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BACKGROUND & AIM: Human beta-defensin-1 (hBD-1) is a natural antimicrobial peptide expressed in the epithelia of multiple tissues including the digestive tract. In the current study, hBD-1 levels were determined in different subsets of patients with decompensated cirrhosis including acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). In addition, the association with mortality of hBD-1, C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) was assessed. METHODS: A total of 125 patients were divided into three groups: 39 with ACLF (derivation cohort), 46 with acute decompensation without ACLF (AD) and 40 with decompensated cirrhosis without an acute event (DC). The data from 24 different ACLF patients were used for validation and 15 healthy individuals as control group. RESULTS: Serum hBD-1, CRP and PCT levels were higher in ACLF compared to both AD and DC groups (P < 0.001). Healthy controls demonstrated similar hBD-1 and PCT values compared to DC group. In ROC curve, the performance of hBD-1 to predict 60-day mortality in ACLF group was similar in derivation and validation cohorts (c-statistic 0.834 and 0.879, respectively). CRP was a poor predictor of mortality. In ACLF group, patients with high hBD-1 (>36.625 ng/mL) had a poor prognosis at 60 days compared to those with lower values (log-rank P = 0.001). In Cox multivariate regression analysis, only hBD-1 (HR 1.020, 95%CI 1.006-1.035, P = 0.006) emerged as an independent predictor of death in ACLF group. In AD group, neither hBD-1 nor PCT or CRP variables were associated with mortality. CONCLUSIONS: High hBD-1 was detected at presentation in patients with ACLF who died during follow-up period. hBD-1 is an accurate predictor of short-term mortality in patients with ACLF.
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Insuficiência Hepática Crônica Agudizada/sangue , Cirrose Hepática/sangue , beta-Defensinas/sangue , Insuficiência Hepática Crônica Agudizada/etiologia , Insuficiência Hepática Crônica Agudizada/mortalidade , Idoso , Biomarcadores/sangue , Proteína C-Reativa/análise , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Feminino , Humanos , Cirrose Hepática/complicações , Cirrose Hepática/mortalidade , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Análise Multivariada , Escores de Disfunção Orgânica , Pró-Calcitonina/sangue , Prognóstico , Estudos Prospectivos , Curva ROC , Análise de Sobrevida , Centros de Atenção Terciária , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: In cystic fibrosis (CF), liver disease (LD) is the third leading cause of mortality. As liver biopsy was considered inconsistent in CFLD diagnosis, a combination of modalities were utilized in the conventional Debray criteria (DC). More recently, noninvasive liver fibrosis biomarkers were applied by Koh et al (New criteria-NC). In the current study, we aimed to evaluate noninvasive biomarkers for the CFLD diagnosis. METHODS: Longitudinal data were collected from a cohort of genetically confirmed CF patients. CFLD was diagnosed by both DC and NC. Apart from transient elastography (TE) > 6.8 kPa, biomarkers incorporated in the NC included AST/ALT-ratio (AAR) ≥ 1, FIB-4 index ≥3.25 and APRI >0.50. RESULTS: 62 patients with CF, [56.5% male, age at enrollment 25 (22-31) years], were prospectively followed-up for 33 (28-36) months. Sixteen (25.8%) and 27 (43.5%) patients met DC and NC, respectively. Twenty-four fulfilling NC had at least one positive biomarker (6 TE, 7 AAR, 6 both TE and AAR, 2 both APRI and AAR and 3 both APRI and TE). Thirteen (48.1%) had diffuse LD/cirrhosis by the NC and all had at least one additional parameter classifying them as CFLD. From the 14 (51.8%) with no-diffuse-LD, 64.3%, 14.3% and 21.4% had 2, 3 and 4 of the necessary modalities incorporated in NC, respectively, confirming their classification as CFLD. TE was 100% specific to rule in CFLD but had a moderate sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: NC were able to identify 17.7% more CFLD patients compared to DC. The multiple biomarkers incorporated in NC may enhance the ability to detect CFLD.
