Background and objectivesThe single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) -717A→G substitution, rs2794521, was found in the promoter of the C-reactive protein (CRP) gene. Functional studies showed that A allele promoter has higher transcriptional activity than the G allele. This study investigated the association between this SNP and the outcome of Chinese patients undergoing ...

Background: At the present time, indications of liver transplantation (LT) for jaundice-free biliary atresia (BA) patients include intractable cholangitis, portal hypertension and pulmonary vascular disorders. However, the timing of LT remains unclear. In the current study, we describe the therapeutic strategies for jaundice-free BA patients.<br /> Material/Methods: 129 BA patients ...

Background: Being a central link between inflammation and coagulation, tissue factor (TF) and its inhibitor (TFPI) might be associated with the severity of acute pancreatitis (AP) and the development of organ failure (OF). Methods: The study comprises 9 severe AP patients with OF and 24 reference patients (11 mild AP ...

Thyroid hormones stimulate directly or indirectly growth of erythroid colonies through erythropoietin. Anemia is often the first sign of hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism can cause a wide variety of anemic disorders. Numerous mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis of these anemias that can be microcytic, macrocytic and normocytic. We designed this study ...

"Disease activity free" in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) is a new concept introduced by the results of the AFFIRM study. Our objective was to analyze the clinical and radiological efficacy of natalizumab treatment in actual clinical practice and compare it with the post hoc analysis of the AFFIRM study. All ...

Background  Duodenal villous atrophy (DVA) is a key diagnostic finding in coeliac disease (CD). However, the differential diagnosis for this finding is broad. Aim  To identify conditions causing noncoeliac enteropathy (NCE) with villous atrophy and methods to differentiate between CD and NCE in clinical practice. Methods  Through record review we ...

Measurement of 24-hour radioactive iodine uptake (RAIU), which is commonly used to calculate the dose of radioiodine (RI) therapy, cannot be accomplished in a single day. The purpose of this study was to predict 24-hour RAIU from 3-hour RAIU in Japanese patients with Graves' disease, and to investigate other factors ...

OBJECTIVE: We wanted to study otolith function by measuring the static subjective visual vertical (SVV) in migraine patients and in controls with and without kinetosis (motion sickness). METHODS AND MATERIAL: Forty-seven patients with moderately severe migraine and 96 healthy controls were enrolled. Using a questionnaire, persons with kinetosis were identified. ...

BACKGROUND: Neuropeptides galanin and α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) are involved in the regulation of memory and appetite. Increased galanin and decreased α-MSH levels were reported in postmortem brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) but the underlying mechanisms are uncertain. Here we studied if autoantibodies (autoAbs) reacting with galanin and α-MSH ...

BACKGROUND: <0.0001). In all quartiles of baseline eGFR, changes in eGFR over 1 year after the ablation were greater in patients free from arrhythmia compared with those with recurrences.Conclusion-Elimination of AF by catheter ablation was associated with improvement of kidney function over a 1-year follow-up in patients with mild to ...

PURPOSE: To compare liver ADC obtained with breathhold and free-breathing diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) in healthy volunteers and patients with liver disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-eight subjects, 12 healthy volunteers and 16 patients (9 NAFLD, 7 chronic active HCV), underwent breathhold (BH) and free-breathing (FB) DWI MRI at 1.5 Tesla. ...

Abstract Background. The diagnosis of pheochromocytomas requires consideration among patients suffering from hypertension, unexplained spells, incidental adrenal masses, or a family history of pheochromocytoma. Accordingly, the diagnosis requires a biochemical test with high sensitivity and specificity. Aim. To compare plasma free metanephrines as measured by a commercial immunoassay and the ...

BACKGROUND: Differences in excess weight loss, body mass index (BMI) change, and body composition have been related to different types of bariatric procedures. Our objective was to explore these alterations related to body mass in superobese (SO) and morbidly obese (MO) patients in a university hospital setting. METHODS: Patients provided ...

PURPOSE: To identify the gray-scale and color Doppler ultrasonography (US) findings of amniotic sheets. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Among 1201 pregnant patients who underwent detailed second trimester US, nine had amniotic sheets. An amniotic sheet was defined as a shelf-like structure in the uterine cavity with a free edge not attached ...

BACKGROUND: The mortality rate of elderly hemodialysis (HD) patients is high. Serum p-cresyl sulfate (PCS) and indoxyl sulfate (IS) are associated with cardiovascular (CV) disease and mortality in renal patients. The association between such biomarkers and mortality in elderly HD patients has a high clinical value but remains unclear.METHODS: This ...

Chronic pruritus, which is associated with a wide variety of underlying diseases, represents a challenge in diagnostics and treatment in dermatology and general medicine. The cause of pruritus remains unknown in up to 45% of patients. In this study, 718 patients with chronic pruritus were analysed concerning lactase deficiency, demographic ...

