Search results for "severity"
showing 10 items of 1287 documents
Biochemical biomarkers alterations in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
2020
Abstract Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a respiratory disease, which can evolve into multi-organ failure (MOF), leading to death. Several biochemical alterations have been described in COVID-19 patients. To date, many biomarkers reflecting the main pathophysiological characteristics of the disease have been identified and associated with the risk of developing severe disease. Lymphopenia represents the hallmark of the disease, and it can be detected since the early stage of infection. Increased levels of several inflammatory biomarkers, including c-reactive protein, have been found in COVID-19 patients and associ…
The Expanding Spectrum of Mutations in Hereditary Angioedema.
2021
The evolution in the knowledge of rare genetic diseases such as hereditary angioedema (HAE) has increased at a parallel pace with the development of new molecular tools. The deficiency of C1 inhibitor (C1-INH) has been recognized as the main cause of HAE (HAE-C1-INH) since the 1960s, but the discovery of the wide spectrum of mutations affecting the C1-INH gene (SERPING1) was possible only from the late 1980s, when Sanger sequencing became available and more accessible worldwide. Nevertheless, the involvement of other genes in HAE was discovered only in 2006 with the description of mutations in the F12 gene in patients with HAE and normal C1-INH. In the last 3 years, advanced next-generation…
Italian multicentric survey on laparoscopic spleen surgery in the pediatric population.
2007
Abstract Background: Some technical aspects of laparoscopic spleen surgery still are debated, although efforts have been made to standardize them. The position of the patient, the approach to the spleen, vessel identification and division, and spleen extraction can vary from center to center. Methods: This retrospective muticentric study led by the Societa` Italiana di Videochirurgia Infantile (SIVI) examined indications, surgical details, and complications of laparoscopic spleen surgery in the pediatric population during a 5-year period. Results: The study period from January 1999 to December 2003 (5 years) involved nine centers and included 85 patients with a mean age of 10 years (range, …
Long-term esophageal motility changes after thyroidectomy: associations with aerodigestive disorders.
2017
BACKGROUND: Patients undergoing thyroidectomy often complain aerodigestive disorders. In a previous study we showed the associations between voice impairment and proximal acid reflux, swallowing impairment and Upper Esophageal Sphyncter (UES) incoordination and the decrease in UES pressure in thirty-six patients observed before and soon afterwards uncomplicated thyroidectomy. This study investigated the state of post-thyroidectomy esophageal motility changes and its associations with these disorders after 18-24 months. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The thirty-six patients prospectively recruited according to selection criteria (thyroid volume ≤60 ml, benign disease, age 18-65 years, previous neck s…
Neuropsychiatric symptoms in 921 elderly subjects with dementia: a comparison between vascular and neurodegenerative types.
2008
Objective: i) to describe the neuropsychiatric profile of elderly subjects with dementia by comparing vascular (VaD) and degenerative dementias, i.e. dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD); ii) to assess whether the severity and type of dementia are associated with clinically relevant neuropsychiatric symptoms (CR-NPS). Method: One hundred and thirty-one out-patients with VaD, 100 with DLB and 690 with AD were studied. NPS were evaluated by the neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI). Results: Vascular dementia had lower total and domain-specific NPI scores and a lower frequency of CR-NPS than AD and DLB, for which frequency of CR-NPS increased significantly with disease s…
Hearing among 75-year-old people in three Nordic localities: A comparative study
2005
The aim of this study was to compare auditory functions and to analyse the prevalence of hearing impairment and the relationship of self-reported hearing disability with audiometric test results among 75-year-old people in three Nordic localities. The representative samples came from Glostrup, Denmark (n = 571), Goteborg, Sweden (n =450), and Jyvaskyla, Finland (n =388). The median pure-tone thresholds were rather similar in all three populations. The prevalence of moderate hearing impairment varied between 26% and 34% in men, and between 17% and 23% in women. The corresponding figures in the prevalence of self-reported hearing difficulties were 41%-57%, and 28%-37%. The self-reported diffi…
Circulating levels of 3-hydroxymyristate, a direct quantification of endotoxaemia in noninfected cirrhotic patients
2019
IF 4.5; International audience; Background & AimsThe quantification of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in biological fluids is challenging. We aimed to measure plasma LPS concentration using a new method of direct quantification of 3‐hydroxymyristate (3‐HM), a lipid component of LPS, and to evaluate correlations between 3‐HM and markers of liver function, endothelial activation, portal hypertension and enterocyte damage.MethodsPlasma from 90 noninfected cirrhotic patients (30 Child‐Pugh [CP]‐A, 30 CP‐B, 30 CP‐C) was prospectively collected. The concentration of 3‐HM was determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.Results3‐HM levels were higher in CP‐C patien…
Serum ferritin is a discriminant marker for both fibrosis and inflammation in histologically proven non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patients
2011
INTRODUCTION: Differentiation between steatosis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is important as NASH progress to cirrhosis. No specific laboratory/imaging technique exists either to diagnose NASH or to select patients for liver biopsy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We evaluated serum ferritin and the features of metabolic syndrome with respect to histological inflammation and/or fibrosis in NAFLD patients. The Kleiner scoring system was used to classify NAFLD in consecutive liver biopsies. One hundred and eleven patients: median age 52.6, 64 males, obesity 62, diabetes mellitus (DM) 58, arterial hypertension 26 and hyperlipidaemia 40%. RESULTS: …
Hepatobiliary phase in cirrhotic patients with different Model for End-stage Liver Disease score: comparison of the performance of gadoxetic acid to …
2018
The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of gadobenate dimeglumine–enhanced MRI and gadoxetic acid–enhanced MRI in the hepatobiliary phase (HBP) in cirrhotic patients with different degrees of liver dysfunction. In this retrospective cross-sectional study, we analyzed the unenhanced phase and the HBP of 131 gadobenate dimeglumine–enhanced MRI examinations (gadobenate dimeglumine group) and 127 gadoxetic acid–enhanced MRI examinations (gadoxetic acid group) performed in 249 cirrhotic patients (181 men and 68 women; mean age, 64.8 years) from August 2011 to April 2017. For each MRI, the contrast enhancement index of the liver parenchyma was calculated and correlated to the Mod…
The Hepatic Expression of Vitamin D Receptor Is Inversely Associated With the Severity of Liver Damage in Genotype 1 Chronic Hepatitis C Patients
2015
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Low 25-hydroxyvitamin D serum levels have been associated with the severity of liver fibrosis in genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C patients (G1CHC), and experimental evidence suggested a hepatoprotective role of vitamin D via interaction with hepatic vitamin D receptor (VDR). We assessed the hepatic expression of VDR protein and its association with liver disease severity. METHODS: Ninety-one consecutive patients with biopsy-proven G1CHC and available frozen liver tissue were evaluated. Ten subjects without chronic liver diseases and nine patients with autoimmune hepatitis served as controls. The hepatic expression of VDR protein was assessed by Western blot for quantification…