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Biomarcadores/sangue , Fibrose Cística/complicações , Técnicas de Imagem por Elasticidade , Cirrose Hepática/sangue , Cirrose Hepática/diagnóstico , Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Testes de Função Hepática , Masculino , Contagem de Plaquetas , Estudos Prospectivos , Índice de Gravidade de Doença , Adulto JovemRESUMO
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Lipopolysaccharide-binding-protein (LBP) is an acute-phase-protein produced by hepatocytes. Changes in LBP are associated with the dynamics of bacterial translocation and intestinal permeability in decompensated cirrhosis (DC). We assessed serum and ascitic-fluid (AF) LBP and examined their association with mortality in patients with DC. METHODS: Eighty-eight consecutive patients (73.9% males) underwent thorough diagnostic investigations for infection. LBP (ng/mL) was assessed in serum (N=88) and AF (n=49) by enzyme-linked-immunosorbent-assay and expressed in natural logarithm (ln). RESULTS: Serum lnLBP was higher in 18 patients with overt infection compared to those without (P<.001). Serum and AF lnLBP 13.49 and 12.11 displayed a very good-negative-predictive value of 90% and 95.1% to rule out infection and spontaneous-bacterial-peritonitis (SBP), respectively. LBP was higher in serum than in AF (P<.001). Serum and AF LBP levels showed a positive correlation with surrogate markers of inflammation. Patients without overt infection were prospectively followed up. The 90-day-mortality rate was 48% and 24.4% in patients with high (≥13.49) and low (<13.49) lnLBP, respectively, (log rank P=0.045). In univariate Cox regression analysis, neutrophils, LBP, MELD score and CRP were predictive of mortality. However, only high LBP (HR 8.1 95%CI 2.0-31.5, P=0.003) and MELD (HR 1.1 95%CI 1.0-1.2, P=0.002) were predictive of mortality in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Serum and AF LBP concentrations showed a high negative-predictive-value to exclude infection and SBP, respectively. High serum LBP was detected in patients without infection at presentation who died during the 90-day-follow-up period. Elevated serum LBP is a marker of short-term mortality in patients without overt bacterial infection.
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Infecções Bacterianas/sangue , Proteínas de Transporte/sangue , Cirrose Hepática/complicações , Cirrose Hepática/mortalidade , Glicoproteínas de Membrana/sangue , Peritonite/sangue , Proteínas de Fase Aguda , Idoso , Líquido Ascítico/química , Translocação Bacteriana , Biomarcadores , Feminino , Grécia , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Análise Multivariada , Peritonite/microbiologia , Valor Preditivo dos Testes , Estudos Prospectivos , Curva ROC , Índice de Gravidade de Doença , Análise de SobrevidaRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Acute decompensation (AD) of cirrhosis is characterized by high mortality. We aimed to validate the performance in predicting mortality of both the chronic-liver-failure-consortium (CLIF-C) acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) and CLIF-C AD scores in a cohort of patients admitted for AD. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, patients were followed-up during their hospital stay and for 365 days thereafter. RESULTS: About 182 patients with AD were enrolled including 78 (42.8%) who met the criteria for ACLF (ACLF-group) while the remaining had AD without ACLF (AD-group). 56.4% and 56.7% of the ACLF- and AD-groups, respectively, had alcoholic cirrhosis and 85.9% of the ACLF-group hepatic encephalopathy. Only few patients were hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) or transplanted. The probabilities of death estimated for both scores were similar to the overall mortality rates observed at all time points. The model had a good fit in the AD-group at 90 days (p = .974) but a worse, yet adequate, in the ACLF-group at 28 days (p = .08). The CLIF-C ACLF or AD scores had an adequate, predictive discrimination ability for mortality at all time points, with Harrel's concordance index-C ranging between 0.64 and 0.65 or 0.64 and 0.68, respectively. Both scores showed a similar predictive accuracy for mortality compared to those of MELD, MELD-Na and Child-Pugh. CONCLUSIONS: In this population without access to appropriate ICU treatment, the CLIF-C ACLF and AD performed worse than in studies with patients having ICU access. In addition, the CLIF scores were not superior to classical ones in this setting.
