Introduction: Despite the prognostic importance of traditionally derived measurements, the significance of right heart catheterization (RHC) remains controversial. Thus, a continued search for hemodynamic markers that define better responsive patients is required. Since, right ventricular failure is the most fatal pathway, right (RVPO) and left (LVPO) ventricular power output are ...

Angiogenesis is a complex process, involving a great number of mediators. It is implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases, holding a critical role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The objective of this study was to assess serum levels of angiogenin, angiopoietin-1, angiopoietin-2, and endostatin in IBD patients. Measurement of ...

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is common in patients with respiratory disorders and interstitial lung fibrosis from diverse disease processes. However, a cause-effect relationship has not been well demonstrated. It is hypothesized that there might be more than a coincidental association between GERD and interstitial lung damage. There is still confusion ...

Objective. Exploratory tympanotomy (ET) can be performed selectively on patients who have air-bone gaps (ABGs) without any apparent external or middle ear abnormalities for diagnosis and treatment of their conductive hearing loss. However, surgeons cannot always find middle ear problems. It has recently been reported that pathologic third windows in ...

Cinacalcet is effective in controlling the biochemical abnormalities in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) but it seems to be less effective on bone mineral density (BMD). In the same patients, bisphosphonates are reported to be effective on bone resorption but less effective on calcium and PTH excess. In this study, ...

Pemphigus vulgaris belongs to a group of rare, autoimmune, blistering disorders, requiring intensive immunosuppressive therapy. Lung infections are common in patients with pemphigus vulgaris. To evaluate pulmonary function in patients with pemphigus vulgaris, in order to detect possible factors that might predispose PV patients to lung damage. Ten patients first ...

Recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEpo) has been used for the treatment of renal anemia. With the loss of its patent protection, there has been an upsurge of more affordable biosimilar agents, increasing patient access to treatment for these conditions. The complexity of the manufacturing process for these recombinant proteins, however, can ...

OBJECTIVES:: Patients with tropical calcific pancreatitis (TCP) have multiple risk factors for developing low bone mineral density (BMD). We studied BMD and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) in north Indian TCP patients. METHODS:: In a cross-sectional study, 72 TCP patients (mean age, 31 ± 10 years) and 100 controls were studied. ...

PURPOSE To study minimal disseminated disease (MDD) in children with Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) and to determine its impact on prognosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS We established a simplified long-distance polymerase chain reaction (LD-PCR) assay that can amplify up to 15 to 20 Kb of DNA sequence, making it possible to detect ...

Erythrophagocytosis by neutrophils is a rare morphological phenomenon described in patients with clonal malignancies of haematopoiesis with myelodysplasia and in some haemolytic conditions including paroxysmal cold haemoglobinuria, haemolysis caused by snake-bite, sickle cell anaemia and other defects of red cells. We describe a female patient who presented with acquired haemolytic ...

The present study was conducted to evaluate the application and efficacy of autologous bone marrow infusion (ABMi) for improvement of liver function in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis (ALC). Five subjects and five control patients with ALC who had abstained from alcohol intake for 24 weeks prior to the study ...

OBJECTIVES: To explore whether endothelial function is related to bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: Consecutive adult SLE patients and age-, sex-, BMI- and smoking-status-matched healthy controls were studied. Subjects with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, renal impairment, dysthyroidism, history of or treatment for cardiovascular ...

Abstract Objective. Secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) is a common problem among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on haemodialysis. This study was conducted to assess the use, effectiveness and safety of intravenous paricalcitol in haemodialysis patients with various degrees of SHPT. Material and methods. This observational, multicentre, prospective study was conducted ...

Only a few studies have documented the characteristics of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) associated with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). We aimed to clarify the clinical and histopathological characteristics of IBD associated with PSC (PSC-IBD). Twenty-nine patients with PSC and 60 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) but without complicating PSC were ...

To determine the diagnostic yield of investigations in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with syncope. To determine the cause of the syncope. We retrospectively identified consecutive patients presenting to the ED who underwent investigations for syncope at a 1900 bed university teaching hospital during 4 months. From the ...

Manual lymphatic drainage (MLD), intermittent sequential pneumatic therapy (ISPT), multilayered bandages (MLB), and compression garments are main techniques in conservative treatment of peripheral lymphedema. Since 1990, it has been thought that ISPT applied to both lower limbs simultaneously should not be used for patients with heart failure because right atrial, ...

To determine the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor isoform consisting of 165 amino acids (VEGF165) in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid from Mustard Exposed Patients. Bronchoscopy with Bronchoalveolar Lavage was performed on sulphur mustard exposed patients. A total of 39 patients with documented exposure to Sulfur Mustard during the Iran-Iraq war ...