BACKGROUND: Nonresponsive celiac disease (CD) is defined by persistent or recurrent symptoms, common after treatment with a gluten-free diet (GFD). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of capsule endoscopy (CE) in nonresponsive CD. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Tertiary-care center. PATIENTS: Forty-two consecutive patients with nonresponsive CD and 84 age- and sex-matched ...

INTRODUCTION: Although it is well known that ES alters cortical excitability, little is known about the relationship between ES outcome and cortical excitability. Transcranial magnetic stimulation has been successfully used to evaluate cortical excitability in epilepsy patients. The present study aimed to assess the value of the motor threshold (MT) ...

Esophageal leiomyosarcoma accounts for only 0.5% of all esophageal tumors. This rare tumor has been reported in middle-aged or elderly patients. In contrast, pediatric esophageal leiomyosarcomas have never been reported. The case described herein is the first report of an esophageal leiomyosarcoma in a pediatric patient with its own characteristics. ...

Context:  Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) can cause a fatal haemorrhagic syndrome. Pituitary ischaemia/infarction and necrosis are known causes of hypopituitarism, often remaining unrecognized due to subtle clinical manifestations. Objective:  Our aim was to evaluate the effect of CCHF on pituitary function. Subject and methods:  Levels of serum free T3, ...

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disease which predominantly affects certain ethnic groups mainly Sephardic Jews, Turks, Arabs, and Armenians. Differential diagnosis of an attack of FMF with appendicitis could be difficult in patients presenting with acute abdomen. Circulating levels of resistin and visfatin have been shown to ...

BACKGROUND: Free light chains (FLC) are useful biomarkers in the assessment of plasma cell disorders. Concerns have been raised about some technical aspects of the assay. This report examined the occurrence of dilution anomalies and/or antigen excess. METHODS: FLC were determined on a BNII instrument at at-least two dilutions (100- ...

PURPOSE: To assess the clinical usefulness of free-breathing 3D MRCP in non-cooperative patients compared conventional breath-hold 2D MRCP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed FB navigator-triggered 3D MRCP using prospective acquisition correction and BH 2D MRCP in 48 consecutive, non-cooperative patients among 772 patients. Thirteen patients had malignant obstruction. Two radiologists ...

(99m)Tc-macroaggregated albumin ((99m)Tc-MAA) scanning precedes radioembolization of the liver to detect extrahepatic shunting to the lung or gastrointestinal tract. Despite strict preventive measures in the production of (99m)Tc-MAA and in scanning protocols, the images frequently show a gastric concentration of free (99m)Tc-pertechnetate, hindering accurate evaluation of the gastroduodenal region. Our ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to prospectively determine the prevalence of asymptomatic celiac disease among children presenting with fibromyalgia. The secondary objective was to investigate if their symptoms resolved on a gluten free diet. FINDINGS: All children seen in the Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain clinic between the ages ...

Background/Aims: Impaired immune function is common in patients with chronic renal failure. Now, we determined whether serum levels of free immunoglobulin light chains predict mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease stage 5 on hemodialysis. Methods: We performed a prospective cohort study of 160 hemodialysis patients with a median follow-up ...

: The amount of free fluid that can normally be present in a pregnant patient is unknown. Evaluation of pelvic free fluid in a population of pregnant patients without early history of trauma would help determine what amount of free fluid should raise suspicion of intra-abdominal injury in those who ...

Despite the growing research interest in the role of immunological markers in schizophrenia, few studies, with conflicting results, have focused on the association between high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels and clinical characteristics in schizophrenia. In this cross-sectional case-control study, a sample of 200 antipsychotic-free male Egyptian schizophrenia patients was ...

Objective: To demonstrate the presence of splenomegaly in primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) patients without accompanying portal hypertension or comorbidity. Methods: Twelve patients (7 women) aged 23-65 years followed upon the diagnosis of PAPS were enrolled in the study. We documented the identified causes of splenomegaly in patients with PAPS, and ...

Israelsson H, Birgander R, Ambarki K, Eklund A, Malm J. Ventriculomegaly and balance disturbances in patients with TIA. Acta Neurol Scand: DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2011.01520.x. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Objectives -  Dilated ventricles and gait disturbances are common in the elderly, and these are also features of the treatable syndrome ...

Resistant hypertension (RHTN) includes both patients whose blood pressure (BP) is uncontrolled on three or more medications (uncontrolled RHTN (UCRH)) and patients whose BP is controlled with use of four or more drugs (controlled RHTN (CRH)). It is unknown whether endothelial function and nocturnal drop demonstrate a similar pattern in ...

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a routine treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic patients. Whether TACE influences the degree of portal hypertension remains uncertain. AIM AND PATIENTS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical course of 283 TACE to investigate the incidence of variceal bleeding and ascites after the procedure. We ...

