Investigation of hand forces applied to a pruning tool - pilot study.

Introduction: Winter pruning is a cultivation practice necessary for maintaining the balance between the vegetative and the productive activity of plants and requires many working days using hand scissors. This operation involves the subjects carrying out a series of gestures that are repeated with considerable frequency, which are all musculo-skeletal disorders risk factors (MSDs) for the hand-wrist area.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the forces applied to pruning tools.

Immune response in addicts with chronic hepatitis C treated with interferon and ribavirin.

Background: The role played by the immune system in the progression of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is not completely clear. Opioids may facilitate the outbreak of infections through marked immunomodulating effects on the immune response against a virus. To asses if addicts can be treated successfully with interferon (IFN) during detoxification treatment, we evaluated some immune response mediators in addicts affected by CHC.

Long-term benefit of interferon alpha therapy of chronic hepatitis D: regression of advanced hepatic fibrosis.

Background & Aims: Little is known about the long-term effects of interferon alpha on clinical outcome and survival of patients with chronic hepatitis D.

Methods: Thirty-six patients with chronic hepatitis D who participated in a randomized controlled trial of a 48-week course of high (9 million units) or low (3 million units) doses of interferon alpha or no treatment were followed for an additional 2 to 14 years.

Results: Long-term survival was significantly longer in the high-dose group than in untreated controls (P = 0.

Plasma erythropoietin levels in anaemic and non-anaemic patients with chronic liver diseases.

Aim: To investigate the serum erythropoietin (Epo) levels in patients with chronic liver diseases and to compare to subjects with iron-deficiency anaemia and healthy controls.

Methods: We examined 31 anaemic (ALC) and 22 non-anaemic (NALC) cirrhotic patients, 21 non- anaemic subjects with chronic active hepatitis (CAH), 24 patients with iron-deficiency anaemia (ID) and 15 healthy controls. Circulating Epo levels (ELISA; R and D Systems, Europe Ltd, Abingdon, UK) and haemoglobin (Hb) concentration were determined in all subjects.

Can ultrasonographic findings of perihepatic lymphadenopathy promote investigations to detect possible presence of virus C infection in non-symptomatic subjects?

PURPOSE: Only early detection of non-symptomatic patients is able to arrest the diffusion of the non-symptomatic HCV infection and lead to prompt treatment. Our aim was to attempt to correlate the presence of perihepatic lymph nodes and hepatitis C infection and to assess whether ultrasonography can have a role to promote specific investigations for pre-clinical diagnosis of virus C infection. METHOD: We performed a controlled study on a cohort of 7974 subjects from a town of 27000 inhabitants on the eastern coast of Sicily.

Controlled clinical trial to assess the response of recent heroin abusers with chronic hepatitis C virus infection to treatment with interferon alpha-n2b.

Background: Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most common infectious disease among heroin abusers, but it is recommended that specific treatment with interferon be delayed until at least 6 to 12 months after the end of drug addiction.

Objective: We investigated the response of heroin abusers to interferon treatment shortly after the end of detoxification treatment with methadone.

Methods: We studied 2 homogeneous groups of white Italian patients with chronic HCV infection: former male heroin abusers and males without a history of drug addiction.