[Abnormal hepatic function tests in pregnancy: causes and consequences].

The well-known normal ranges of laboratory parameters are altered due to the broad spectrum of physiological changes as well as proinflammatory and procoagulant effects of pregnancy. Hepatic disorders of any aetiology can cause potential problems during gravidity. Most frequently toxic-effects, hepatotrop viruses (such as hepatitis B and C), metabolic syndrome and diseases with autoimmune background can be observed.

[Clinical correlations of chronic hepatitis C, diabetes mellitus and steatohepatitis].

Subsequent studies have implicated the hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein in the pathogenesis of hepatic steatosis. Chronic HCV infection may also cause steatosis by impairing fatty acid oxidation. There is relationship between accumulation of fat into the liver and overweight and/or obesity.

[Ultrastructural findings in the liver due to long-term retinol (isotretinoin) treatment. Significance of the perisinusoidal (Ito) cells].

A twenty year old, foreign-born sportsman visited the Out-patient Clinic of our Hospital with complaints of progressive arthralgia, hepatomegaly and increasingly abnormal liver function tests of six months duration. Tests for virus hepatitis were negative, alcohol abuse or drug addiction could be excluded. An open needle biopsy of the liver was performed and the tissue was examined with the light and electron microscope.

Characterization of a lipoyl domain-independent B-cell autoepitope on the human branched-chain acyltransferase in primary biliary cirrhosis and overlap syndrome with autoimmune hepatitis.

Background And Aims: Antimitochondrial antibodies (AMA) which recognize pyruvate acetyltransferase (PDC-E2) represent a highly diagnostic feature of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). The analysis of immunofluorescence (IF)-AMA-positive sera in PBC patients indicates a conformational epitope located within the lipoyl binding domain of bovine branched-chain acyltransferase (BCKADC-E2) alone or in combination with AMA directed against PDC-E2 the significance of which is presently unclear. In the present study, immunoreactivities and disease associations of AMA against BCKADC-E2 were analyzed.

Paradoxical alteration of acute-phase protein levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with IFN-alpha2b.

Previously we observed elevation of the serum concentration of two acute-phase protein (AFP) complement components (C9 and C1-inhibitor) in patients with chronic hepatitis C who responded (R) to IFN-alpha therapy, but not in non-responders (NR). In the present study we investigated the effect of high-dose IFN-alpha therapy on serum concentrations of two positive [orosomucoid (OROSO) and C-reactive protein (CRP)] and two negative [transferrin (TF) and fetuin/alpha2HS-glycoprotein (AHSG)] AFP in an outpatient setting. We investigated blood samples of 40 patients with chronic hepatitis C at the onset and at the end of a 3-month treatment with high-dose IFN-alpha2b (5 MIU/day for 6 weeks, followed by 5 MIU t.

[Determination of the lamivudine-resistant mutants of hepatitis B virus].

Introduction: In addition to interferon, lamivudine is the other widely used antiviral agent in the therapy of chronic hepatitis B. This nucleoside analogue inhibits the RNA-dependent DNA polimerase and the reverse transcription by integrating in the viral DNA, which results in the secondary suppression of viral protein synthesis and replication of HBV. It has numerous advantages such as effective viral inhibition, mild side effects and the possibility of oral administration; on the other hand it poses the problem of time-correlated appearance of lamivudine resistant mutants during therapy.

Serum anti-cholesterol antibodies in chronic hepatitis-C patients during IFN-alpha-2b treatment.

Previously we detected more than 3 times higher anti-cholesterol antibody (ACHA) levels in HIV positive patients compared to healthy individuals, however, this level significantly decreased during highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). In our present study we examined whether these findings could also be detected in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). We calculated the correlation between the ACHA levels and the C5b-9 complement activation product.

[Relationship of the clinician and the pathologist at the turn of the millennium].

The autopsy, once a fundamental and familiar component of medical practice based on the good cooperation of clinicians and pathologist, is now infrequently used. Recent data indicate that autopsies are performed only about one third of the cases in Hungary and less that 1 of 10 inpatients death in the united States. Explanation for this decrease is multifactorial, involving changing professional and patients attitudes, the advent of sophisticated antemortem diagnostic methods, socioeconomic factors, and medicolegal concerns as well.

