Doppler ultrasound of hepatic blood flow for noninvasive evaluation of liver fibrosis compared with liver biopsy and transient elastography.

Background: Accurate quantification of liver fibrosis is essential for therapeutic decision-making and follow-up of chronic liver diseases.

Aims: To optimize the quality of non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatopathy we compared Doppler ultrasound with liver histology and transient elastography (TE).

Methods: In this prospective observational study, we performed Doppler ultrasound of hepatic blood vessels as well as TE in 125 patients who underwent liver biopsy for diagnostic work-up of hepatopathy.

Effect of dietary conjugated linoleic acids on the distribution of fatty acids in serum lipoprotein fractions and different tissues of growing pigs.

The effect of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on blood lipids [total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triacylglycerols (TAG)] and the fatty acid distribution of the lipoprotein fractions, backfat, muscle fat, and liver lipids were examined in an experiment with two groups of 40 pigs [Pietrain x (Landrace x Large White)] each. The 20 female and 20 male castrated pigs of each group were fed with isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets supplemented with either 20 g/kg rapeseed oil (control) or 20 g/kg CLA-TAG. The CLA preparation contained 54.

Effects of rapeseed-press cake glucosinolates and iodine on the performance, the thyroid gland and the liver vitamin A status of pigs.

Rapeseed press cake (per kg DM 181 g EE, 341 g CP and 23.3 mmol glucosinolates) was tested in a long-term experiment with a total of sixty pigs (live weight range 24 to 104 kg). The 3 x 2 factorial design consisted of three rapeseed press cake levels (no rapeseed press cake--control, 75 g or 150 g rapeseed press cake per kg diet) each with two iodine dosages (125 or 250 micrograms supplementary iodine per kg diet).

Influence of a conjugated linoleic acid mixture on growth, organ weights, carcass traits and meat quality in growing pigs.

Grain soybean meal diets, either with 2% of a conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) preparation or with 2% rapeseed oil (control), were tested in 2 x 40 pigs, Pietrain x (Landrace x Large White), each group with 20 female in the live weight range 23.5-117.0 kg and 20 male-castrated pigs in the live weight range 23.

Rapeseed glucosinolates and iodine in sows affect the milk iodine concentration and the iodine status of piglets.

I in the chain sow diet --> blood serum of sow --> sow milk --> piglet serum was investigated in two experiments with a total of eighty-one sows and their piglets. In experiments conducted during the last trimester of gravidity and the 28 d of lactation, diets with glucosinolates (1.9 mmol/kg diet via 100 g ground rapeseed/kg diet (Expt 1) and 2.

[Fever and exanthema after trip to the Mediterranean area--Mediterranean spotted fever (Boutonneuse fever)].

History And Clinical Findings: In connection with a period of residence in the Mediterranean basin (Portugal, Spain, Sicily) one woman and two men (age: 28, 31 and 40 years) got sick with fever in August and in the midst of October. In addition, they complained about headache in two cases and myalgias, arthralgia and vomiting in one case, respectively. Two of the vacationers (cases 2 and 3) had been accompanied by their dogs.

Eosinophil granule proteins in serum and urine of patients with helminth infections and atopic dermatitis.

Eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EPX) are cytotoxic molecules involved in helminth infections and allergic reactions. Hitherto most clinical chemical studies have been concerned with the analysis of serum ECP in allergic diseases. The aim of this study was to examine whether serum as well as urine levels of these proteins are useful clinical chemical parameters in helminthiases and allergic diseases such as atopic dermatitis.

Use of the recombinant Onchocerca volvulus protein Ov20/OvS1 for the immunodiagnostic differentiation between onchocerciasis and mansonelliasis and for the characterization of hyperreactive onchocerciasis (sowda).

The protein Ov20/OvS1 was used as antigen in ELISA and Western blot in order to differentiate onchocerciasis from African mansonelliasis and to characterize the hyperreactive form of Onchocerca volvulus infection (sowda). The specificity of the IgG4 Western blot was 98% for the differentiation between persons with onchocerciasis and Mansonella microfilariae (mf) carriers (125 persons with M. perstans and 92 with M.

Two large liver abscesses complicating Crohn's disease.

A 20-year-old woman with active Crohn's disease had an abrupt onset of high fever accompanied by an elevation of serum gamma-glutamyltransferase and alkaline phosphatase. Her past medical history included a course of corticosteroid therapy for 7.5 months and a resection of the terminal ileum and the cecum 2 months before admission.

Lipopolysaccharide-like molecules derived from Wolbachia endobacteria of the filaria Onchocerca volvulus are candidate mediators in the sequence of inflammatory and antiinflammatory responses of human monocytes.