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Insuficiência Hepática Crônica Agudizada/diagnóstico , Insuficiência Hepática Crônica Agudizada/mortalidade , Hospitalização/estatística & dados numéricos , Cirrose Hepática/mortalidade , Escores de Disfunção Orgânica , Idoso , Feminino , Grécia/epidemiologia , Humanos , Cirrose Hepática/complicações , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Valor Preditivo dos Testes , Prognóstico , Estudos Prospectivos , Centros de Atenção Terciária , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
AIM: Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is defined as an acute deterioration of liver disease with high mortality in patients with cirrhosis. The early mortality in ACLF is associated with organ failure and high leukocyte count. The time needed to reverse this condition and the factors affecting mortality after the early 30-day-period were evaluated. METHODS: One hundred and ninety-seven consecutive patients with cirrhosis were included. Patients were prospectively followed up for 180 days. RESULTS: ACLF was diagnosed in 54.8% of the patients. Infection was the most common precipitating event in patients with ACLF. On multivariate analysis, only the neutrophil/leukocyte ratio and Chronic Liver Failure Consortium Organ Failure (CLIF-C OF) score were associated with mortality. Hazard ratios for mortality of patients with ACLF compared with those without at different time end-points post-enrollment revealed that the relative risk of death in the ACLF group was 8.54 during the first 30-day period and declined to 1.94 during the second period of observation. The time varying effect of neutrophil/leukocyte ratio and CLIF-C score was negative (1% and 18% decline in the hazard ratio per month) while that of Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) was positive (3% increase in the hazard ratio per month). CONCLUSION: The condition of ACLF was reversible in patients who survived. During the 30-180-day period following the acute event, the probability of death in ACLF became gradually similar to the non-ACLF group. The impact of inflammatory response and organ failure on survival is powerful during the first 30-day period and weakens thereafter while that of MELD increases.
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BACKGROUND: The incidence and severity of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) in chronic drinkers has been found to correlate with some environmental factors and especially with the dose of alcohol consumption, but it is obvious that other parameters clearly contribute to individual alcohol susceptibility. Chronic ethanol exposure leads to continuous endotoxin-mediated Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) and CD14 activation and subsequent cytokine release resulting in chronic inflammation with continued hepatocellular damage. Therefore, genetic studies of polymorphism in TLR-4 and CD14 genes seem to be appropriate in determining genetic susceptibility to ALD. Our aim is to evaluate in a series of Greek drinkers, the possible association of polymorphisms in the TLR-4 and CD14 genes with ALD. METHODS: In 96 patients with ALD polymorphism of TLR-4 and CD14 genes were studied compared with 104 patients with cirrhosis of other etiology, 100 healthy subjects, and 50 patients with a history of alcohol abuse but without liver disease. RESULTS: No association between ALD and the presence of the Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile polymorphisms in the TLR-4 gene could be documented in our patients. Regarding the CD14 -159 (C/T) genotypes, TT genotype and T allele were found to be overrepresented in alcoholic patients compared with patients with nonalcohol-induced liver disease and healthy controls. On the other side, when compared patients with ALD and patients with alcohol abuse and no liver disease, TT genotype was found to be significantly less frequent. There is no statistically significant association with the presence of the T allele and the severity of ALD, suggesting that CD14 polymorphism does not influence disease severity in advanced stages of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: In our series in Greek patients with alcohol abuse and alcoholic cirrhosis, a significant negative association with the CD14 endotoxin receptor gene polymorphism (TT genotype) but not with the TLR-4 gene polymorphism was documented.
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Predisposição Genética para Doença/genética , Receptores de Lipopolissacarídeos/genética , Hepatopatias Alcoólicas/genética , Polimorfismo de Nucleotídeo Único/genética , Receptor 4 Toll-Like/genética , Alcoolismo/genética , Alelos , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Feminino , Estudos de Associação Genética , Genótipo , Grécia , Humanos , Cirrose Hepática Alcoólica/genética , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-IdadeRESUMO
The 'alarm clock' for human beings in the era of climate medicine has rung. Original diseases have appeared, that could not be explained and attributed to common causes, which are suggested to be linked to global warming and environmental factors. Such an indolent disease is the chronic kidney disease of unknown cause (CKDu), introduced also as Mesoamerican or Uddanam nephropathy. Scientists equate the climate impact on kidneys with the canary in the coal mine; coal miners used to carry caged canaries with them, so that if poisonous gases, such as methane or carbon monoxide leaked into the mine-shaft, the gases would kill the canary before killing the miners; similarly, kidneys are injured before devastating and lethal complications occur in humans. In some regions of Central America, the deaths due to chronic kidney disease increased by 177% with a death toll being as high as over 20,000. It was first documented in animals that periodic heat and dehydration have a major role in causing chronic kidney disease. Based on that observation, it is advocated that young male agricultural workers in Central America and South Asia, develop renal disease by getting exposed to extreme heat repeatedly. The clinico-pathological characteristics of this type of kidney injury, do not belong to an existing classification, even though a form of tubulo-interstitial renal disease has been proposed. In this review, we will discuss about CKDu, its epidemiology and pathophysiological mechanisms, clinical presentation and diagnostic biomarkers and examine potential therapeutic options.
