Extracellular Biomarkers of Inner Ear Disease and Their Potential for Point-of-Care Diagnostics.

Rapid diagnostic testing has become a mainstay of patient care, using easily obtained samples such as blood or urine to facilitate sample analysis at the point-of-care. These tests rely on the detection of disease or organ-specific biomarkers that have been well characterized for a particular disorder. Currently, there is no rapid diagnostic test for hearing loss, which is one of the most prevalent sensory disorders in the world. In this review, potential biomarkers for inner ear-related disorders, their detection, and quantification in bodily fluids are described. The authors discuss lesion-specific changes in cell-free deoxyribonucleic acids (DNAs), micro-ribonucleic acids (microRNAs), proteins, and metabolites, in addition to recent biosensor advances that may facilitate rapid and precise detection of these molecules. Ultimately, these biomarkers may be used to provide accurate diagnostics regarding the site of damage in the inner ear, providing practical information for individualized therapy and assessment of treatment efficacy in the future.

Serum and ascitic fluid interleukin-17 in spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in Egyptian patients with HCV-related liver cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a potentially lethal complication of ascites. The inflammatory response is very intense in case of SBP despite low concentration of bacteria in the ascitic fluid with IL-17A overproduced by intestinal Paneth cells and may have role in host immune defense and inflammatory response. AIMS: To study the diagnostic performance of serum and ascitic fluid IL-17A as a marker of SBP and its correlation with renal function. METHODS: 120 cirrhotic patients including 80 patients with HCV-induced cirrhotic ascites but not with SBP and 40 patients with HCV-induced cirrhotic ascites with SBP were recruited. Serum and ascitic fluid IL17A were measured before and after treatment. RESULTS: The mean serum and ascitic fluid levels of IL-17 in cirrhotic patients with SBP were significantly higher than in patients with cirrhosis without SBP (p < 0.001). Also, we found significant decline in both serum and ascitic fluid IL17 levels with successful treatment of SBP (p < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of serum IL17 was 100 % when using 92 pg/mL as cutoff. Meanwhile, sensitivity and specificity of ascitic fluid IL-17were 100 % when using 132 pg/mL as cutoff. CONCLUSIONS: IL-17 could be used as a possible diagnostic biomarker for SBP especially in culture negative and non-neutrocytic SBP and in monitoring therapeutic response. Also, it was shown to be related to hepatic and renal functions deterioration.

Assessment of Subclinical Pancreatitis in Epileptic Children With Different Treatment Modalities.

Acute pancreatitis differ in pediatrics and adults. Drug-induced pancreatitis is one of the common causes of pancreatitis in children. This case-control study aimed to assess subclinical pancreatitis in patients with epilepsy treated with different drug regimens. Eighty known patients with epilepsy were enrolled. Forty patients were treated with monotherapy (group I) and 40 were treated with multitherapy (group II) regimens. Twenty age- and sex-matched healthy children were enrolled as control (group III). Serum lipase and amylase were assayed in all included children. Significant differences were found between groups I and III and between groups II and III regarding serum amylase and lipase (P < .001 for all). Significant difference were found between groups I and II (P = .024) and between groups II and III (P = .01) regarding pancreatic duct and body diameters. Significant difference were found between patients with controlled and uncontrolled fits regarding serum amylase (P = .008). In conclusion, subclinical pancreatitis can complicate the treatment with different antiepileptic regimens.