To study the impact of Opisthorchis infestation on the upper digestive tract and small bowel in chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, the authors examined 164 patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, including 71 patients with ulcerative colitis and 45 with Crohn's disease without parasitosis and 48 with chronic opisthorchiasis (31 with ulcerative colitis and 17 with Crohn's disease). A control group consisted of 20 healthy individuals and 20 patients with chronic opisthorchiasis. A diagnosis was established by colonofibroscopy and a morphological study of colonic biopsy specimens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFecal elastase-1 was measured in 38 patients with ulcerative colitis to evaluate the functional state of pancreas by enzyme immunoassay with the use of monoclonal antibodies. It was shown that absolute and relative fecal elastase-1 levels in patients with chronic inflammatory intestinal disorders significantly decreased with increased severity of the disease.
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