The Association Between Helicobacter Pylori Infection and Liver and Biliary Tract Disorders.

Helicobacter Pylori (HP) persistently colonizes the stomach in about 50% of the globe population and it is the main risk factor for peptic ulcer, as well as for gastric adenocarcinoma and MALT gastric lymphoma. The treatment for HP revolutionized the management of the peptic ulcer disease, providing permanent healing in many cases. Preventing colonization of HP would be the primary prevention of gastric malignancy and peptic ulceration.

Hepatitis C treatment & management.

Combination therapy with pegylated interferon alfa (PEG-IFN alfa) and the nucleoside analogue ribavirin is the current standard of care in patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Patients with HCV genotype 1 have a much less favorable response to therapy and are treated for 12 months, compared with patients infected with genotypes 2 and 3, in whom a 6-month course of therapy is sufficient. If viremia is present after 6 months, additional therapy has a negligible benefit, and treatment should be stopped in all patients regardless of the viral genotype.

Cutting the Gordian knot: the blockage of the jejunal tube, a rare complication of Duodopa infusion treatment.

We present the case of a 21-year-old man with advanced refractory Parkinson's disease treated with Duodopa continuous infusion. With this therapy, the patient had a spectacular recovery but after six months, he experienced an aggravation of his symptoms. A failure of his pumping system was suspected but we discovered that the jejunal tube was blocked due to a knot around a bezoar.

Efficacy and safety of peginterferon alpha-2a (40KD) in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients.

Aim: The study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of peginterferon alpha-2a in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients, nonresponders or relapsers after previous lamivudine or standard interferon therapy.

Methods: This prospective, national, multicentric, open label, not randomized trial enrolled 43 HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients with detectable HBsAg for at least 6 months prior to screening, positive HBeAg and negative anti-HBe, serum HBV DNA levels of at least 500,000 copies/mL by PCR assay, elevated ALT up to 10 x ULN, no response or relapse after previous lamivudine or standard interferon therapy. All eligible patients received pegIFN alpha-2a 180 micrograms weekly for 48 weeks with 24 weeks treatment free follow-up.

Acoustic radiation force imaging sonoelastography for noninvasive staging of liver fibrosis.

Aim: To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging as a noninvasive method for the assessment of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients.

Methods: We performed a prospective blind comparison of ARFI elastography, APRI index and FibroMax in a consecutive series of patients who underwent liver biopsy for CHC in University Hospital Bucharest. Histopathological staging of liver fibrosis according to the METAVIR scoring system served as the reference.

The functional sphincter of Oddi disorder.

The sphincter of Oddi disorder (SOD) has been a controversial subject for many years, about which a lot has been written. However, new findings mainly using Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and sphincter of Oddi manometry (SOM) demonstrate the fact of this diagnostic. SOD is just a part of a larger pathology, the tfunctional gastrointestinal disorders, which have been reconsidered as an important part of gastrointestinal diseases.

The effect of valsartan, an angiotensin II receptor antagonist, on portal and systemic hemodynamics and on renal function in liver cirrhosis.

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the effects of valsartan, a new generation angiotensin II receptor antagonist, on portal and systemic hemodynamics and on renal function in cirrhosis.

Methods: Eighty patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension were divided in two groups as follows: group I - 40 patients who received valsartan (Diovan) 80 mg /day for 7 days and group II - 40 patients who received placebo. All the patients had hemodynamic, endocrine and renal parameters measured on day 0 and 7.

Portal hypertensive gastropathy.

Portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) is the term used to describe the endoscopic appearance of gastric mucosa seen in patients with cirrhotic or non-cirrhotic portal hypertension with a characteristic mosaic-like pattern with or without red spots. The prevalence of PHG varies from 50% to 98%, this variation of the prevalence being perhaps related to patient selection, inter- and intra-observer variation and absence of uniform criteria and classification. About 8% of the upper digestive hemorrhages in the cirrhotic patients are secondary to PHG.

The role of octreotide on renal function in patients with advanced cirrhosis.

Unlabelled: Advanced cirrhosis is characterized by arterial vasodilatation and the reduced arterial response to vasoconstrictors. Both of these are related to an increase of endothelial (prostacyclin and nitric oxide) and nonendothelial vasodilatators (glucagon) level. Experimental study had shown that the responsiveness to vasoconstrictors of the mesentery artery may be normalized by the inhibition of glucagon or nitric oxide.

The effects of carvedilol a nonselective beta-blocker on portal hemodynamics in cirrhosis.

Unlabelled: Portal hypertension is the result of increased hepatic resistance and portal influx.

Aim: To assess the effects of Carvedilol, a 3rd-generation nonselective beta blocker with alpha1-adrenergic activity on portal and systemic homodynamic in patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension.

Methods: Fifty patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension were divided into two groups and statistically compared as follows: group I - 25 patients received Carvedilol, 12.

[The virulence of E. coli strains isolated in urinary infections].

E. coli has been considered to be the most common pathogenic agent associated with the urinary tract infections. The pathogenic features of E.

[The sensitivity of Salmonella strains in diarrheal disease to new quinolones compared with other antimicrobial substances].

The sensitivity of 59 Salmonella strains isolated in children with acute diarrhoea was tested against the new quinolones like: Ciproflaxicin (CIP), Norfloxacin (NOR) and Ofloxacin (OFX), as compared to the sensitivity against same aminosides: Gentamicin (GM), Amikacin (AN) against cephalosporins: Ceftazidime (CAZ), Cefalotine (CF) and other currently used antimicrobial agents: Tetraciclin (T), Ampicilin (A), Cloramfenicol (C), Furazolidon (FU). The majority of the studied Salmonella strains, 43 out of 59 strains, belonged to the serotype typhimurium, the most frequently serotype isolated in our geographical area. A very high percentage of Salmonella strains were sensitive against the three quinolones: 98,30% sensitive against NOR, 91,5% sensitive against OFX, 91,50% sensitive against CIP and 96,6% sensitive against AN.