Hepatitis Viruses Control Host Immune Responses by Modifying the Exosomal Biogenesis Pathway and Cargo.

The development of smart immune evasion mechanisms is crucial for the establishment of acute and chronic viral hepatitis. Hepatitis is a major health problem worldwide arising from different causes, such as pathogens, metabolic disorders, and xenotoxins, with the five hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D, and E (HAV, HBV, HCV, HDV, and HEV) representing the majority of the cases. Most of the hepatitis viruses are considered enveloped.

A "Terrible" Headache in a HIV Patient.

Mucormycosis is a type of fungal infection more prevalent among immunosuppressed patients, requires prompt identification and surgical treatment, as it can is associated with local and distant spread. This case is aiming to highlight the importance of early identification of subtle symptoms in immunocompromised patients. The clinician should be aware of fungal sinusitis, consider it in the differential diagnosis, and seek for an ear, nose, and throat opinion.

Lasers in Οtolaryngology: A Laser Odyssey From Carbon Dioxide to True Blue.

In this special issue of the Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) journal entitled Lasers in Otolaryngology, we attempted to cover and accommodate different experiences from around the globe on both established and some not so well-known techniques and indications for Lasers in most ENT subspecialties. Despite the COVID 19 pandemic, authors from all over the world have expressed their interest in publishing their Laser experiences with ENT journal and for this we are very grateful.

5 Years of Diode Laser "Π" Technique for Bilateral Vocal Fold Immobility: A Technique That Improves Airway and Is Friendly to the Voice.

Background: To demonstrate the efficacy of a new laser surgical technique for bilateral vocal fold immobility (BVFI) on postoperative quality of voice and swallowing.

Methods: Prospective study in a tertiary university hospital and a private hospital. Patients with iatrogenic BVFI were included.

Diode Laser for Laryngeal Cancer: "980 nm" and Beyond the Classic CO.

Lasers have been used in otolaryngology for more than 40 years and are widely considered an established way of addressing laryngeal pathology, benign and malignant. Carbon dioxide (CO) laser is considered a gold standard, but over the last 2 decades, a new technology has been developed and established in other medical specialties, not so much in Ear Nose and Throat (ENT), the diode laser. It consists of a flexible fiber that passes through a hollow guidance system and is capable of reaching certain angled spots easier than straight beam systems.

Metastatic Tracheal Tumor of Thyroid Origin: Endoscopic Diode Laser Treatment Combined With Thyroidectomy, Radioactive Iodine, and Radiotherapy.

Tracheal metastasis from papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is an unprecedented and rare entity. We present the case of a 65 year-old lady who suffered from dyspnea and a thyroid goiter that turned out to be PTC. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the lungs revealed a huge tracheal mass causing obstruction of the tracheal lumen.

HCV Defective Genomes Promote Persistent Infection by Modulating the Viral Life Cycle.

Defective interfering (DI) RNAs have been detected in several human viruses. HCV in-frame deletions mutants (IFDMs), missing mainly the envelope proteins, have been found in patient sera and liver tissues. IFDMs replicate independently and can be -packaged into infectious virions in the presence of full length viral genome.

Endoscopically Assisted Laparoscopic Gastric Resection for Benign and Malignant Lesions: A Report of Two Cases.

BACKGROUND The first gastric resection for stomach cancer was performed in 1879, and the first gastric resection for gastric ulcer disease was performed in 1882. During the 1990s, the first laparoscopic gastrostomies were reported. During the past decade, laparoscopic techniques have developed rapidly, gaining wide clinical acceptance.

Technetium-99m labelled red blood cells scintigraphy and not iminodiacetic acid cholescintigraphy facilitates the discrimination of hepatic cirrhosis from fibrosis.

Objective: This pilot study was designed to investigate the efficacy of technetium-99m labelled red blood cells ((99m)Tc-RBC) compared with (99m)Tc-mebrofenin cholescintigraphy ((99m)Tc-MHS), in the diagnosis of hepatic dysfunction at early stages.

Subjects And Methods: Twenty four patients, 8 with hepatic fibrosis and 16 with cirrhosis, at Child-Pugh stage A to C and 20 age-matched controls were examined by (99m)Tc-RBC and by (99m)Tc-MHS. Dynamic acquisition and static images were semiquantitatively analused by studying the liver-to-heart (L/H) ratio estimated by both the (99m)Tc-RBC and (99m)Tc-MHS methods.

Overcoming the heat-sink phenomenon: successful radiofrequency thermal ablation of liver tumors in contact with blood vessels.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of computed tomography (CT)-guided radiofrequency thermal ablation (RFA) of liver tumors (hepatocellular carcinoma and liver metastases) > 3 mm in diameter that were in contact with blood vessels.

Materials And Methods: During a 3-year period RFA was performed in 28 patients (age range, 36-83 years; male/female ratio, 17:11) with liver tumors (primary and metastatic) that were in contact with blood vessels > 3 mm in diameter. Tumor diameter ranged from 1.