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Insuficiência Renal Crônica , Animais , Humanos , Masculino , América Central/epidemiologia , Fazendeiros , Rim , Insuficiência Renal Crônica/epidemiologia , Mudança Climática , Temperatura AltaRESUMO
BACKGROUND/AIMS: The investigation of post embolization syndrome (PES) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after treatment with doxorubicin loaded DC Bead (DEB-DOX). METHODOLOGY: The study included 237 patients treated with sequential DEB-TACE performed at set time intervals every two months until 3 sessions/6 month f-u. Patients were ECOG 0-1, Child-Stage-A (n=116, 48.9%) and B (n=121, 51%). Embolizations were as selective as possible with DC Bead of 100-300µm in diameter followed by 300-500µm loaded with doxorubicin at 37.5mg/mL of hydrated bead (max:150mg). RESULTS: PES regardless of severity was observed in up to 86.5%. However grade 2 PES ranged between 25% and 42.19% across treatments. Temperatures above 38°C were seen in 22.7% to 38.3% across treatments. No statistically significant increase of PES was seen in beads of 100-300µm in diameter; incidence of fever and pain presented correlation with the extent of embolization (p=0.0001-0.006 across treatments). Baseline tumor diameter was associated with incidence of fever (p=0.0001-0.001). Duration of fever correlated with the extent of embolization (p=0.008). PES was not associated with elevation of liver enzymes and was correlated with degree of necrosis (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: PES after DEB-DOX represents tumor response to treatment and does not represent collateral healthy liver damage.
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Antibióticos Antineoplásicos/efeitos adversos , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/tratamento farmacológico , Quimioembolização Terapêutica/efeitos adversos , Doxorrubicina/efeitos adversos , Neoplasias Hepáticas/tratamento farmacológico , Dor Abdominal/etiologia , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Antibióticos Antineoplásicos/administração & dosagem , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/irrigação sanguínea , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/diagnóstico , Meios de Contraste , Doxorrubicina/administração & dosagem , Portadores de Fármacos , Fadiga/etiologia , Feminino , Febre/etiologia , Grécia , Humanos , Neoplasias Hepáticas/irrigação sanguínea , Neoplasias Hepáticas/diagnóstico , Imageamento por Ressonância Magnética , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Náusea/etiologia , Tamanho da Partícula , Estudos Prospectivos , Síndrome , Tomografia Computadorizada por Raios X , Resultado do Tratamento , Vômito/etiologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Cholangiocarcinoma is a very aggressive tumor with poor survival. Therefore, early diagnosis and surgical resection are of paramount importance. Its diagnosis is difficult because access to the tumor is not easy. Biopsy is possible only for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, which accounts for 10% of cases. Routine brush cytology from endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) has a high specificity of 100% but unfortunately a low sensitivity of 30%. In this review we briefly describe new diagnostic techniques applicable to ERCP brush cytology specimens and targeting the genetic background of the disease, in particular fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and digital image analysis (DIA). DATA SOURCES: The PubMed database up to 2011 was used for the retrieval of relevant articles. The search terms FISH, fluorescence in situ hybridization, DIA, digital image analysis and cholangiocarcinoma were used. Both original and review articles were used. RESULTS: FISH identifies cells with chromosomal abnormalities, mainly numerical aberrations, using a mixture of fluorescence-labeled probes. FISH offers a higher sensitivity than routine cytology, retaining a high level of specificity. The DIA criterion for malignancy is demonstration of aneuploidy. This technique increases the sensitivity to 40%, but the specificity remains low. Preliminary data from application to other tumors suggest that combination of FISH and DIA may be of further benefit. CONCLUSIONS: The new techniques offer a significantly enhanced diagnostic efficacy in the evaluation of ERCP brush specimens. Apart from contributing to a more timely diagnosis, their wider application to cholangiocarcinoma may also facilitate the genetic study of the disease and add to our understanding of oncogenesis at the molecular level, with the prospect of identifying targets for novel therapeutic interventions.
