0000000000350325
AUTHOR
Maria Grazia Clemente
Hepatitis B virus infection in native versus immigrant or adopted children in Italy following the compulsory vaccination.
Background: Compulsory vaccination of children against hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection was introduced in Italy in 1991. Patients and Methods: To evaluate the current importance of pediatric HBV infection, we studied 359 HBsAg-positive children admitted to 16 centers in Italy from 1991 to 1998. 185 patients were natives of Italy and 174 (39 immigrants and 135 adopted) came from highly endemic countries (eastern Europe: 60.9%, Asia: 16.7%, Africa: 14.9% and Central and South America: 5.7%). Results: Transaminase levels were moderately altered in both Italian (mean 134 UI/l) and foreign children (mean 168 UI/l). In total, 77% of Italian children and 88% of foreign children tested HBeAg posit…
AISF position paper on HCV in immunocompromised patients.
Abstract This report summarizes the clinical features and the indications for treating HCV infection in immunocompromised and transplanted patients in the Direct Acting Antiviral drugs era.
Gliadin, zonulin and gut permeabilità: effects on celiac and non-celiac intestinal mucosa and intestinal cell lines.
Objective. Little is known about the interaction of gliadin with intestinal epithelial cells and the mechanism(s) through which gliadin crosses the intestinal epithelial barrier. We investigated whether gliadin has any immediate effect on zonulin release and signaling. Material and methods. Both ex vivo human small intestines and intestinal cell monolayers were exposed to gliadin, and zonulin release and changes in paracellular permeability were monitored in the presence and absence of zonulin antagonism. Zonulin binding, cytoskeletal rearrangement, and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) redistribution were evaluated by immunofluorescence microscopy. Tight junction occludin and ZO-1 gene expression …