[The future of pathology--from the viewpoint of clinical pathology].

Pathology is one of the fundamental diagnostic fields of medicine, its position has changed and will undergo transformation in the 21st century due to the introduction of new methods. Theoretically, pathology was based upon 3 pillars: 1. the autopsies, 2.

[The role of perisinusoidal (Ito) cells in the course of hepatocellular carcinoma: light and electron microscopic data to the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma].

The clinical history of a 49 year old female patient suggested a multifocal, rapidly progressive liver disease of one month duration, apparently due to metastatic tumour. An open needle biopsy of the liver revealed a primary hepatocellular carcinoma of low grade malignancy; the diagnosis was confirmed by histological, immunohistochemical and electron microscopic studies. Besides the ultrastructural examination of the liver biopsy disclosed an unusually marked proliferation of perisinusoidal (Ito)-cells.

LKM3 autoantibodies in hepatitis C cirrhosis: a further phenomenon of the HCV-induced autoimmunity.

Chronic hepatitis C is frequently associated with laboratory markers-including LKM1 autoantibodies--of autoimmunity. A 62-yr-old woman with hepatitis C cirrhosis presented autoantibodies against liver and kidney microsomal proteins. By further evaluation of autoantibodies using ELISA and immunoblotting LKM1 and LKM3 autoantibodies could be revealed.

C5b-9 and interleukin-6 in chronic hepatitis C. Surrogate markers predicting short-term response to interferon alpha-2b.

Background: Available data and our observations suggest that elevated levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and -10 and some complement parameters may be associated with a poor response to IFN alpha. We evaluated how baseline levels of C5b-9, IL-6, and IL-10 influence the outcome of IFN alpha treatment.

Methods: Fifty-one patients with established chronic hepatitis C were enrolled and treated with IFN alpha-2b.

Association of primary biliary cirrhosis with vitamin D receptor BsmI genotype polymorphism in a Hungarian population.

We sought to determine the distribution of vitamin D receptor genotypes defined by the BsmI polymorphism and to investigate their association with bone mineral density in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. Vitamin D receptor genotype and bone mineral density at the lumbar spine was determined in 31 female Hungarian patients with primary biliary cirrhosis and 51 age-matched healthy female controls. The genotype frequency (BB: 45%, Bb: 32%, bb: 22%) of the patients was significantly different from the control group (P = 0.

Effects of interferon treatment on the glucose metabolism of patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Background: The authors report on changes in carbohydrate metabolism observed in 32 patients undergoing therapy with interferon-alpha for chronic hepatitis C. Methods: Diabetes had been diagnosed in three patients and impaired glucose tolerance ascertained in one patient before interferon therapy was started. The remaining 28 patients were non-diabetic.

Changes in the acute phase complement component and IL-6 levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C receiving interferon alpha-2b.

In order to study the effect of interferon alpha on the levels of acute phase complement proteins in vivo, serum concentrations of C9 and C1-inhibitor (C1-INH) were measured in patients with chronic hepatitis C before and 3 months after the beginning of interferon alpha2b therapy. Serum levels of the activation product of terminal complement pathway, C5b-9, HCV RNA and IL-6 were also determined. IFN alpha treatment significantly (P<0.

[Activity of neutral endopeptidase in serum of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis].

Neutral endopeptidase (neprilysin; EC 3.4.24.

[Effect of interferon therapy on carbohydrate metabolism in chronic hepatitis C patients].

Reversible impact of alpha-interferon on carbohydrate (CH) metabolism was observed in patients with hepatitis C treated with interferon between 1993 and 1997. Of the 32 patients 3 individuals had known to have diabetes mellitus before the treatment and 1 had impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). 28 patients proved to have normal CH metabolism before the interferon treatment.

Coincidence of hereditary angioedema (HAE) with Crohn's disease.

A patient with two diseases, based presumably on different immunopathological mechanisms, hereditary angioedema (HAE) and Crohn's disease, was followed for 8 years. For more than three years of this observation period, detailed laboratory data were also available and could be analyzed. Both diseases had severe courses requiring chronic treatment with danazol and sulfasalazine, respectively.