Laryngeal signs and pH-multichannel intraluminal impedance in infants and children: The missing ring: LPR and MII-pH in children.

Objective: to investigate the reliability of laryngeal reflux finding score (RFS) and symptom index (RSI) in assessing gastroesophageal reflux (GER) in children and infants.

Methods: patients with laryngeal or respiratory symptoms, who underwent laryngoscopy and esophageal pH-impedance (MII-pH) were recruited. RSI and RFS were correlated to MII-pH results.

Real-time multiplex PCR assay to quantify hepatitis C virus RNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Ultrasensitive methods to measure very low levels of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in biological samples may have diagnostic and prognostic significance and be useful to evaluate the response to antiviral treatment. A sensitive assay to quantify HCV RNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was developed and validated using the iCycler iQ Detection System (Bio-Rad) coupled with TaqMan chemistry. HCV was co-amplified with the endogenous control glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in a multiplex reaction.

Molecular evidence that the hepatitis C virus replicates in the oral mucosa.

Background/aims: Patients infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) often have extrahepatic manifestations, which significantly contribute to HCV-related morbidity, but whose pathogenesis is largely unknown. Our aim was to evaluate the HCV replication in oral mucosa of chronic hepatitis C patients.

Methods: We collected oral mucosa specimens from 17 anti-HCV-positive and four anti-HCV-negative patients.