AIM: Hypertension (HT) complicates treatment with antiangiogenic agents, including the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) sunitinib. To prospectively evaluate the prevalence and management of HT in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) receiving sunitinib we used 24-h ABPM and we treated HT according to guidelines of the Joint National Committee ...

Reported prevalence of idiopathic intracranial hypertension without papilledema (IIHWOP) in series of patients with chronic or transformed migraine is significantly higher than expected; yet, IIHWOP is not included among the risk factors for migraine progression. However, several studies provided evidences suggesting that IIHWOP could represent a possible, largely underestimated, risk ...

Duodenal varices (DVs) are a rare cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding and rather suspected in patients with portal hypertension. Bleeding DVs are difficult to manage and often fatal due to delayed diagnosis. We report on a 71-year-old patient with massive upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage, who did not show any clinical signs ...

Objective  Hypercortisolaemia is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), either through a direct action on the myocardium or by increased traditional cardiovascular risk factors. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the alterations in the ECG in Cushing's disease (CD) are predictable from risk factor ...

Background: Reports of renal dysfunction in Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate (TDF)-treated HIV-1 infected patients have raised concerns about potential nephrotoxicity. Objective: To compare the effects on renal function of TDF-containing highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) with a non-TDF-containing HAART. Methods: This was an observational study.Clinical and laboratory data of 186 HIV-1 ...

Ectopic varices (EcV) accounting for 1-5% of all varices in portal hypertension are composed of dilated portosystemic collaterals located in unusual sites instead of the most known gastroesophageal region. The difficulty in localization of bleeding is a great burden on the management of these patients. Herein, we present patients with ...

PURPOSE: A unilateral poorly or non-functioning kidney is a cause of hypertension in children. We report the outcomes of pediatric patients with unilateral renal parenchymal disease who underwent nephrectomy for hypertension. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive hypertensive children undergoing nephrectomy with a unilateral poorly or non-functioning kidney were retrospectively reviewed; preoperative ...

Background. Metabolic syndrome (MS) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are well-known, independent predictors of increased cardiovascular risk. Both conditions are fairly prevalent in the general population. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between MS or its individual components and CKD in an Italian population of hypertensive ...

To describe the factors associated to morbidity-mortality in pediatric patients with severe head injury (SHI). A review was made of the patients admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) with SHI between July 1983 and December 2009. Of the 389 patients with head injuries, 174 (45%) presented SHI. The ...

Soluble TWEAK is a member of the TNF-alpha family of cytokines that has been shown to predict mortality in patients with heart failure. Pulmonary artery hypertension is a devastating disease, in which right ventricular function has been shown to be the major determinant of prognosis. In this hypothesis-generating study, we ...

Serum uric acid (UA) is positively associated with hypertension (HTN). HTN is common in pediatric patients receiving hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD). We assessed the relationship between UA and BP in 63 pediatric dialysis patients by measuring pre-treatment UA levels and BP in HD patients and in-center UA levels ...

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) complicating systemic sclerosis (SSc)-related interstitial lung disease (ILD) (PH-ILD) is usually associated with a poor prognosis. However, data are either lacking or scarce on prognosis factors in this condition. The objectives of the study were to compare the survival of patients with PH-ILD or pulmonary ...

OBJECTIVE: Endothelial dysfunction and early atherosclerosis have been found in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) without cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Few studies have investigated whether there is any early impairment of myocardial function. The aims of our study were to determine the prevalence of subclinical left ventricular (LV) dysfunction ...

Near infrared radiation can be used for warm stimulation in caloric irrigation of the equilibrium organ. Aim of this study was to determine whether near infrared radiation offers effective stimulation of the vestibular organ, whether it is well tolerated by the patients and especially whether it is a viable alternative ...

PURPOSE: The pathogenic role of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition in hypertensive patients regarding endothelial progenitor-cell (EPC) function is still poorly understood. The aim of the study was to evaluate EPC number, function, and relationship to carotid intima media thickness (IMT) progression. METHODS: We studied 36 newly diagnosed mildly hypertensive patients ...

BACKGROUND: Our aim was to construct a diagnostic model for ruling out chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) in symptomatic patients after acute pulmonary embolism (PE) that is based on simple, non-invasive tests. METHODS: Plasma levels of various CTEPH associated biomarkers and conventional ECG criteria for right ventricular pressure overload were ...

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a devastating complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We aim to estimate the putative predictors contributing to early identification of PAH, thus improve appropriate medical intervention and a better prognosis. A retrospective case-control study was conducted. Forty-one SLE patients with PAH and 106 SLE patients ...

Background and aims Endothelial dysfunction is a major determinant of the increased hepatic vascular tone of cirrhotic livers. Von Willebrand factor (vWF), P-selectin and 8-iso-PGF2α (isoprostanes), surrogate markers of endothelial dysfunction, are increased in patients with cirrhosis. This study was aimed at exploring in patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension ...