A serum biomarker (FibroTest; Biopredictive, Paris, France; FibroSure; LabCorp, Burlington, USA) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by Fibroscan (Echosens, Paris, France) have been extensively validated in chronic hepatitis C. This review updates the clinical validation of serum biomarkers and LSM in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). One meta-analysis combined all published studies and another used a database combining FibroTest individual data.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMacromol Rapid Commun
April 2010
We applied 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition to bind ethynylferrocene onto 6I-azido-6I-deoxycyclomaltoheptaose under microwave assisted conditions. The process was investigated by (1) H NMR, FT-IR spectroscopy, and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The ability of the synthesized compound to self-organize to cyclic supramolecular structures was investigated by dynamic light scattering measurements and cryo-transmission electron microscopy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON), a contaminant of certain foods and feeds, is cytotoxic and genotoxic to mammalians cells. Exposure of human embryonic kidney (Hek-293) cells to DON led to a dose- and time-dependent decrease in cell viability, with an IC(50) about 7.6 μM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In clinical research, the definition of the upper limit of normal (ULN) is rarely detailed. For alanine transaminase (ALT), there are several definitions of ULN-ALT but no recognized global reference. Furthermore the inter-laboratory variability of results expressed using ULN-ALT is higher than using the actual value of ULN expressed in IU/L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRev Med Chir Soc Med Nat Iasi
July 2011
Unlabelled: Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP) is the most common vasculitis in childhood and is characterized by sistemic leukocytoclastic angiitis, mainly affecting small vessels of the skin, joints, gastro-intestinal tract and kidneys. Renal involvement is the most important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with HSP. The aim of this study was to evaluate renal involvement in children with HPS and the prognoses of short- and long-term outcome of patients diagnosed with HS nephritis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: FibroTest (FT) is a validated biomarker of fibrosis. To assess the applicability rate and to reduce the risk of false positives/negatives (RFPN), security algorithms were developed. The aims were to estimate the prevalence of RFPN and of proven failures, and to identify factors associated with their occurrences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Res Hepatol Gastroenterol
May 2011
Background: Hirsch's h-Index (h-I) quantifies and predicts an individual's scientific output. The h-I can be estimated from several sources, but no "gold-standard" approach has yet been established. The aim was to analyze the discordance rates in Hepatology between five h-I assessments from five databases: Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), ScholarL restricted to "liver", and a specialty h-I HepaTop.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aim: Three gene polymorphisms, interferon-lambda-3 (IL28B), inosinetriphosphatase (ITPA) and bilirubinuridine diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT1A1) are associated with treatment (interferon and ribavirin) efficacy and adherence in patients with chronic hepatitis C. The hypothesis was that fibrosis stage estimated with FibroTest instead of biopsy was still an independent predictive factor of sustained virologic response (SVR) when these new polymorphisms were assessed.
Methods: Patients receiving standard of care treatment were retrospectively analyzed with determination of IL28B, ITPA, and UGT1A1 polymorphisms.
Introduction: Described by Leber (1916), this clinical syndrome is characterized by unilateral decrease of visual acuity, papilledema and macular star. The condition concerns the young adult, has a favorable prognosis, and unspecified pathogeny.
Observations And Methods: We report the case of two young adults (25 and 27 years), examined because of decreased visual acuity in the left eye, installed 2-3 weeks after a flu-like syndrome.
Background & Aims: EPIC-3 is a prospective, international study that has demonstrated the efficacy of PEG-IFN alfa-2b plus weight-based ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C and significant fibrosis who previously failed any interferon-alfa/ribavirin therapy. The aim of the present study was to assess FibroTest (FT), a validated non-invasive marker of fibrosis in treatment-naive patients, as a possible alternative to biopsy as the baseline predictor of subsequent early virologic (EVR) and sustained virologic response (SVR) in previously treated patients.
Methods: Of 2312 patients enrolled, 1459 had an available baseline FT, biopsy, and complete data.
