O1 The metabolomics approach to autism: identification of biomarkers for early detection of autism spectrum disorder A. K. Srivastava, Y.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: Hypogonadism is a common clinical situation in male patients with liver cirrhosis.
Objectives: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of orthotopic liver transplantation on testosterone, free testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin in male with advanced liver disease and also to determine the relationship of these changes with Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score.
Methods: In a prospective study, serum levels of testosterone, free testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin of 30 male adult patients with end-stage liver disease were measured 2 to 4 hours before and 6 months after orthotopic liver transplantation.
Context: Most patients subjected to liver transplantation presents hypersplenism, which is reversed after the operation. However, some patients remain with moderate to intense hypersplenism.
Objectives: To study the effect of liver transplantation on platelet count in patients with hypersplenism.
Rapid revascularization of the infarct-related artery importantly affects prognosis in the treatment of acute ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Treatment results can be improved significantly when a STEMI-specific structure of care is created and when systematic quality improvement measures are implemented. The necessary structural measures include establishing or participating in myocardial infarction networks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFor many patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMIs), the time from presentation to percutaneous coronary intervention exceeds established goals. This study was conducted to examine the effects of formalized data assessment and systematic feedback on treatment times. All patients with STEMIs treated with percutaneous coronary intervention in a semi-rural 3-hospital network from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2006, were prospectively analyzed (n = 114).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe directly follow the evolution of the absorption spectrum from a single molecule to a dimer and further to a one-dimensional molecular stack: We determine the optical absorption properties of ordered monolayer to multilayer films of PTCDA (3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride) on muscovite mica(0001) surfaces by in situ differential reflectance spectroscopy. The data clearly show the transition from the single molecule to a dimer spectrum, followed by the exciton delocalization to a molecular crystal exciton. The accompanying spectral shifts compare favorably with recent model concepts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe present a general method for extracting optical constants n and k plus film thickness t of weakly absorbing materials that exhibit film thicknesses in the micrometer range. This method utilizes the simultaneous fit of multiple transmission measurements of different film thicknesses and employs the constraint that the frequencies of the corresponding measured interference patterns in the nonabsorbing wavelength region have to be matched by means of n, its derivative n' at a certain value E0, and t. Applying this method in practice, we calculate, in two different, independent ways, the optical constants of muscovite mica at 330-800 nm for thicknesses that range from approximately 5 to approximately 160 microns.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe present analytical equations based on thin-film optics with which to extract the thickness of weakly absorbing films from spectral interference measurements, using only the observed constant interference frequency. It is shown that the assumption of a constant index of refraction n for the analysis of interference frequency omega 0 introduces significant errors into the thickness calculation. Instead, the first derivative of n with respect to the energy, n', has to be included as well to yield the correct film thickness, even for small values of n'.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Coeliac disease is a disorder characterised by malabsorption related to abnormal small bowel structure and intolerance to gluten. There are several reports of an increased risk for malignancy in coeliac disease and its relation to gluten-free, reduced gluten, or normal diet. While a normal diet is associated with an excess of cancer of the mouth, pharynx, oesophagus, and also of lymphoma, treatment with a gluten-free diet restores the cancer risk back to normal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFScand J Gastroenterol
February 2001
A 60-year-old man, although treated with antibiotics, suffered from a severe pyrexial illness of unknown origin, weight loss and intermittent abdominal pain. There was no history of diarrhea or common infections. Computed tomography and ultrasound imaging showed uncharacteristic multiple small lesions of the entire liver parenchyma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBaillieres Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol
July 1999
When assessing the indications for interventional endoscopy, obstructive and non-obstructive causes of acute pancreatitis should be distinguished. In non-obstructive (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Study Aims: Biliary obstruction in chronic pancreatitis is frequently treated by endoscopic insertion of a plastic stent into the common bile duct, a therapy regarded as having a low complication rate. The aim of this study is to analyze the frequency and severity of complications caused by biliary stents in patients with chronic alcoholic pancreatitis.
Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed all our patients with chronic pancreatitis (n = 14) who were provided with a plastic stent for biliary stenosis between June 1993 and December 1997.