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Neoplasias dos Ductos Biliares/diagnóstico , Ductos Biliares Intra-Hepáticos/patologia , Colangiocarcinoma/diagnóstico , Aberrações Cromossômicas , Algoritmos , Neoplasias dos Ductos Biliares/genética , Neoplasias dos Ductos Biliares/patologia , Biópsia , Colangiocarcinoma/genética , Colangiocarcinoma/patologia , Colangiopancreatografia Retrógrada Endoscópica , Humanos , Interpretação de Imagem Assistida por Computador , Hibridização in Situ Fluorescente , Valor Preditivo dos Testes , Prognóstico , Sensibilidade e EspecificidadeRESUMO
It is widely known that liver cirrhosis, regardless of the etiologies is accompanied by severe hemodynamic changes. The principal pathophysiological mechanisms are the hyperdynamic circulation with increased cardiac output, heart rate along with reduced systemic vascular resistance. Thus, counteractive mechanisms may develop that eventually lead to systolic as well as diastolic dysfunction and rhythm disturbances, in order to keep a steady homeostasis in the human body. Literally, blunted contractile responsiveness to physical or pharmacological stress, impaired diastolic relaxation and electrophysiological changes, primarily QT interval prolongation, do occur progressively in a cirrhotic patient with no known preexisting cardiac disease. This condition is identified as cirrhotic cardiomyopathy (CCM), an entity different from that seen in alcoholic cardiac muscle disease. For the past decades, clinicians did study and attempt to understand the pathophysiology and clinical significance of this process. Indeed, various factors have been identified acting at the molecular and cellular level. Electrocardiography, echocardiography and various serum biomarkers are the main tools that help healthcare practitioners to point to the correct diagnosis. Noteworthy, the subjects that suffer from cirrhotic cardiomyopathy may progress to heart failure during invasive procedures such as surgery, insertion of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting (TIPS) and liver transplantation. Besides, several studies have illustrated that CCM is a contributing factor, or even a precipitant, of hepatorenal syndrome (HRS), a conceivable reversible kidney failure in patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites. The treatment is the same as it is in the patients with liver cirrhosis and heart failure and there is no particular treatment for cirrhotic cardiomyopathy. Hence, it is of utmost importance to clearly comprehend the pathophysiology of this disease in order to design more accurate diagnostic tools and definitive treatments in a way to prevent the complications of cirrhosis and overt heart failure. The objective of this review is to describe in a comprehensive way the pathological alterations that occur in the cardiovascular system of cirrhotic patients. It will also point the limitations that remain in the diagnosis and treatment strategies and more importantly, this review will alert the clinicians in the modern era to further observe and record additional pathological changes in this subset of patients.
