Rapidly progressive IgA nephritis and sarcoidosis.

Renal sarcoidosis frequently causes granulomatous interstitial nephritis, but clinically relevant nephritis is uncommon. IgA nephropathy caused by sarcoidosis is usually associated with milder stages of renal dysfunction, and only one case of rapidly progressive IgAN has been reported to date. We present an interesting case of a patient with a rapidly progressive form of IgA nephropathy caused by sarcoidosis that was successfully treated.

Low ERCC1 expression is a good predictive marker in lung adenocarcinoma patients receiving chemotherapy based on platinum in all TNM stages - a single-center study.

Background: High ERCC1 expression is thought to be related with resistance to chemotherapy based on platinum. The aim of this study was to present our institutional observations regarding to the association of ERCC1 and overall survival (OS) of the lung adenocarcinoma patients who received chemotherapy based on platinum.

Material/methods: A total of 253 lung adenocarcinoma patients in all TNM stages were retrospectively investigated.

Oxygen therapy improves cerebral oxygen delivery and neurovascular function in hypoxaemic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? How does oxygen therapy influence cerebral blood flow, cerebral oxygen delivery and neurovascular function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients? What is the main finding and its importance? Oxygen therapy improves cerebral oxygen delivery and neurovascular function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. This improvement in cerebral oxygen delivery and neurovascular function might provide a physiological link between oxygen therapy and a reduced risk of cerebrovascular disease (e.g.

Disturbed blood flow worsens endothelial dysfunction in moderate-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The aims of this study were: (1) to test whether oscillatory shear stress further exacerbates endothelial dysfunction in patients with moderate-severe COPD, and (2) to test whether low flow oxygen administration improves endothelial function and is protective against oscillatory shear stress-induced endothelial dysfunction in patients with moderate-severe COPD. In 17 patients and 10 age-matched non-smoking control subjects we examined brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and circulating microparticles before and after 20 minutes of experimentally-induced oscillatory shear stress. COPD patients performed this intervention a second time following a 20-minute wash in period of low flow supplemental oxygen to normalize arterial oxygen saturation.

The Utility of Thyroid Transcription Factor 1 (TTF-1), Napsin A, Excision Repair Cross-Complementing 1 (ERCC1), Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK) and the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Expression in Small Biopsy in Prognosis of Patients with Lung Adenocarcinoma - A Retrograde Single-Center Study from Croatia.

BACKGROUND The present study was carried out in order to evaluate our institutional experience with small biopsy in diagnosis and molecular testing of lung adenocarcinoma. Few specific and predictive markers have been evaluated and correlated with clinicopathologic characteristics and survival in patients with lung adenocarcinoma who received platinum-based chemotherapy. There have not been such reports from Croatia.

Intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses in humans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: implications for cryptogenic stroke?

What is the central question of this study? Do individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have blood flow through intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses at rest or during exercise? What is the main finding and its importance? Individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have a greater prevalence of blood flow through intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses at rest than age-matched control subjects. Given that the intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses are large enough to permit venous emboli to pass into the arterial circulation, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and an elevated risk of thrombus formation may be at risk of intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomosis-facilitated embolic injury (e.g.

Systemic inflammation up-regulates serum hepcidin in exacerbations and stabile chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objectives: Hepcidin is the main regulator of systemic iron homeostasis and its expression is modulated by iron status, hypoxia, erythroid factors and inflammation. The aim of our study was to examine a relationship between level of hepcidin and iron status, erythropoietic activity, hypoxia and inflammation in exacerbations and stable COPD patients. We hypothesized that hepcidin concentration is changed in COPD patients and is substantially influenced by inflammation and/or hypoxia.

Acute appendicitis, a rare complication of varicella: a report of three cases.

Acute appendicitis is a very rare complication of varicella, and is rarely reported in studies of complications of varicella or appendicitis. This report describes three cases of acute appendicitis in the course of varicella, diagnosed in Clinical Department of Infectious Diseases at Split University Hospital, Croatia between 1998 and 2010. Varicella was diagnosed clinically, and in two cases confirmed by positive serological tests for varicella-zoster virus (VZV).

The influence of gastroesophageal reflux in the lung: a case-control study.

Background And Objective: Many researchers have investigated the pH of exhaled breath condensate but direct measurement of pH in the lung has not been performed in vivo in humans. We hypothesized that the pH measured directly in the lung would differ between healthy subjects and patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). We also wished to determine whether an acidic environment in the lung influences pulmonary function and DL(CO), and whether microaspiration of gastric contents directly influences non-specific inflammation in the lung.