Renal manifestations in a cohort of pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Background And Study Aims: Renal involvement in inflammatory bowel disease is rather uncommon. This study aims to describe the spectrum of renal involvement in pediatric patients with IBD and reduce delay in detection and management.

Patients And Methods: This is a retrospective study of the renal function of all patients, aged <18 years, who have been followed for IBD in our pediatric gastroenterology department from January 2019 till January 2023.

Inflammatory fibroid polyp of the anus in a 12-month-old girl: Case report and review of the literature.

Inflammatory fibroid polyp (IFP) is a rare, usually solitary and intraluminal polypoid benign tumour that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Its aetiology is unknown and clinical presentation depends on the site of involvement. We present the case of a 12-month-old girl with IFP and review all reported cases of IFP in children and adolescents <18 years.

Changes in Shear Wave Elastography after Lumacaftor/Ivacaftor Treatment in Children with Cystic Fibrosis.

Background: Lumacaftor/Ivacaftor (LUM/IVA) is an approved combination therapy for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients homozygous for F508del.

Objective: This study aimed to detect changes in liver stiffness measurement (LSM) in patients under this treatment.

Methods: The study population consisted of CF patients homozygous for F508del, 6 to 11 years old, who had been treated for six months with LUM/IVA.

Seroprevalence of Hepatitis C in Children Without Identifiable Risk-Factors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains a major public health burden for >30 years since its discovery. It is estimated that >80 million people have been already infected. Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment is now approved for young children over the age of 3 years.

PlGF and sFlt-1 levels in patients with non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia: Correlations with markers of iron burden and endothelial dysfunction.

Background: Levels of the angiogenic cytokines placental growth factor (PlGF) and soluble Fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) and the angiogenic balance, expressed by sFlt-1/PlGF ratio, are perturbed in sickle-cell disease and iron overload, but they have not been evaluated in non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia (NTDT).

Patients And Methods: We measured levels of PlGF, sFlt-1 and vWF:antigen in patients with NTDT of beta-thalassemia genotype, and correlated them with erythrocytic indices and markers of iron overload, inflammation, and tissue hypoxia. Thirty-four NTDT patients with mean hemoglobin level of 8.

Plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin levels are markedly increased in patients with non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia: Lack of association with markers of erythropoiesis, iron metabolism and renal function.

Background: Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (NGAL) (known as NGAL, Lipocalin 2, Siderocalin, Uterocalin, proteinase-3 and 24p3) is a mammalian small 25-kD peptide that belongs to the lipocalin superfamily, which consists of about 20 small lipoproteins. NGAL was initially discovered as an antibacterial factor of natural immunity and an acute-phase protein. NGAL is also an iron trafficking protein, a member of the non-transferrin-bound iron (NTBI) pool and an alternative to the transferrin-mediated iron-delivery pathway.

Use of therapeutic surfactant lavage in a preterm infant with massive pulmonary hemorrhage.

We report a case of a premature infant presenting with recurrent pulmonary hemorrhage in which we performed a therapeutic lavage with diluted surfactant after an acute episode of bleeding with severe intractable hypoxemia. Repeated small aliquots of diluted surfactant (10×2 mL) allowed rapid improvement in oxygenation and reduction of required mean airway pressures during high frequency oscillatory ventilation. This observation may suggest that surfactant lavage could be beneficial in massive pulmonary hemorrhage in infants.

Adhesion molecules and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels in patients with sickle cell beta-thalassaemia.

Background And Aim:   The primary symptoms of sickle cell disease (SCD) arise from vaso-occlusive crises. The pathogenesis of these crises is complex phenomenon where endothelial activation and damage has a major role. Chronic inflammation also plays an important role in the pathophysiology of SCD.

Assessment of oxidative stress in patients with sickle cell disease: The glutathione system and the oxidant-antioxidant status.

Continuous reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) may alter their overall redox status and cause tissue damage. The aim of this study was to evaluate oxidative stress in patients with SCD using two new assays, FORT (free oxygen radical test) and FORD (free oxygen radical defense) along with assessment of glutathione system including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities, vitamins A, C and E, malondialdehyde (MDA), non-transferrin bound iron (NTBI) and nitric oxide (NO) concentrations. A total of 40 patients with SCD and 25 apparently healthy volunteers (control group) were enrolled in the study.

Soluble endothelial adhesion molecules and inflammation markers in patients with beta-thalassemia intermedia.

The term thalassemia intermedia, indicates a clinical condition of intermediate severity between thalassaemia minor, the asymptomatic carrier, and thalassaemia major, the transfusion-dependent, severe form. Thromboembolic events frequently complicate the outcome of thalassemia intermedia patients, reflecting a hypercoagulable state to which endothelial activation is believed to play an important role. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of soluble endothelial adhesion molecules that reflect endothelial activation and dysfunction and levels of chronic inflammation markers in the serum of beta-thalassemia intermedia patients.

Observation of a rare hemoglobin variant [Hb Lulu island, beta107(G9)Gly-->Asp, GGC-->GAC] co-inherited with a beta+-thalassemia mutation [IVS-I-110 (G-->A)] or in the heterozygous state in a Greek-Albanian family.

We report clinical, hematological, biochemical, functional and molecular studies carried out on two first cousins from a Greek-Albanian family who have clinical and hematological findings consistent with the diagnosis of thalassemia intermedia. DNA studies determined that they had co-inherited a common Mediterranean beta-thalassemia (thal) mutation, IVS-I-110 (G-->A), in trans to a beta-globin gene mutation at codon 107 (GGC-->GAC), predicted to give rise to a rare unstable beta chain variant Hb Lulu Island or beta107(G9)Gly-->Asp.

Lipids, lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, selected trace elements and minerals in the serum of children on valproic acid monotherapy.

We evaluated the serum levels of lipids, lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, along with a number of minerals and trace elements such as Ca, Mg, Cu and Zn in a group of children after 6 months of valproic acid monotherapy. Thirty patients with seizures, mean age, 9.8+/-2.