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Cardiomiopatias/etiologia , Insuficiência Cardíaca/etiologia , Cirrose Hepática/complicações , Fígado/patologia , Miocárdio/patologia , Cardiomiopatias/diagnóstico , Cardiomiopatias/fisiopatologia , Insuficiência Cardíaca/fisiopatologia , Humanos , Cirrose Hepática/fisiopatologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is associated with a high mortality. The aim was to investigate whether bacterial deoxyribonucleic acid (bactDNA) could offer an accurate identification of pathogens and to explore its prognostic role during and early after an SBP episode. METHODS: Consecutive patients with SBP (SBP-group) and patients with decompensated cirrhosis without SBP/bacterascites (control-group) were enrolled. Standard culture methodology was used to isolate and identify pathogens from blood and ascitic fluid (AF). The SeptiFast test was used to identify bactDNA directly from AF. RESULTS: Fifty-five patients, median age 60 (interquartile range [IQR] 53-74), model-for-end-stage liver disease (MELD) score 18 (IQR 13-29), with SBP were prospectively included. AF cultures were positive in 52.7% (17.2% drug-resistant bacteria) and bactDNA in 29.1% (58.2% combined sensitivity). BactDNA results were 84.6% concordant with AF cultures. Three patients had positive bactDNA in the culture-negative SBP-group. BactDNA was negative in all 36 of the control group (100% specificity). In multivariate analysis for 7-day survival, factors adversely affecting outcome were MELD (P=0.049) and C-reactive protein (P=0.012). After patients who died during the first week post-admission were excluded, patients with positive bactDNA had a poor prognosis compared to those with a negative test (log-rank P=0.005). Variables independently associated with 30-day mortality were neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (P=0.011) and positive bactDNA (P=0.020). CONCLUSIONS: No evidence was found for the usefulness of bactDNA to improve bacterial identification during an SBP episode. However, bactDNA was a predictor of 30-day mortality in the subset of patients who recovered from the infection episode.
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BACKGROUND: There is evidence that in cirrhotic patients, certain hemodynamic parameters, such as blood pressure and heart rate, are related to the severity of liver disease. This study investigated whether non-invasive 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate are more closely associated with markers of liver disease severity than conventional office measurements. METHODS: Ambulatory patients with cirrhosis underwent office blood pressure and heart rate measurements, 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and blood laboratory tests. RESULTS: Fifty-one patients (32 men, mean age 57.4 ± 11.3 years) completed the study. Twenty six patients had compensated liver cirrhosis (group A) and 25 patients had more advanced liver disease (group B). Group A and B patients differed significantly both in ambulatory asleep diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.05) and office diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.01), which were lower in more advanced liver disease. Office blood pressure and heart rate correlations were similar to or even stronger than ambulatory ones. Ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate awake-asleep variation (dipping) showed a relatively flat pattern as markers of liver dysfunction were deteriorating. The strongest correlations were found with both ambulatory and office heart rate, which increased as indicators of severity of liver disease were worsening. CONCLUSIONS: Heart rate seems to be a more reliable marker of ongoing liver dysfunction than blood pressure. Evaluation of blood pressure and heart rate with 24-hour ambulatory measurement does not seem to offer more information than conventional office measurements.
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Pressão Sanguínea/fisiologia , Frequência Cardíaca/fisiologia , Cirrose Hepática/fisiopatologia , Idoso , Biomarcadores , Monitorização Ambulatorial da Pressão Arterial , Estudos Transversais , Feminino , Humanos , Testes de Função Hepática , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Índice de Gravidade de DoençaRESUMO
Introduction: Hepatitis C chronic infection has long been correlated with numerous systemic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and hepatic steatosis. Recent studies have also revealed an association with atherosclerosis.Areas covered: An analysis is presented on the mechanisms through which the hepatitis C viral infection can lead to a systemic increase in pro-inflammatory markers, especially tumor necrosis factor-a and interleukin-6. The immunological imbalance created may, through different mechanisms, act on the metabolic pathways that contribute to the development of insulin resistance, the accumulation of lipids in the liver, and even the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. Moreover, an additional contributing factor to the above-mentioned metabolic derangements is the unopposed oxidative stress observed in chronic hepatitis C viral infection. The virus itself contributes to the formation of oxidative stress, through alterations in the trace metal homeostasis and its effect on pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-a.Expert opinion: The scope of this review is to emphasize the importance of the metabolic manifestations of hepatitis C viral infection and to elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms behind their emergence.