The majority of Onchocerca volvulus-infected persons show signs of cellular anergy, and long-time survival of adult and larval parasites in subcutaneous tissue is observed. The mechanisms leading to immunological hyporesponsiveness are poorly understood. Monocytes/macrophages represent a link between the innate and acquired immune system and are candidate cells to promote inflammatory and antiinflammatory processes.

Humoral responses to a secretory Onchocerca volvulus protein: differences in the pattern of antibody isotypes to recombinant Ov20/OvS1 in generalized and hyperreactive onchocerciasis.

The Onchocerca volvulus secretory protein Ov20/OvS1 represents a dominant antigen expressed in the infective larvae, microfilariae and adult stages of the parasite. The humoral responses to this protein have not yet been analysed in the polar clinical and immunological forms of onchocerciasis. Analysis by ELISA of class and subclass antibodies to Ov20/OvS1 in persons with the generalized or the hyperreactive form of onchocerciasis revealed similar strong responses of IgG1, IgG4 and IgM antibody levels in both forms of onchocerciasis and significant differences were observed in the IgE and IgA antibody classes.

Analysis of renal function in onchocerciasis patients before and after therapy.

The occurrence of renal abnormalities was investigated in patients with onchocerciasis in comparison to individuals without onchocerciasis in Guinea. Serum creatinine levels, excretion of urinary marker proteins, and kidney size by ultrasound were determined. A high prevalence of glomerular as well as tubular dysfunctions was observed; however, no association with onchocerciasis could be detected.

Eosinophils, eosinophil cationic protein and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin in serum and urine of patients with onchocerciasis coinfected with intestinal nematodes and in urinary schistosomiasis.

Eosinophils, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN/EPX), myeloperoxidase (MPO) and IgE were measured in blood, serum and/or urine in Schistosoma haematobium- and Onchocerca volvulus-infected Guineans and O. volvulus- and S. haematobium-negative Guineans coinfected or infected with intestinal nematodes.

Onchocerca volvulus: microfilariae secrete elastinolytic and males nonelastinolytic matrix-degrading serine and metalloproteases.

Host tissue penetration by parasitic nematodes may be mediated by both mechanical processes and proteolytic enzymes released by the parasites. Analysis of excretory-secretory (ES) products of Onchocerca volvulus microfilariae and adult stages on substrate gels demonstrated that they contain several distinct proteolytic enzymes. The analysis of the ES products of the microfilariae revealed one low and two high molecular weight proteolytic bands that degraded gelatin in substrate gels.

Cellular and subcellular localization of cationic leukocyte antigen (CLA) in human eosinophil granulocytes.

The cellular and subcellular localization of cationic leukocyte antigen (CLA) in human peripheral blood and tissue granulocytes was investigated by immunoenzymatic labeling and by immunoelectron microscopy. Human peripheral blood granulocytes from healthy individuals and from subjects with eosinophilia of varying etiology, as well as intravascular and/or perivascular granulocytes in skin biopsies taken from patients with generalized onchocerciasis, a skin disease caused by microfilariae of Onchocerca volvulus, were studied. Controlled indirect immunoenzymatic staining for CLA in cytospin preparations of buffy coat cells and in histological sections of skin biopsies revealed that this protein was exclusively found in the cytoplasm of eosinophil granulocytes.

Serum levels of eosinophil cationic protein, eosinophil-derived neurotoxin and myeloperoxidase in infections with filariae and schistosomes.

The serum levels of three major granulocyte proteins were measured in patients with onchocerciasis, bancroftian filariasis and intestinal schistosomiasis and compared to controls from patients with malaria, Africans living in areas not endemic for these infections and healthy Germans. The investigation comprised the determination of the eosinophil granule proteins eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN/EPX), and the neutrophil/monocyte granule protein myeloperoxidase (MPO). ECP and EDN/EPX levels were found elevated only in the three helminth infections that are associated with eosinophilia, while MPO was found elevated in all tested disease groups.

Lymph nodes of onchocerciasis patients after treatment with ivermectin: reaction of eosinophil granulocytes and their cationic granule proteins.

Lymph node and skin biopsies from Liberian patients with generalized and localized (sowda) onchocerciasis were studied 12-68 hours after oral administration of ivermectin at a single dose of 150 micrograms/kg body weight. Electron microscopic examination and immunohistochemical staining with antibodies against two different forms of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP EG1, ECP EG2), eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) and cationic leukocyte antigen (CLA) were performed. Following their disappearance from the skin, a large number of microfilariae was found in the regional lymph nodes.

Improved Randolph stain for direct leukocyte differentiation and determination of total eosinophil count in a hemocytometer.

