Search results for "DEFICIENCY"
showing 10 items of 1071 documents
Serum leptin level as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in infectious diseases and sepsis: A comprehensive literature review.
2021
Abstract Background: Infections and sepsis are common causes of morbidity and mortality, with an increasing incidence worldwide. Leptin is involved in the inflammatory process and may modulate the cytokine production, immune cell proliferation and endothelial function. There are conflicting results regarding alterations of leptin levels in infectious diseases and the outcome from sepsis. The aim of the current article is to provide an overview of the medical literature on the correlations between variations of leptin levels and infectious diseases and sepsis. Methods: We performed an extensive literature search in PubMed and Google Scholar databases, using keywords to identify articles rela…
Castration and Erection
1988
Castrated dogs (n = 3) need a much higher threshold level of energy to induce erection by electrical stimulation of the cavernous nerve than noncastrated animals (n = 24). In addition the resulting quality of erection, measured as maximal intracavernous pressure (pCC) versus peak systolic blood pressure (BP), was weaker in castrated dogs (pCC = 57% of BP on average) than in noncastrated dogs (pCC = 80% of BP on average). A high venous outflow from the corpora cavernosa in castrated dogs can also explain the shorter duration of erection. This experimental model excludes the interference of subjective factors, such as erotic stimuli and libido on erection, and it seems that androgen deficienc…
Molybdenum Trioxide Nanoparticles with Intrinsic Sulfite Oxidase Activity
2014
Sulfite oxidase is a mitochondria-located molybdenum-containing enzyme catalyzing the oxidation of sulfite to sulfate in the amino acid and lipid metabolism. Therefore, it plays a major role in detoxification processes, where defects in the enzyme cause a severe infant disease leading to early death with no efficient or cost-effective therapy in sight. Here we report that molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) nanoparticles display an intrinsic biomimetic sulfite oxidase activity under physiological conditions, and, functionalized with a customized bifunctional ligand containing dopamine as anchor group and triphenylphosphonium ion as targeting agent, they selectively target the mitochondria while bein…
Phenolic-glycolipid-1 and lipoarabinomannan preferentially modulate TCR- and CD28-triggered proximal biochemical events, leading to T-cell unresponsi…
2012
Abstract Background Advanced stages of leprosy show T cell unresponsiveness and lipids of mycobacterial origin are speculated to modulate immune responses in these patients. Present study elucidates the role of phenolicglycolipid (PGL-1) and Mannose-capped lipoarabinomannan (Man-LAM) on TCR- and TCR/CD28- mediated signalling. Results We observed that lipid antigens significantly inhibit proximal early signalling events like Zap-70 phosphorylation and calcium mobilization. Interestingly, these antigens preferentially curtailed TCR-triggered early downstream signalling events like p38 phosphorylation whereas potentiated that of Erk1/2. Further, at later stages inhibition of NFAT binding, IL-2…
Flow cytometric investigation of neutrophil oxidative burst and apoptosis in physiological and pathological situations
2009
Flow cytometric analysis provides a rapid screen for abnormalities of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) function and reflect their behavior in vivo more accurately. This review summarizes the major fluorescent probes used to study PMN oxidative burst and apoptosis using flow cytometry (FCM). We also provide examples of FCM studies in physiological and pathological situations, illustrating the advantages of FCM for assessment of PMN oxidative burst and PMN apoptosis. These data point to the role of FCM in detecting primary immunodeficiencies such as IRAK4 deficiency and support the use of the assessment of the PMN oxidative burst for routine testing in patients with bacterial infections. W…
Production of interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin-10 in vitro correlates with the clinical immune defect in chronic hemodialysis p…
1995
Production of interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin-10 in vitro correlates with the clinical immune defect in chronic hemodialysis patients. In patients with chronic renal failure alterations in monokine production are a common feature. Their clinical relevance has not yet been proven. We show here a correlation between an overproduction of interleukin-(IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) upon stimulation with LPS by mononuclear cells in vitro and the clinical grade of immunodeficiency found in these patients. Higher levels of IL-6 and TNFα were correlated with an immunocompromized state, that is, non-responsiveness to hepatitis B vaccination, whereas patients with…
Practice guidelines for the treatment of hepatitis C: recommendations from an AISF/SIMIT/SIMAST Expert Opinion Meeting.
2010
It is increasingly clear that a tailored therapeutic approach to patients with hepatitis C virus infection is needed. Success rates in difficult to treat and low-responsive hepatitis C virus patients are not completely satisfactory, and there is the need to optimise treatment duration and intensity in patients with the highest likelihood of response. In addition, the management of special patient categories originally excluded from phase III registration trials needs to be critically re-evaluated. This article reports the recommendations for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection on an individual basis, drafted by experts of three scientific societies.
Liver Fibrosis and Metabolic Alterations in Adults With alpha-1-antitrypsin Deficiency Caused by the Pi*ZZ Mutation
2019
Background & Aims Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is among the most common genetic disorders. Severe AATD is caused by a homozygous mutation in the SERPINA1 gene that encodes the Glu342Lys substitution (called the Pi*Z mutation, Pi*ZZ genotype). Pi*ZZ carriers may develop lung and liver diseases. Mutation-associated lung disorders have been well studied, but less is known about the effects in liver. We assessed the liver disease burden and associated features in adults with this form of AATD. Methods We collected data from 554 Pi*ZZ adults (403 in an exploratory cohort, 151 in a confirmatory cohort), in 9 European countries, with AATD who were homozygous for the Pi*Z mutation, and 234…
Oral lichen planus, hepatitis C virus, and HIV: no association in a cohort study from an area of high hepatitis C virus endemicity
2004
Abstract Objectives We sought to assess the age-specific prevalence of oral lichen planus (OLP) in Mediterranean patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) and to evaluate the features of OLP in relation to sex, smoking, HCV genotype, HIV-1 coinfection, and antiviral treatments. Methods In all, 178 anti-HCV-positive adults (60 women and 118 men; age range 20-66 years) recruited from two cohorts (104 HIV-negative patients and 74 patients with HIV coinfection) underwent oral examination. Results Overall prevalence of OLP was 2.8% (5 of 178) (male/female ratio 0.2; odds ratio=0.119; 95% confidence interval=0.013-1.106), only among HIV-negative participants, always in the reticular pattern, …
Is vitamin D deficiency predictor of complications development in patients with HCV-related cirrhosis?
2019
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