Evaluation of a new hepatitis C virus sequencing assay as a routine method for genotyping.

The determination of HCV genotypes, subtypes and isolates has been helpful in understanding the evolution and the epidemiology of the virus, and is an important factor in the pre-treatment evaluation. A new simpler and automated sequencing based system has been developed recently, the Visible Genetics TruGene Hepatitis C Assay. The aim of the study was to compare this new genotyping assay with reverse hybridization based Innogenetics INNO-LiPA HCV II assay that is used most commonly.

TT virus infection in haemodialysis patients.

Background: The recent discovery of a new parenterally transmitted DNA virus called TT virus (TTV) led us to investigate its prevalence in haemodialysis patients, a high-risk group for blood-borne infection, and to evaluate its role in liver disease. Moreover, we compared the TTV prevalence with the prevalence of other hepatitis virus coinfections.

Methods: Serum samples of 78 patients on maintenance haemodialysis were tested for TTV-DNA, hepatitis G virus (HGV)-RNA, anti-E2, anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HCV-RNA.

Telomere length maintenance in aging and carcinogenesis.

Normal somatic cells have a finite number of divisions, a limited capacity to proliferate. Human telomeres, the long DNA TTAGGG repeats at the ends of chromosomes, are considered a molecular clock marker. The gradual and progressive telomere shortening at each replicative cycle is associated, through the activation of pRB and p53 pathways and genomic instability, to the replicative senescence, a non-dividing state and widespread cell death.

[Hemorrhoidectomy with ropivacaine (Naropin) local anesthesia. Preliminary experience].

Background: The use of local anesthesia in non-septic anal surgery is now well established. Tolerance to local injection, duration of local effect and the risk of local or systemic complications still represent unsolved issues. Ropivacaine, a new local anesthetic, seems particularly indicated for this kind of surgery because of its pharmacologic properties which reduce patient's discomfort during infiltration and provide good antalgic coverage in the first hours following the operation.

Immunohistochemical telomeric-repeat binding factor-1 expression in gastrointestinal tumors.

The maintenance of telomere length has been hypothesized to be involved in the early steps of cancerogenesis. A physiologic modulation of telomere maintenance is exerted by TRF1 (telomeric-repeat binding factor-1), which deletion permits telomere elongation. Gastrointestinal neoplastic (n=19) and non-neoplastic tissues (six inflammatory disease and six normal mucosa distant from tumor at least 5 cm) were studied, by immunohistochemistry, for TRF1 expression, by using a polyclonal antibody anti-TRF1.

[Incidental diagnosis of seminoma in male infertility: report of a clinical case].

The aims of the study were to evaluate the association between male infertility and risk of developing testis cancer and to establish guidelines for the early diagnosis of testis neoplasia in subfertile men. 32-year-old infertile man. The patient underwent random testicular biopsy to establish the exact cause of infertility.

High prevalence of serum antibodies to Ras and type 16 E4 proteins of human papillomavirus in patients with precancerous lesions of the uterine cervix.

Serum samples from 38 healthy women and 55 women with different types of cervical lesions were investigated for the presence of antibodies to Ras and against E4 and E7 proteins of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16). Our results showed that anti-E7 antibodies were closely associated with cervical cancer (75%), as previously reported. Interestingly, E4 antibodies showed higher prevalence in condyloma lesions (79%; 11/14) than in cervical cancer (60%; 12/20).

[Malignant lymphoma. Epidemiologic review of 150 cases].

In the present paper the incidence of lymphomatous disease in Messina and its province, with growing urbanization and rural limiting areas, is discussed: by analysing 150 cases of malignant lymphoma observed at our Institute from 1990 to 1995. The method proposed, based on data obtained from the medical files of these patients, took into consideration various parameters such as age, sex, residence, profession, clinical and bioptic diagnosis, LDH and disease presentation. The final results showed an increase of the risk for NHL in the rural province where the main profession is agriculture or handicraft (ceramics, forged iron, glasswork, refinery), in subjects above 60 years of age; for the HL instead, over the years, a minor incidence of risk has been observed.

Increased production of hydrogen peroxide by Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus upon aeration: involvement of an NADH oxidase in oxidative stress.

The growth of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (L. delbrueckii subsp.

Evolution of wild-type and precore mutant HBV infection after liver transplantation.

Recurrence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection after liver transplantation is associated with varying degree of graft damage. The aim of the study was to investigate longitudinally the changes of wild-type and precore A1896HBV mutant viral populations after reinfection and their impact on liver graft damage. The wild-type HBV and A1896HBV strains were quantitated before and serially after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in 14 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive liver graft recipients (4 hepatitis B e antigen [HBeAg]+; 10 anti-HBe+).