Primary sarcomas of the liver are rare. Most of them are angiosarcomas often related to exposure to thorotrast or polyvinyl chloride. We report a case of primary osteosarcoma of the liver in a 72-year-old man and compare it with the seven cases from the literature
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGranulomatous disorders like sarcoidosis or Crohn's disease are commonly associated with extrapulmonary or extraintestinal manifestations which occasionally may represent the only symptoms. We describe a 28-year-old female patient suffering from atypical erythema nodosum and arthritis. Although the chest x-ray was unremarkable bronchoalveolar lavage revealed lymphocytic alveolitis with an elevated CD4/CD8 ratio of 8 and 11.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Biochem Biophys
October 1999
Ethanolamine ammonia-lyase (EAL, EC 4.3.1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe case of a 66-year-old female patient is presented, who suffered from chronic watery diarrhea. In addition, she developed linear IgA dermatosis after oral treatment of a presumed yeast infection with nystatin. To evaluate the reason for her diarrhea, colonoscopy was performed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 66-year-old woman presented with a bullous skin eruption and chronic diarrhoea. Lesional skin showed subepidermal blistering, and direct immunofluorescence of perilesional skin revealed linear deposits of IgA at the dermoepidermal junction, establishing a diagnosis of linear IgA disease (LAD). Chronic watery diarrhoea complicated by substantial loss of body weight preceded the skin eruption for several months.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAbsorption of conjugated bile acids from the small intestine is very efficient. The mechanisms of jejunal absorption are not very well understood. The aim of this study was to clarify the mechanism of absorption of conjugated bile acid at the apical membrane of jejunal epithelial cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe ribonucleoside triphosphate reductase (RTPR) from Lactobacillus leichmannii catalyzes the reduction of nucleoside 5'-triphosphates to 2'-deoxynucleoside 5'-triphosphates and uses coenzyme B12, adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl), as a cofactor. Use of a mechanism-based inhibitor, 2'-deoxy-2'-methylenecytidine 5'-triphosphate, and isotopically labeled RTPR and AdoCbl in conjunction with EPR spectroscopy has allowed identification of the lower axial ligand of cob(II)alamin when bound to RTPR. In common with the AdoCbl-dependent enzymes catalyzing irreversible heteroatom migrations and in contrast to the enzymes catalyzing reversible carbon skeleton rearrangements, the dimethylbenzimidazole moiety of the cofactor is not displaced by a protein histidine upon binding to RTPR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFItal J Gastroenterol Hepatol
October 1998
ERCP and sphincterotomy (EPT) are well accepted as the procedure of choice for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes of extrahepatic biliary obstructions. In case of obstructive jaundice and biliary sepsis urgent sphincterotomy is the method of choice, also during acute pancreatitis. The question has been debated whether endoscopic sphincterotomy improves the prognosis of acute (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Gallbladder contractility plays an important role in the pathogenesis of gallstones and in the course of cholelithiasis. Furthermore, a functioning gallbladder is an important condition for performing a successful disolution of gallstones by bile acids. Therefore, a reliable simple physiological test is desired to assess gallbladder contractility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEven in the enzyme-bound state the dimethylbenzimidazole ligand in the dioldehydratase from Salmonella typhimurium remains bound to the cobalt ion in contrast to some coenzyme B -dependent enzymes. Direct, ESR spectroscopic proof for this "base-on" binding mode was obtained by using a coenzyme in which one of the nitrogen atoms of the dimethylbenzimidazole ligand was N labeled (see schematic representation on the right).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The role of early endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and papillotomy in the treatment of patients who have acute biliary pancreatitis without obstructive jaundice is uncertain.
Methods: We conducted a prospective, multicenter study in which 126 patients were randomly assigned to early ERCP (within 72 hours after the onset of symptoms) and endoscopic papillotomy for the removal of stones in the common bile duct, when appropriate, and 112 patients were assigned to conservative treatment. In the conservative-treatment group, ERCP was performed within three weeks if signs of biliary obstruction or sepsis developed.