Evaluation of Serum Cystatin C as a Marker of Early Renal Impairment in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis.

Background. Serum cystatin C (CysC) was proposed as an effective reflection of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). However, its role in patients with liver cirrhosis has not been extensively verified especially in the detection of early RI. Patients and Methods. Seventy consecutive potential candidates for living donor liver transplantation with serum creatinine (Cr) <1.5 mg/dL were included. CysC, Cr, and estimated GFR [creatinine clearance (CCr), Cockcroft-Gault formula (C-G), MDRD equations with 4 and 6 variables, CKD-EPI-Cr, CKD-EPI-CysC, and CKD-EPI-Cr-CysC] were all correlated to isotopic GFR. Early RI was defined as GFR of 60-89 mL/min/1.73 m(2). Results. Patients were 25.7% and 74.3% Child-Pugh classes B and C, respectively. GFR was ≥90, 60-89, and 30-59 mL/min/1.73 m(2) in 31.4%, 64.3%, and 4.3% of the patients, respectively. All markers and equations, except C-G, were significantly correlated to GFR with CKD-EPI-Cr-CysC formula having the highest correlation (r = 0.474) and the largest area under the ROC curve (0.808) for discriminating early RI. At a cutoff value of 1.2 mg/L, CysC was 89.6% sensitive and 63.6% specific in detecting early RI. Conclusion. In patients with liver cirrhosis, CysC and CysC-based equations showed the highest significant correlation to GFR and were measures that best discriminated early RI.

Antibody isotypes in urethral swabs of symptomatic and asymptomatic men infected with Trichomonas vaginalis.

Trichomoniasis may be asymptomatic or symptomatic in both sexes. The outcome of infection depends on the virulence factors of T. vaginalis, but these factors remain unclear. Genetic variability of the isolates and the host's immune response are likely to be key factors in that respect. Symptomatic and asymptomatic males infected with T. vaginalis were compared regarding the differences in antibody subclasses response in the urethral samples. In symptomatic cases there was a significant elevation in IgM, IgG1 & IgG2b levels in urethral samples, and a little, non-significant rise in IgG2a levels. However, there were no statistically significant differences between levels of IgA, IgG3 & IgG4. The results showed that specific IgG1 & IgM and to a lesser extent IgG2 may be involved in established symptomatic trichomoniasis in men, compared to asymptomatic ones.