Search results for "Visceral"

On the reservoirs of Leishmania infantum in urban areas

2020

Leishmania has biologically adapted to specific phlebotomine sand flies through long co-evolution. The ability of Leishmania spp. to bind to sand fly midgut allows each Leishmania species to propagate and differentiate into infectious promastigotes and be transmitted. Sand fly feeding upon a mammalian host is the first step towards being infected and a host of Leishmania. Once deposited into the skin, host susceptibility to infection vs. ability to mount a sterilizing immune response predicts which hosts could be reservoirs of different Leishmania spp. Materials, in addition to parasites, are expelled during sand fly during feeding, including salivary antigens and other factors that promote…

Assessment of the BMI, WHR and W/Ht in pre- and postmenopausal women

2007

The main goal of this study was to determine whether and how values of the BMI, WHR and W/Ht indicators change in pre- and postmenopausal women. The tested group consisted of 10,216 women aged 25-95 years. Data were collected during the national campaign "Fighting Obesity", organized by Hand-Prod Company between 2000-2002 across Poland, when adult women voluntarily filled in a questionnaire and participated in anthropometric measurements. The BMI, WHR and W/Ht values were calculated based on these measurements. The values of the BMI, WHR and W/Ht change with age. However, in each age group postmenopausal women have higher BMI, WHR and W/Ht than premenopausal women. Thus, the results obtaine…

Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis in Early Infancy- Pitfall of Differentiation between Hereditary and Infectious Reasons

2018

Abstract Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is characterized by pathologic immune activation which occurs either as a familial disorder or as an acquired condition. The diagnosis of HLH requires the presence of five out of nine criteria: fever, splenomegaly, pancytopenia, hypertriglyceridemia, hypofibrinogenemia, hemophagocytosis in bone marrow, hyperferritinemia, low or absent natural killer cell activity and high level of soluble interleukin-2 receptor. Here we present a 6-month-old girl with parents from Southern Italy. She suffered from hepatosplenomegaly and a recurrent high fever for 3 months' duration. On admission, she showed neurological symptoms including irritability and ne…

Polymerase chain reaction in the diagnosis and prognosis of Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis in immunocompetent children.

2002

Objective. To assess the usefulness of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay amplifying the small subunit rRNA coding region of Leishmania species performed on peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) aspirates for the diagnosis and follow-up of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in children living in the Mediterranean basin. Design. A prospective study was conducted on children consecutively hospitalized over a 1-year period at our Infectious Diseases Department in Sicily (Italy) presenting with fever, hepatosplenomegaly, and/or pancytopenia and a positive Leishmania serology (≥1:40). Results. Among the 14 patients hospitalized with signs and symptoms suggestive of the disease and a positive …

Clinical indications and proper use of Visceral Adiposity Index.

2013

The significance of serum soluble IL-2 receptor as a marker for active visceral leishmaniasis in Sicilian patients

1992

SUMMARY Sera from nine Sicilian patients with confirmed visceral leishmaniasis (Leishmania donovani infantum; VL), at the moment of the diagnosis, during the course of the disease and after clinical recovery, were analysed for the concentration of soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R). The results show that sIL-2R is a marker of disease activity, since it is in high concentration at the beginning of infection and returns to the normal range following successful chemotherapy. At the same time of serum analysis for sIL-2R, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of VL patients were stimulated with phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) or antigen and supernatant tested for IL-2 and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) pro…

The Obesity Paradox Predicts the Second Wave of COVID-19 to Be Severe in Western Countries.

2021

While COVID-19 infection and mortality rates are soaring in Western countries, Southeast Asian countries have successfully avoided the second wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic despite high population density. We provide a biochemical hypothesis for the connection between low COVID-19 incidence, mortality rates, and high visceral adiposity in Southeast Asian populations. The SARS-CoV-2 virus uses angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a gateway into the human body. Although the highest expression levels of ACE2 are found in people’s visceral adipose tissue in Southeast Asia, this does not necessarily make them vulnerable to COVID-19. Hypothetically, high levels of visceral adiposity cause s…

Cross-sectional survey of canine leishmaniasis in Pantelleria island in Sicily

2019

Dogs are the major reservoir of Leishmania infantum, the causative agent of canine visceral and cutaneous human leishmaniasis in the Mediterranean basin. Canine and human leishmaniosis are endemic in Italy, particularly in central and southern regions, including islands. Here we show a preliminary, clinical, serological and molecular study carried out in Pantelleria island during 2017. In this study, we clinically examined 136 dogs for the presence of symptoms compatible with leishmaniasis, determined the titer of anti-Leishmania antibodies, and investigated Leishmania DNA by real time PCR in blood and/or lymph node of each dog. The prevalence of disease was equal to 27% with 95% CI [21%; 3…

Substantial Fat Loss in Physique Competitors Is Characterized by Increased Levels of Bile Acids, Very-Long Chain Fatty Acids, and Oxylipins.

2022

Funder: Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research

Recurrent leishmaniasis in kidney transplant recipients: Report of 2 cases and systematic review of the literature

2011

The characteristics of 8 episodes of leishmaniasis with atypical manifestations in 2 Italian kidney transplant recipients are analyzed and contextualized among those of 52 other episodes of leishmaniasis observed in 19 transplant recipients found through a systematic review of the international literature. In all the patients, the initial episode was visceral leishmaniasis, which was associated with mucocutaneous involvement in 2 cases. With the exception of 1 case of post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis, 2 episodes of Leishmania endophthalmitis, and 3 episodes of mucocutaneous leishmaniasis, all the recurrences were characterized by visceral involvement. The potential role of polymerase cha…