Search results for "rypsi"
showing 10 items of 240 documents
Enzymatic modification of low-density lipoprotein in the arterial wall: a new role for plasmin and matrix metalloproteinases in atherogenesis.
2004
Objective— Functionally interactive proteases of the plasminogen/plasmin and the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) system degrade and reorganize the extracellular matrix of the vessel wall in atherosclerosis. Here we investigated whether such proteases are able to confer atherogenic properties onto low density lipoprotein by nonoxidative modification. Methods and Results— Similar to the recently described enzymatically-modified low-density lipoprotein (E-LDL), native LDL exposed to plasmin or matrix MMP-2 or MMP-9 and cholesterylester-hydrolase (CEH) showed extensive deesterification, with ratios of free cholesterol to total cholesterol rising to 0.8 compared with 0.2 in native LDL. When the …
Liver cirrhosis associated with heterozygous alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency type Pi MS and autoimmune features.
1995
Patients with homozygous protease inhibitor (Pi) type ZZ or a few rare M-like types may develop liver cirrhosis due to intracellular storage of alpha-antitrypsin (AAT), whereas some patients with heterozygous Pi MZ or SZ normally present with transient abnormal liver function tests in childhood. We report a 42-year-old obese patient who developed liver cirrhosis in association with heterozygous Pi MS (AAT) deficiency. Immunohistological and electron microscope examination showed storage of AAT in the hepatocytes. Interestingly, autoimmune features in this patient suggest that abnormal immune responses may contribute to the pathology of chronic liver disease.
Serum and fecal pancreatic enzymes in beta-thalassemia major
1997
This study, using indirect tests, demonstrated that exocrine pancreatic function is impaired in a proportion of patients with beta-thalassemia major (TM), though this impairment is generally mild or moderate.Impaired structure and function of the exocrine pancreas has been reported in patients with Beta-thalassemia major.In this study we measured fecal fats and serum and fecal pancreatic enzymes in 30 patients (13 M, 17 F) with TM, mean age 22.1 yr (range 14-39) and compared them with those of a matched group of healthy controls. Results were correlated with age, serum ferritin, blood transfusion, and various nutritional parameters. Enzymes assays included: serum pancreatic amylase (PA), li…
MR imaging of pancreatic changes in patients with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia major.
1999
The aim of this study was to evaluate MR imaging changes of the pancreas in patients with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia major.Twenty patients with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia major were examined using MR imaging at 0.5 T, with spin-echo T1-weighted, fast spin-echo T2-weighted, and gradient-echo T2*-weighted sequences. Image analysis was performed to assess pancreas-to-fat signal intensity ratios for all pulse sequences. Pancreatic exocrine and endocrine function and serum ferritin levels were assessed. Twenty healthy volunteers underwent MR imaging with the same three sequences and served as a control group.The pancreas-to-fat signal intensity ratio was significantly dec…
Associations between leprosy and serum protein groups
1970
Serum protein group typings were done on a sample of n=173 adult healthy Negroes from the Macua tribe in Mozambique and on n=129 leprous individuals from the same tribe. Unfortunately, the type of leprosy is not known. Whilst between leprosy and haptoglobins, transferrins and Pi proteins no associations could be observed, statistically significant associations between leprosy and ceruloplasmin resp. β2 I were found. It is pointed out that these associations should be confirmed by further research on other populations and with respect to type and process of leprosy, until biological and population genetical interpretations will be possible.
Diagnostic accuracy of fecal elastase 1 assay in patients with pancreatic maldigestion or intestinal malabsorption: a collaborative study of the Ital…
2001
Several reports have indicated that fecal elastase-1 (EL-1) determination is a new, sensitive, and specific noninvasive pancreatic function test; however, very few patients with malabsorption due to small intestine diseases have been included in the previous studies. The aim of the study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of fecal EL-1 and fecal chymotrypsin (FCT) in distinguishing between pancreatic maldigestion and intestinal malabsorption. Three groups of subjects were studied: group A included 49 patients with known cystic fibrosis (25 males, median age 5 years); group B included 43 subjects with various small intestine diseases (17 males, median age 6 years); and group C included 4…
Replacement therapy for alpha-1-protease inhibitor deficiency in PiZ subjects with chronic obstructive lung disease
1988
In a six-month multicenter feasibility and safety study, 20 patients, who all had a congenital deficiency of alpha-1-protease inhibitor (A1PI) of the PiZ phenotype accompanied by a chronic obstructive lung disease, were treated with human-plasma-derived A1PI. A weekly dose of 60 mg/kg, administered intravenously, was shown to be sufficient to maintain patient serum levels above the threshold limit of 35 percent, the serum level of healthy persons of the MZ phenotype. This is supposed to be the minimal effective level for protection against the elastolytic attack of the lung and, therefore, satisfies one of the most important criteria of feasibility of long-term replacement therapy. The glob…
Unexplained Elevated Serum Pancreatic Enzymes: A Reason to Suspect Celiac Disease
2006
BACKGROUND & AIMS: The frequency of elevated serum pancreatic enzymes in patients with celiac disease (CD) is unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum levels of pancreatic enzymes in CD patients. METHODS: Serum pancreatic isoamylase and lipase levels were assayed in 90 adult and 112 pediatric consecutive CD patients at diagnosis and after 12 months of gluten-free diet (GFD). Serum elastase and trypsin levels were assayed in a subgroup of adult CD patients. Pancreatic ultrasonography was also performed. RESULTS: Twenty-six adult (29%) and 29 pediatric (26%) CD patients exhibited elevated values of serum pancreatic amylase and/or lipase; trypsin was elevated in 69% and elastas…
Antiinflammatory treatment and intestinal alpha 1-antitrypsin clearance in active Crohn's disease.
1985
Intestinal alpha 1-antitrypsin clearance was quantified in 17 patients with clinically active Crohn's disease before and after a six-week period of treatment with sulfasalazine and methylprednisolone. Before the study, alpha 1-antitrypsin clearance and, hence, enteric protein loss was elevated as being above control values in 16 patients. After therapy, clearance values decreased in 11 and were normalized in five patients. Serum albumin level was normalized in 11 of 12 patients who had hypoalbuminemia before the study. Clinical condition was improved in all but 1 patient after treatment. There was no close correlation between alpha 1-antitrypsin clearance and disease activity index. These r…
A multicenter clinical trial on the use of alpha1-antichymotrypsin-prostate-specific antigen in prostate cancer diagnosis
2001
BACKGROUND The aim was to evaluate the clinical performance of alpha1-antichymotrypsin prostate-specific antigen (PSA-ACT) for early diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) in a multicenter trial. METHODS Three hundred sixty-seven white men with PCa and 290 with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with tPSA concentrations between 2 and 20 μg/L were analyzed. The Elecsys system 2010 (Roche Diagnostics, Germany) was used for determination of total PSA (tPSA) and free PSA (fPSA). The PSA-ACT test was a prototype assay used on the ES system (Roche Diagnostics). RESULTS The median concentrations of tPSA (PCa: 8.43 μg/L vs. BPH: 6.60 μg/L) and PSA-ACT (8.30 μg/L vs. 6.46 μg/L) were significantly differ…