG subclasses were characterized in cryoprecipitate, and serum IgG and IgM Rheumatoid Factor (RF) were determined. Patients were stratified into two subgroups according to the presence of IgG3 subclass. Differences were observed in supernatant IgM, IgG3-positive and IgG3-negative patients with a higher IgM concentration in the IgG3-negative cohort (p=0.03). Higher IgM-RF was detected in the IgG3-negative group (p=0.01). IgG3-positive group showed higher IgG-RF compared to the IgG3-negative group (p<0.0001). IgG3-negative/monoclonal-IgM patients had higher cryocrit compared to IgG3-negative/polyclonal-IgM patients (p<0.01). C4 levels were higher in the polyclonal-IgM group compared to monoclonal-IgM group (p<0.01). We speculate that cryoglobulins are part of a progressive clonal selection process in which, B-cells are stimulated to produce oligoclonal IgG3 with RF activity. The persistence of the antigenic stimulus elicits the production of polyclonal IgM-RF and subsequently the formation of oligoclonal IgG/polyclonal IgM containing cryoglobulins. In the last stage, a monoclonal IgM-RF clone is formed which may coexist with a monoclonal IgG3-RF clone
Pilot Study on the Role of Multidisciplinary Approach in Risk Reduction of Risk of Non- alcoholic Fatty Liver in Subjects with Eating Disorders
No full textN/
DNA ploidy pattern in human chronic liver diseases and hepatic nodular lesions. Flow cytometric analysis on echo-guided needle liver biopsy.
No full textBACKGROUND: Significantly elevated fractions of diploid hepatocytes and reduction in the polyploid populations have been reported in human and experimentally induced hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). This study was conducted to determine how these changes are related to conditions that often precede HCC, such as chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and premalignant focal nodules in cirrhotic livers.
METHODS: Ultrasound-guided needle biopsy specimens of the liver were obtained from patients with chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, or ultrasonographically diagnosed nodules within cirrhotic livers; biopsy specimens also were taken from patients without hepatic disease. DNA flow cytometry was performed on isolated nuclei to determine the percentages of diploid, tetraploid, and octaploid hepatocytes; the S-phase fraction for each diploid peak and the diploid/polyploid (tetraploid + octaploid) ratio also were calculated. Part of each specimen was reserved for evaluation of hepatocyte binuclearity.
RESULTS: Chronically hepatitic (18 patients) and cirrhotic (18 patients) livers showed significantly increased diploid/polyploid ratios, with respect to normal livers, that were significantly correlated with decreases in hepatocyte binuclearity. This trend was even more marked in euploid nodules (4 premalignant and 5 malignant), in which the S-phase fractions were significantly higher than those of normal liver; aneuploidy was found in 6 of 11 malignant and 2 of
Comparison of Quantiferon-TB Gold versus tuberculin skin test for tuberculosis screening in inflammatory bowel disease patients
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