Interferon retreatment in chronic hepatitis C: which patients to choose, and what schedule to use.

Unlabelled: OBJECTIVE; To evaluate the results of a large cohort of non-responder or relapsing responder patients with chronic hepatitis C retreated with various schedules of interferon (IFN).

Methods: Our study included 276 patients (158 non-responders and 118 relapsing responders) who underwent IFN retreatments. Among the non-responder group, 158 patients underwent further courses of IFN.

Effect of zinc or zinc plus arginine supplementation on antibody titre and lymphocyte subsets after influenza vaccination in elderly subjects: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: to evaluate whether oral supplementation with zinc or zinc/arginine increases the antibody response to influenza vaccine or modulates the lymphocyte phenotype in elderly subjects.

Design: a randomized controlled trial with two supplemented groups and one control group.

Setting: a community nursing home.

Hepatitis G virus infection in haemodialysis and in peritoneal dialysis patients.

The aim of this study was to detect hepatitis G virus RNA (HGV RNA) and antibodies against the virus envelope protein E2 (anti-E2) in 107 patients either on maintenance haemodialysis (n = 78) or peritoneal dialysis (n = 29) to evaluate the prevalence of HGV infection and to establish its role in liver disease. The total prevalence of HGV infection was of 15.4% among haemodialysis patients, whereas it was 10.

Correlation between angiotensin-converting enzyme gene insertion/deletion polymorphism and kidney graft long-term outcome in pediatric recipients: a single-center analysis.

Background: Despite numerous advances in the areas of organ preservation, histocompatibility, and immunosuppression, chronic deterioration of organ allograft function, referred to as "chronic rejection," still remains the main obstacle to long-term graft survival. The common feature of chronic rejection is a concentric generalized graft arteriosclerosis associated with interstitial fibrosis that reflects an allogeneic injury to graft arteries, possibly worsened by other alloantigen-independent risk factors. The presence of the angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) gene-deleted (D) allele has been associated, when in homozygosity, with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and with an accelerated progression of organ damage in a variety of kidney diseases.

Immunoscintigraphy of venous thrombi: clinical effectiveness of a new antifibrin D-dimer monoclonal antibody.

Safety and thrombus imaging capabilities of the 99mTc-labeled form of a new F(ab')2 monoclonal antibody (MoAb) against fragment D dimers from cross-linked human fibrin, previously shown to be effective labeled to 131I in detecting venous thrombi in the rabbit, were investigated. Sixteen patients (seven men, mean age: 60+/-7 years) with deep (n = three) and superficial (n = 13) venous thromboses of the lower limbs documented at echo-Doppler study underwent, 24 hours before saphenous vein stripping, a scintigraphic study after IV injection of the 99mTc-MoAb (1,129+/-275 MBq/mL), acquiring dynamic images, as well as early and delayed static images of lower limbs. Tracer activity was compared in normal and pathologic areas.

[Diarrhea associated with Clostridium difficile. One-year retrospective study at a tertiary hospital].

Background: Diarrhea associated with Clostridium difficile is a health care problem of growing importance in the last few years specially in the hospital environment. The epidemiologic data and factors associated with this disease have not, to date, been sufficiently studied in Spain.

Methods: The cases of diarrhea associated with C.

Extracts from various mite species contain cross-reactive and noncross-reactive IgE epitopes. A RAST inhibition study.

Previous studies have demonstrated the high incidence of Dermatophagoides, Euroglyphus, Blomia, Lepidoglyphus and Chortoglyphus spp. sensitizations in a mite-allergic population. The aim of this study was to evaluate immunological cross-reactivity among the above mentioned groups, using sera from a nonrural population allergic to mites, from a subtropical area (Canary Islands).

Amikacin gel administration in the treatment of peristomal dermatitis.

Ten colostomized patients (six males, four females) and six ileostomized patients (three males, three females), presenting moderate (10 cases) or severe (6 cases) peristomal dermatitis, were treated for up to 28 days with a local daily application of amikacin sulphate 5% gel. All cases with moderate dermatitis and two patients with severe dermatitis recovered within 7 days of treatment. Two cases of severe dermatitis recovered in 14 days and the last two cases recovered in 28 days.

[Cellular adaptation and cancerogenesis].

The paper describes the main adaptive mechanisms involved in the carcinogenic process. As a result of the action of carcinogenic agents (physical, chemical, biological), and in relation to the functional status of the affected cells, a number of systems are triggered off: detoxification and conjugation systems, the metabolisation of the said agents, DNA repairing enzymes, increased shock proteins (HSP), the induction of clonal proliferation. All these systems are valuable to the survival of the body and the species and culminate in the apoptosis of damaged cells as the last attempt at adaptation of a social kind for the good of the body.