Current approach to treatment of minimal hepatic encephalopathy in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) corresponds to the earliest stage of hepatic encephalopathy (HE). MHE does not present clinically detectable neurological-psychiatric abnormalities but is characterized by imperceptible neurocognitive alterations detected during routine clinical examination neuropsychological or psychometrical tests. MHE may affect daily activities and reduce job performance and quality of life.

The utility of the C-methacetin breath test in predicting the long-term survival of patients with decompensated cirrhosis.

Aim: The C-methacetin breath test (C-MeBT) is a noninvasive tool that allows evaluation of the functional activity of the liver and the prediction of liver cirrhosis. Nevertheless, there is no information on its potential utility to predict long-term survival in patients with liver disease.

Methods: Patients with cirrhosis were selected.

Ursodeoxycholic Acid Therapy in Patients with Primary Biliary Cholangitis with Limited Liver Transplantation Availability.

Introduction: There is little information on survival rates of patients with primary biliary cholangtis (PBC) in developing countries. This is particularly true in Latin America, where the number of liver transplants performed remains extremely low for patients with advanced liver disease who fulfill criteria for liver transplantation. The goal of this study was to compare survival rate of patients with PBC in developing countries who were treated with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) versus survival of patients who received other treatments (OT) without UDCA, prescribed before the UDCA era.

Portal vein thrombosis with protein C-S deficiency in a non-cirrhotic patient.

There are several conditions that can lead to portal vein thrombosis (PVT), including including infection, malignancies, and coagulation disorders. Anew condition of interest is protein C and S deficiencies, associated with hypercoagulation and recurrent venous thromboembolism. We report the case of a non-cirrhotic 63-year-old male diagnosed with acute superior mesenteric vein thrombosis and PVT and combined deficiencies in proteins C and S, recanalized by short-term low molecular heparin plus oral warfarin therapy.

Prevalence of lactose malabsorption in Mexican children: importance of measuring methane in expired air.

Background And Aims: To compare the prevalence of lactose malabsorption (LM) in children by analyzing hydrogen content in expired air vs. the inclusion of methane excretion.

Methods: A total of 138 children (4-17 years old) attending different boarding schools in Mexico were included in this study.

L-[1-13C]phenylalanine breath test in patients with chronic liver disease of different etiologies.

The aim of this study was to compare the oxidation of L-[1-(13)C]phenylalanine ((13)C-PheOx) in patients with chronic liver failure due to different etiologies using L-[1-(13)C]phenylalanine breath test. Breath samples were collected before the administration of 100 mg L-[1-(13)C]phenylalanine, and every 10 min thereafter until completion of 1 h. Control subjects (n=9) presented a larger cumulative percentage of (13)C dose recovery (CPDR) than patients (n=124) with chronic liver disease, regardless of the etiology (7.

[Evaluation of lipid digestion using the 13C-mixed triglyceride breath test in patients with chronic pancreatitis].

Background: Steatorrhea represents the indirect sign of lipid maldigestion in chronic pancreatitis and even when the measurement of fecal fat is considered as a gold standard for the diagnosis of steatorrhea, this test is not commonly used within clinical practice because of the inconvenience related to sample collection. Although the use of breath test using mixted tryglicerides was initally validated as an indirect alternative for the assessment of exocrine pancreas reserve, only recently has used this method as a surrogate for the measurement of fat in feces.

Aim: To evaluate fat digestion by means of the breath test with 13C labelled mixed triglycerides in patients with chronic pancreatitis.

Splenic hydatidosis: a rare differential diagnosis in a cystic lesion of the spleen.

Cystic tumours of the spleen are generally rare, and a parasitic origin is relatively unlikely. The present case report shows, however that when a splenic cyst is found, the differential diagnosis must always consider the possibility of echinococcosis. We report the case of a patient suffering from a cystic lesion of the spleen where surgery and histopathology yielded the diagnosis of splenic echinococcosis.

Sphygmomanometry-evoked allodynia--a simple bedside test indicative of fibromyalgia: a multicenter developmental study.

Background: One of the 2 classification criteria for fibromyalgia (FM) is the presence of tender points on specific anatomic sites. It has been established that these tender points reflect a state of generalized allodynia (defined as pain resulting from a stimulus that does not normally provoke pain). Patients with FM often describe pain elicitation during blood pressure testing (sphygmomanometry).

[Assessment of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (HS-CRP) as a marker of liver inflammation in patients with metabolic syndrome].

Unlabelled: C-reactive protein (CRP) plays an important role on inflammatory processes associated to the metabolic syndrome (MS), alike of insulin sensitivity, endothelial dysfunction and fibrinolysis insufficiency. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) may be a sensible marker for the diagnosis of hepatic damage and has therefore been used as an alternative method for the noninvasive diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), especially in epidemiological studies. At the present time, the possible utility of high sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) as a simple measure to detect the degree of hepatic inflammatory response during the development NAFLD in MS has not been explored.

Intestinal lymphangiectasia: a forgotten cause of chronic diarrhea.

Intestinal lymphangiectasia is a rare autosomal dominant disorder or acquired condition that leads to lymph obstruction, poor chyle transport and concomitant problems. We describe the cases of two women with chronic diarrhea in whom the common signs of lymphagiectasia-hypoalbuminemia, lymphopenia and distal edema- were found. One of them also had pleural effusion and chylous ascites.

Association between serum concentration of apolipoproteins A-I and B with gallbladder disease.

Background: A total of 1,255 subjects attending a private health care facility in Mexico City were studied to evaluate the association of serum concentration of Apo A-I and Apo B with presence of gallbladder disease (gallstones or cholecystectomy).

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out. All participants provided data on sociodemographic status and previous diagnoses of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular events, alcohol consumption, and smoking habits.