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Hepatite C Crônica/imunologia , Inflamação/imunologia , Doenças Metabólicas/imunologia , Estresse Oxidativo/imunologia , Biomarcadores/análise , Doenças Cardiovasculares/imunologia , Doenças Cardiovasculares/fisiopatologia , Hepacivirus , Hepatite C Crônica/fisiopatologia , Humanos , Inflamação/fisiopatologia , Resistência à Insulina/imunologia , Interleucina-6/imunologia , Doenças Metabólicas/fisiopatologia , Fator de Necrose Tumoral alfa/imunologiaAssuntos
Ferritinas/sangue , Cirrose Hepática/sangue , Cirrose Hepática/mortalidade , Feminino , Humanos , MasculinoRESUMO
Acute exacerbations in HBeAg negative patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection are invariably associated with concurrent increases in the index of IgM class antibodies against the core protein (anti-HBc) of the virus. This study aimed to investigate whether this was related to the clearance of variants from the quasispecies pool and the appearance of new ones, with aminoacid substitutions in well recognized B-cell epitopes. In this study, 5 HBeAg negative patients (A to E) with 13 sequential serum samples (A1-A2, B1-B2-B3, C1-C2, D1-D2-D3, E1-E2-E3) were investigated after amplification of the entire core encoding region followed by cloning/sequencing studies. The sequences at different time points were compared with those from a single HBeAg positive patient with no apparent acute exacerbations. The results from sequence comparison showed that virus variants emerged in all (A2, B3, C2, D3, E2, and E3) but two (B2 and D2) subsequent sera with amino-acid substitutions affecting B-cell epitopes. It is concluded that the rise in the values of IgM anti-HBc may be attributed to the alteration of the antigenic epitopes leading to new antibody production in the majority of the cases. However, it appears that increases in IgM anti-HBc indexes in a few cases may relate to other possible mechanisms which are discussed.
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Anticorpos Anti-Hepatite B/sangue , Antígenos do Núcleo do Vírus da Hepatite B/genética , Antígenos do Núcleo do Vírus da Hepatite B/imunologia , Hepatite B Crônica/imunologia , Hepatite B Crônica/virologia , Imunoglobulina M/sangue , Mutação de Sentido Incorreto/imunologia , Adulto , DNA Viral/química , DNA Viral/genética , Epitopos/genética , Epitopos/imunologia , Feminino , Vírus da Hepatite B/genética , Vírus da Hepatite B/imunologia , Humanos , Estudos Longitudinais , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Análise de Sequência de DNARESUMO
BACKGROUND: Idiopathic non-cirrhotic portal hypertension (INCPH) is mainly associated with thrombophilia in Western countries. Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare hematologic disease that manifests with hemolytic anemia, thrombosis, and peripheral blood cytopenias. Portal and hepatic venous thrombosis were reported in PNH. A rare case of INCPH complicating PNH is described. CASE SUMMARY: A 63-year old woman with a 2-year past medical history of PNH without treatment was admitted because of jaundice and refractory ascites requiring large volume paracentesis. Liver histology revealed portal venopathy with portal fibrosis and sclerosis, nodular regenerative hyperplasia, parenchymal ischemic changes, and focal sinusoidal and perivenular fibrosis without bridging fibrosis or cirrhosis, all indicative of INCPH. The flow cytometry confirmed PNH diagnosis and eculizumab treatment was initiated. Her condition was improved gradually, bilirubin was normalized 6 months following initiation of eculizumab, and 1 year later diuretics were stopped. CONCLUSION: Eculizumab improved intravascular hemolysis and reversed clinical manifestations of INCPH in a patient with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.
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Extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma, 'nasal type,' is a rare clinicopathological entity in Europe. The main clinical features are nasal congestion, sore throat, dysphagia and epistaxis, due to a destructive mass involving the midline facial tissues. Pathologically, lymphoma cells exhibit angioinvasion, angiodestruction and coagulative necrosis. We report the case of a patient who presented with fever, dyspnea, nasal congestion, headache, distention of right nasal turbinates and exophytic lower leg ulcerating lesions. A CT scan of visceral scull demonstrated a filling mass of right frontal, ethmoidal and maxillary sinuses with erosion of the wall of right maxillary sinus and ventral portion of the diaphragm. A biopsy was performed in the skin lesion and showed an angioinvasive NK/T cell lymphoma CD56 negative with clonal rearrangement of the T-cell-receptor gamma gene. Up to our knowledge, this is a rare immunophenotype for NK/T-cell, 'nasal type,' lymphomas. However, the lymphoma may be classified as extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma, 'nasal type,' due to typical clinical presentation, radiologic findings and pathological characteristics of polymorphism, angioinvasion, angiodestruction and coagulative necrosis.