Follistatin mediates muscle growth and bone mineralization. At present, it is unknown whether circulating follistatin levels are altered in chronic kidney disease (CKD) or links to CKD risk factors and outcomes. Plasma follistatin levels were cross-sectionally analyzed in relation to protein-energy wasting (PEW), handgrip strength (HGS), bone mineral density (BMD), ...

BACKGROUND: /st> The effect of zoledronic acid (ZA) on articular bone in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) was investigated using MRI. METHODS: /st> Patients with erosive PsA were randomised to receive 3-monthly infusions of ZA or placebo for 1 year. An additional 'tests alone' group received no infusions. Clinical assessments ...

Gaucher disease is the most frequent lysosomal storage disorder. Bone and lung involvement are two major causes of morbidity in this disease. D-dimer is a reliable indicator of active microvascular thrombosis, even in patients without overt hypercoagulation. This study aimed to assess D-dimer levels in Gaucher disease, correlating this marker ...

BACKGROUND: Multiple myeloma (MM) was the first haematological malignancy in which a prognostic relevance of bone marrow (BM) angiogenesis was reported. Microenvironment formed by reactive oxygen species, growth factors and chemokines initiates the process of BM angiogenesis. Among the angiopoietins, Angiopoietin-1 is involved in vessel stability whereas Angiopoietin-1 is involved ...

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) carry autoantibodies such as perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies. The aim of the current study was to further characterize the immune reactivity in IBD. We used an immunoproteomic approach with extracts from granulocytes and serum from ulcerative colitis (UC) patients and controls to identify target ...

In spite of the amount of literature demonstrating the relationship between upper and lower airways, both from the anatomical, and pathophysiological point of view, little is known about the epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of the Rhino-Bronchial Syndrome (RBS). After the publication, in 2003, of a Consensus Report defining the Rhino-Bronchial ...

We evaluated the risk of transformation of asymptomatic immunoglobulin (Ig) M monoclonal gammopathy (aIgM MG) into symptomatic lymphoproliferative disease in 287 patients all analyzed for bone marrow histopathology and immunophenotyping. This series included 201 patients with IgM MG of undetermined significance (IgM MGUS) and 86 with smoldering Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (sWM). ...

Aim  The effect of race on Crohn's disease (CD) remains uncertain. This study compared the characteristics of American white patients and Chinese patients with CD. Method  A retrospective chart review was conducted for patients who required management of colorectal CD between 1985 and 2004 at either Cleveland Clinic Florida (CCF) ...

To evaluate the corneal changes of patients with Crohn's disease (CD) using confocal microscopy and to investigate the association among confocal parameters and CD activity and CD treatment. Thirty consecutive patients (age: 42 ± 12 years; 19 women and 11 men) affected by CD and 30 control eyes (age matched ...

The extent of coronary artery calcification (CAC) is closely related to total atherosclerotic plaque burden. However, the pathogenesis of CAC is still unclear. Conditions such as diabetes mellitus, renal failure, smoking, and chronic inflammation have been suggested to link vascular calcification and bone loss. In the present study, we hypothesized ...

Objective. To evaluate the reproducibility of US and to compare its efficacy with that of MRI and conventional radiography (CR) for the detection of bone erosion in RA patients. Methods. A systematic literature search was performed in the Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases up to August 2009. Trials evaluating the ...

Reduced bone mineral density (BMD) is present in many women with Turner syndrome (TS), and hypo-estrogenism is known to play a vital role in bone mineralization disturbances. It has been suggested that genetic factors play an important role in the regulation of BMD. The aim of this study was to ...

The clinical value of multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC) immunophenotyping in primary amyloidosis (AL) remains unknown. We studied 44 consecutive bone marrow (BM) samples from newly diagnosed patients with amyloidosis; 35 as AL and 9 with other forms of amyloidosis. (Mono)clonal plasma cells (PCs) were identifiable by MFC in 34/35 (97%) ...

PURPOSE: The diagnosis of a malignant bone tumor in the lower limb is a risk factor for physical disability, limiting physical performance. Walking ability especially, which is essential for most activities of daily living, is limited in those patients. In the present study, the extent of limitations during the course ...

Thrombocytosis is an important laboratory finding in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and it has a correlation with disease activity. Janus kinase 2 valin 617 phenylalanine (JAK2V617F) mutation has gained importance in the diagnosis of myeloproliferative diseases recently. There is no published report in literature on the association between RA and JAK2V617F-positive ...

In addition to the well-described implications of estrogen deficiency in postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO), free radicals are also effective on bone metabolism. The antioxidant vitamins C and E play an important role in the production of collagen, mesenchymal cell differentiation into osteoblasts, and bone mineralization. Therefore, the incidence of osteoporosis and ...

Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) has been increasingly used as a new and non-invasive method to study airway inflammation. In this study we have compared the concentrations of lipid mediators in EBC with concentrations in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). We included 37 patients undergoing bronchoscopy (12 sarcoidosis, 12 COPD, 6 lung ...

New approaches are needed to treat patients with stroke. Among acute ischemic stroke patients, our primary objectives were to describe the prevalence of sleep apnea and demonstrate the feasibility of providing auto-titrating continuous positive airway pressure (auto-CPAP). A secondary objective was to examine the effect of auto-CPAP on stroke severity. ...

Objective The incidence of pulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infections with nodular/bronchiectasis lesions is increasing. However, factors determining deterioration are unknown. In the present study, we investigated quantitative MAC cultures obtained through bronchoscopic microsampling (BMS) from patients with pulmonary MAC infection and analyzed the relationship between MAC culture and the ...

Visual and auditory analysis of respiratory sound signals promises improved detection of certain types of lung diseases. LabVIEW software was used to design a system that monitors the respiratory activity of the patient. The program developed calculates the respiratory rate, displays the time expanded waveform of the lung sound, and ...

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) -8 and -9 may play key roles in the modulation of neutrophilic lung inflammation seen in pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). We aimed to perform a comprehensive analysis of MMP-8 and MMP-9 activity in tracheal aspirates of pediatric ARDS patients compared with non-ARDS controls, testing whether ...

To study differences and prognostic effect of some factors on brain (B-type) natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels at discharge of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) treated in accord with current treatment guidelines. Eighty-five consecutive patients hospitalized for CHF were recruited into the study. A standardized study protocol was used for ...

Lymphocytic esophagitis (LE) is histologically defined by marked esophageal lymphocytosis with no or only rare intraepithelial granulocytes. This study was performed to investigate the association between LE and pediatric Crohn's disease (CD). Blinded retrospective morphologic analysis was performed on gastrointestinal biopsies from pediatric patients with an established diagnosis of CD ...

An important aspect of binaural hearing is the proper detection of interaural sound level differences and interaural timing differences. Assessments of binaural hearing were made in patients with acquired unilateral conductive hearing loss (UCHL, n = 11) or congenital UCHL (n = 10) after unilateral application of a bone conduction ...

Although parathyroidectomy remains the only curative approach to most primary hyperparathyroidism cases, medical treatment with cinacalcet HCl has been proven to be a reasonable alternative for several patient subgroups. Cinacalcet almost always controls hypercalcemia and hypophosphatemia sufficiently. PTH levels are lowered, and cognitive parameters improve. While an increase in bone ...

Background: Electrocardiogram (ECG) in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE) presents many abnormalities. There are no data concerning prognostic significance of ST-elevation (STE) in lead aVR in patients with APE. Aim: To assess the prevalence of STE in aVR in patients with APE and its correlation with clinical course as ...

The purpose was to study the epidemiology of Helicobacter-negative gastritis among a large group of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and healthy controls. From a computerized database of surgical pathology reports we selected 5493 patients who underwent colonoscopy and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with biopsy results from both procedures. The ...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the consequences of chronic pouchitis after restorative proctocolectomy for ulcerative colitis. Forty-two patients with chronic pouchitis underwent pouch endoscopy with biopsies after a median of 8.3 years of postoperative follow up. The pouchitis disease activity index (PDAI) was calculated. Morphological changes were ...

A 70-year-old Japanese man with chronic kidney disease under treatment with oral prednisolone for organizing pneumonia developed pulmonary aspergilloma. The patient was started on micafungin (MCFG), with no addition of any other new drug. About 5 weeks later, aggravation of his normocytic anemia associated with a low reticulocyte count was ...

Background and OBJECTIVE. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common of the idiopathic interstitial pneumonias. There is evidence of the increased prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease in patients with IPF. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate reflux in patients with IPF by analyzing the scores of ...

Background Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) of unknown cause has been characterized as idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis (IPH). IPH is a rare disease, which has a high prevalence in children and shows a poor prognosis. However, in adults, since there are few reports about collective cases, the details remain to be determined. ...

The Shwachman-Kulczycki score was the first scoring system used in cystic fibrosis to assess disease severity. Despite its subjectivity, it is still widely used. To study correlations among forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), chest radiography, chest computed tomography, 6-minute walk test, and Shwachman-Kulczycki score in patients with cystic ...

Smoking is a risk factor for developing Crohn's disease (CD) and worsens its outcome. Conversely, in ulcerative colitis (UC), the onset may be triggered by the smoking cessation and smoking may be beneficial. To help to ascertain whether patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) would benefit from attending a smoking ...