Identification and quantification of eosinophilic granulocytes are commonly performed indirectly by total leukocyte count and white cell differentiation in smears or cytocentrifuge preparations. Using a combination of four dyes, phloxine, Biebrich scarlet, methylene blue, and crystal violet, at 50-800 micrograms/ml, we have substantially improved an earlier method for differentiating leukocytes in a hemocytometer. This direct method allowed a rapid and reliable enumeration of eosinophils and their differentiation from neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes in peripheral blood and leukocyte fractions.

Modulatory effects of antifilarial drugs ivermectin, CGP 6140 and CGP 20376 on the oxidative burst of eosinophilic granulocytes.

Three recently introduced anthelmintic agents, the macrocyclic lactone, ivermectin, the amoscanate derivative CGP 6140 and the benzothiazole compound CGP 20376, were investigated for their in vitro modulatory effects on eosinophilic effector cells. The investigation comprised studies on the generation of the toxic oxygen intermediates superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide which are major effector products of granulocytes. Eosinophils were obtained from 19 patients infected with the filarial parasite Onchocerca volvulus.

Eosinophil-larval-interaction in onchocerciasis: heterogeneity of in vitro adherence of eosinophils to infective third and fourth stage larvae and microfilariae of Onchocerca volvulus.

Adherence of eosinophilic granulocytes from patients with onchocerciasis to microfilariae (Mf), third (L3) and fourth (L4) stage larvae of Onchocerca volvulus was studied in vitro. Native and heat-inactivated sera from patients with onchocerciasis (OS), from endemic controls without signs of the disease (ECS), from healthy Caucasians (NS) or foetal calf serum (FCS) served as sources for adherence mediating factors. In FCS-supplemented medium eosinophils did not adhere to any larvae.

Ultrastructural study of the interaction between eosinophilic granulocytes and third and fourth stage larvae of Onchocerca volvulus.

The interaction in vitro between eosinophil effector cells and third and fourth stage larvae of Onchocerca volvulus was studied by electron microscopy. The morphological observations demonstrated different mechanisms of attack of eosinophil cells that are dependent upon the time of incubation. Rapid adherence to the cuticle of the target, flattening, secretion of granule contents, vacuole formation and, finally, complete degranulation of the eosinophils were seen after incubation with third stage larvae and moulting stages.

Serum-dependent interaction of granulocytes with Onchocerca volvulus microfilariae in generalized and chronic hyper-reactive onchocerciasis and its modulation by diethylcarbamazine.

The adherence and cytotoxicity of granulocytes to microfilariae of Onchocerca volvulus were examined in vitro. Reactivity and modulation by diethylcarbamazine of isolated eosinophilic and neutrophilic granulocytes from patients with generalized and chronic hyper-reactive onchocerciasis (sowda or localized form) from endemic foci in Liberia were evaluated under varying serum conditions. In the presence of pooled sera from patients with generalized onchocerciasis granulocytes from both polar groups of patients exhibited similar adherence rates, whereas immobilization rates were higher for eosinophils than for neutrophils.

[The effects of the intake of cod liver oil on the blood lipid level, the lipoprotein profile and bleeding time].

In a research study performed over eight months with five female and six male subjects (age 35-67 years) the effect of cod liver oil on the lipoprotein composition in the blood was tested. The main goal was to prove that the regular administration of so-called highly unsaturated omega-3-fatty acid components in fish oil (4 g per day over six months) may lead to a reduction of triglyceride and total cholesterol values. Furthermore, any changes in HDL and LDL cholesterol fractions as well as the bleeding time were registered.

[Effect of cod liver oil administration on blood lipid levels, lipoprotein profile and bleeding time].

In a research study performed over eight months with five female and six male subjects (age 35-67 years) the effect of cod liver oil on the lipoprotein composition in the blood was tested. The main goal was to prove that the regular administration of so-called highly unsaturated omega-3-fatty acid components in fish oil (4 g per day over six months) may lead to a reduction of triglyceride and total cholesterol values. Furthermore, any changes in HDL and LDL cholesterol fractions as well as the bleeding time were registered.

Distribution pattern of peripheral lymphocyte subsets in localized and generalized form of onchocerciasis.

The relationship of peripheral lymphocyte subpopulations to the generalized and localized form of onchocerciasis has been studied in 43 Liberian (West African) patients. Typing revealed a significantly increased proportion of lymphocytes expressing interleukin 2 or transferrin receptors in the localized form of onchocerciasis (African sowda) when compared to subjects with a generalized form and those without signs of onchocerciasis. Patients with African sowda showed a higher number of helper/inducer T cells, a greater ratio of helper/inducer: suppressor/cytotoxic T cells, and an increased number of DR antigen-positive cells and lymphocytes with a natural killer cell phenotype.