Serum complement C4a and its relation to liver fibrosis in children with chronic hepatitis C.

Aim: To evaluate serum complement C4a and its relation to liver fibrosis in children with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Methods: The study included 30 children with chronic HCV infection before receiving antiviral therapy. Chronic HCV infection was defined by positive anti-HCV, a positive polymerase chain reaction for HCV-RNA for more than 6 mo with absence of any associated liver disease.

Diagnostic value of hepatic intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression in Egyptian infants with biliary atresia and other forms of neonatal cholestasis.

Aim:   The diagnosis of biliary atresia (BA) is challenging as no single preoperative test is 100% accurate, especially for distinguishing it from other causes of neonatal cholestasis (NC). Intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM) elevation was reported in BA as a part of the immune-mediated inflammatory process. The use of ICAM-1 as a discriminative tool between BA and other causes of NC has never been addressed before.