Lipid peroxidation products like malondialdehyde, 4-hydroxynonenal and F(2)-isoprostanes are widely used as markers of oxidative stress in vitro and in vivo. This study reports the results of a multi-laboratory validation study by COST Action B35 to assess inter-laboratory and intra-laboratory variation in the measurement of lipid peroxidation. Human plasma samples were exposed to UVA irradiation at different doses (0, 15 J, 20 J), encoded and shipped to 15 laboratories, where analyses of malondialdehyde, 4-hydroxynonenal and isoprostanes were conducted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParticles generated from numerous anthropogenic and/or natural sources, such as crystalline α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles, have the potential to damage lung cells. In our study we investigated the effects of these nanoparticles (12.5 µg/ml) on lipid peroxidation and the antioxidative system in MRC-5 lung fibroblast cells following exposure for 24, 48 or 72h.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: We present a case with bilateral optic disc drusen, associated in one eye with idiopathic parafoveal telangiectasis (Group 1B), basal laminar drusen, and foveal pseudovitelliform lesion.
Patient: A 45-years old female patient, which complained about a deterioration of vision at the right eye, was ophthalmologically examined.
Results: The examination revealed a bilateral optic disc drusen, and on the right eye a macular haemorrhage.
The paper presents a case of entero-mesenteric venous infarct, occurred in a man of 34 years, discovered intraoperator, when to intervene surgically in emergency surgery for acute abdomen of peritonitic type. The etiology of this venous infarct was posttraumatic, the patient underwent an abdominal aggression with seven days prior to onset of symptoms. In literature, the posttraumatic etiology is found in a small number compared to the large number of abdominal contusion, intimal lesional factor beeing associated with blood thickness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChirurgia (Bucur)
September 2010
The gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are the rares mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract (1-3% of all gastrointestinal neoplasias). The frequency of their location on the rectocolic site is quoted with the values lower than 10% of all GIST. The authors present a patient case 55 years aged, who presented a gastrointestinal stromal tumor cecal located.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRev Med Chir Soc Med Nat Iasi
September 2010
Unlabelled: The aim of this study is to prove a relationship between urinary tract infection and malnutrition in children 0-3 years old, hospitalized in the IVI Pediatric Clinic, Hospital St. Mary Iaşi, between January 2000 and December 2004.
Material And Methods: We have made a retrospective study for 298 infant and young children with urinary tract infection, 237 eutrophic and 61 malnourished.
Rev Med Chir Soc Med Nat Iasi
September 2010
Unlabelled: Growth retardation is an important problem in children with chronic renal disease, and malnutrition is a determinative factor.
Aim: The study intends to assess the relationship between protein-energy malnutrition and stature-weight retardation in children enrolled in chronic dialysis program.
Material And Method: The study group was composed of 16 children (5 boys and 11 girls--sex ratio of 2.
Background: Factors associated with the survival of truth of clinical conclusions in the medical literature are unknown. We hypothesized that publications with a first author having a higher Hirsch' index value (h-I), which quantifies and predicts an individual's scientific research output, should have a longer half-life.
Methods And Results: 474 original articles concerning cirrhosis or hepatitis published from 1945 to 1999 were selected.
Background: Liver biopsy and virological end points are standard references for assessing the effect of viral hepatitis treatments. We aimed to review evidence-based published data of biomarkers that have been validated as non-invasive alternatives to biopsy as end points for HBV and HCV infection trials.
Methods: Studies were included if there were at least two repeated estimates of fibrosis per patient using biomarkers with at least two studies and a control group.
Background: Only a minority of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection develops severe liver fibrosis, a process that may be controlled by human genetic factors.
Objective: To investigate the role of 384 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in 36 candidate genes related to the fibrogenesis/fibrolysis process.
Methods: Patients with chronic HCV infection were gathered from two French cohorts (prospectively and retrospectively).
Background: ActiTest (AT) is a biomarker of liver necro-inflammatory histological activity validated in patients with chronic hepatitis C (HCV).
Aim: The aim was to assess the accuracy of AT in comparison with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) the standard of care.
Methods: Methods used an integrated database of individual data and the new recommended Obuchowski measures.
Background: FibroTest and elastography have been validated as biomarkers of liver fibrosis in the most frequent chronic liver diseases and in the fibrosis screening of patients with diabetes. One challenge was to use them for estimating the prevalence of fibrosis, identifying independent risk factors and to propose screening strategies in the general population.
Methods: We prospectively studied 7,463 consecutive subjects aged 40 years or older.