0000000000098762
AUTHOR
P. Almasio
The HCV Sicily Network: A web-based model for the management of HCV chronic liver diseases
Epidemiological studies report that in Sicily reside about 30,000 citizens with a diagnosis of chronic hepatitis due to HCV. The availability of direct antiviral action (DAA) is a real therapeutic breakthrough, but the high cost of the therapeutic regimes limits their use and forced the National Health System to establish clinical priority for the treatment.The HCV Sicily Network is a web-based model of best medical practice, which was designed to improve the management and the treatment of HCV chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. The network includes 41 centers and 84 gastroenterologists or infectivologists connected by a web platform that recorder the diagnosis and the clinic priority for the…
TUMORI a CELLULE GERMINALIin ETA' PEDIATRICA: FATTORI PROGNOSTICI del PROTOCOLLO AIEOP TCG 91.
CIRCA IL 20% DEI PAZIENTI CON TUMORI A CELLULE GERMINALI (tcg) SONO RESISTENTI AL TRATTAMENTO. GLI aUTORI HANNO EFFETTUATO UNO STUDIO POLICENTRICO AL FINE DI RILEVARE CORRELAZIONI TRA PARAMETRI CLINOCO/LABORATORISTICI E LA PROGNOSI
Multicentre Survey of the Prevalence of Intrahepatic Cholestasis in 2520 Consecutive Patients with Newly Diagnosed Chronic Liver Disease
In order to establish the prevalence of intrahepatic cholestasis (IHC) in chronic liver disease, we retrospectively evaluated the frequency of increased serum total bilirubin (STB), serum conjugated bilirubin (SCB) and serum alkaline phosphatase (SAP) levels in a cohort of 2520 patients with newly diagnosed chronic liver disease presenting over 2 years. 882 patients (35%) [mean age 52.2 years] had IHC involving abnormal levels of STB (mean 89.8 μmol/L), SCB (mean 52.5 μmol/L), and SAP (mean 5.7 μkat/L) together with a negative ultrasonic scan. Demographic data were not predictive of IHC. IHC was more frequent in patients with cirrhosis (43%), primary biliary cirrhosis (54%), and primary scl…
HCV E1E2-MF59 vaccine in chronic hepatitis C patients treated with PEG-IFNα2a and Ribavirin: a randomized controlled trial.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) vaccines may be able to increase viral clearance in combination with antiviral therapy. We analysed viral dynamics and HCV-specific immune response during retreatment for experienced patients in a phase Ib study with E1E2MF59 vaccine. Seventy-eight genotype 1a/1b patients [relapsers (30), partial responders (16) and nonresponders (32) to interferon-(IFN)/ribavirin-(RBV)] were randomly assigned to vaccine (V:23), Peg-IFNα2a-180-ug/qw and ribavirin 1000-1200-mg/qd for 48 weeks (P/R:25), or their combination (P/R + V:30). Vaccine (100 μg/0.5 mL) was administered intramuscularly at week 0-4-8-12-24-28-32-36. Neutralizing of binding (NOB) antibodies and lymphocyte prolife…
Liver disease in chelated transfusion-dependent thalassemics: the role of iron overload and chronic hepatitis C.
Abstract Iron overload and hepatitis virus C infection cause liver fibrosis in thalassemics. In a monocentric retrospective analysis of liver disease in a cohort of 191 transfusion-dependent thalassemics, in 126 patients who had undergone liver biopsy (mean age 17.2 years; 58 hepatitis virus C-RNA positive and 68 hepatitis virus C-RNA negative) the liver iron concentration (median 2.4 mg/gr dry liver weight) was closely related to serum ferritin levels (R = 0.58; p<0.0001). Male gender (OR 4.12) and serum hepatitis virus C-RNA positivity (OR 11.04) were independent risk factors for advanced liver fibrosis. The majority of hepatitis virus C-RNA negative patients with low iron load did not de…
The aetiology of chronic hepatitis in Italy: results from a multicentre national study
Background: No recent national-level data on the aetiology of chronic hepatitis are available in Italy. Aim: To evaluate the current aetiology of chronic hepatitis in Italy. Patients: A total of 6210 chronic hepatitis patients (both prevalence and incident cases) consecutively admitted to 79 hospitals located throughout Italy were enrolled over a 6-month period in 2001. The hospitals were randomly selected through systematic cluster sampling. Results: The main agent associated with chronic hepatitis was hepatitis C virus, which was found in 76.5% of the patients (in 62.6% it was the only aetiologic factor). Hepatitis B surface antigen was present in the serum of 12.2% of the cases (in 9.2% …
Role of S-adenosyl-L-methionine in the treatment of intrahepatic cholestasis.
Recent studies have established the clinical efficacy of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) in the treatment of cholestasis associated with hepatic diseases, pregnancy and the administration of estrogen-containing oral contraceptives. In 4 clinical trials involving a total of 639 patients with cholestasis due to acute or chronic liver disease, SAMe in an intravenous dose of 800 mg/day or an oral regimen of 1.6 g/day for 2 weeks was superior to placebo in relieving the symptom of pruritus and in restoring serum total bilirubin and serum alkaline phosphatase towards normal. The drug is also effective in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), with intravenous administration of 800 mg/day for…