Current Issue : July - September Volume : 2020 Issue Number : 3 Articles : 6 Articles
Background: The level and profiles of blood free carnitine and acylcarnitines, obtained by acylcarnitine analysis\nusing tandem mass spectrometry, reflect various metabolic conditions. We aimed to examine the level of free\ncarnitine and acylcarnitines in liver cirrhosis patients by acylcarnitine analysis and determine the clinical and\nsubjective factors associated with blood carnitine fraction levels in liver cirrhosis.\nMethods: We compared blood carnitine fractions in 54 liver cirrhotic patients to other laboratory test results and\nquestionnaire answers.\nResults: In almost all patients, the blood levels of free carnitine (C0) and acetylcarnitine (C2) were within the\nnormal reference range. However, in some patients, the levels of long-chain acylcarnitines, such as C16 and C18:1-\nacylcarnitine, were higher than the normal reference range. Liver function, assessed by Child-Pugh score, was\nsignificantly correlated with the blood level of each carnitine fraction measured (C0, C2, C3, C4, C6, C10, C12, C12:1,\nC14:1, C16, C18:1, and C18:2-acylcarnitine). Cirrhotic symptom score was significantly correlated with C0, C2, C3, C16,\nand C18â??1-acylcarnitine blood levels. Among the 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36) items, the physical\ncomponent summary was significantly associated with C0, C2, and C18â??1-acylcarnitine blood levels.\nConclusions: Carnitine fraction levels were positively correlated with liver cirrhosis stage, particularly, long-chain\nacylcarnitines. Moreover, carnitine fraction levels were associated with various subjective physical symptoms in liver\ncirrhosis patients....
Background: In a previous study (Goebel et. al, Cancer Genomics Proteomics 16:229-244, 2019), we identified 33\nbiomarkers for an early stage (I-II) Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) test with 90% accuracy, 80.3% sensitivity,\nand 95.4% specificity. For the current study, we used a narrowed ensemble of 21 biomarkers while retaining similar\naccuracy in detecting early stage lung cancer.\nMethods: A multiplex platform, 486 human plasma samples, and 21 biomarkers were used to develop and validate\nour algorithm which detects early stage NSCLC. The training set consisted of 258 human plasma with 79 Stage I-II\nNSCLC samples. The 21 biomarkers with the statistical model (Lung Cancer Detector Test 1, LCDT1) was then\nvalidated using 228 novel samples which included 55 Stage I NSCLC.\nResults: The LCDT1 exhibited 95.6% accuracy, 89.1% sensitivity, and 97.7% specificity in detecting Stage I NSCLC on\nthe blind set. When only NSCLC cancers were analyzed, the specificity increased to 99.1%.\nConclusions: Compared to current approved clinical methods for diagnosing NSCLC, the LCDT1 greatly improves\naccuracy while being non-invasive; a simple, cost-effective, early diagnostic blood test should result in expanding\naccess and increase survival rate....
Background: One major etiology of hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS) in China is the intake of\npyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs). Since PAs-induced HSOS is a rare disease that has not been clearly characterized until\nnow, the aim of this study was to investigate clinical characteristics, CT features, and pathological findings of PAinduced\nHSOS.\nMethods: This retrospective cohort study included 116 patients with PAs-induced HSOS and 68 patients with\nBudd-Chiari syndrome from Jan 2006 to Sep 2016. We collected medical records of the patients, and reviewed\nimage features of CT, and analyzed pathological findings.\nResults: Common clinical manifestations of PAs-induced HSOS were abdominal distention (98.26%), ascites (100%),\njaundice (52.94%), abdominal pain (36.36%). Abnormal liver function was observed in most of PAs-induced HSOS.\nOn CT scan, common findings included: ascites, hepatomegaly, the thickening of gallbladder wall, pleural effusion,\npatchy liver enhancement, and heterogeneous hypoattenuation. Most of the patients had a low ascitic total protein\n(< 25 g/L) and a high SAAG.In acute stage, pathologic features were massive sinusoidal dilatation,\nsinusoidal congestion, the extravasation of erythrocytes, hepatocellular necrosis, the accumulation of macrophages,\nthe deposition of hemosiderin. In subacute stage, complete loss of pericentral hepatocytes, sinusoidal dilatation, the\ndeposition of pigment granules were observed.\nConclusions: The PAs-induced HSOS patients displayed distinct clinical characteristics, imaging features, and\npathological findings, which provided some evidences for the diagnosis of PAs-induced HSOS.\nTrial registration: ChiCTR-DRD-17010709....
Background: Pancreatic hamartoma is an extremely rare benign disease, and previous reports have provided little\ndetail regarding its appearance in imaging. As a result, we report the imaging findings for two cases of pancreatic\nhamartoma.\nCase presentation: One 57-year-old female patient and one 69-year-old male patient presented with pancreatic\nlesions incidentally detected by US; CT and MRI revealed a 2.9-cm cystic and solid lesion and a 1.4-cm solid lesion,\nrespectively. US showed a hypoechoic well-defined mass in the pancreatic head. The plain CT indicated that the\ninternal density was uneven, and the lesions showed obvious progressive enhancement. The MRI-T2WI showed isoto\nhigh-intensity, the DWI showed iso-intensity, and the masses also all showed obvious progressive enhancement.\nHistopathological studies confirmed the diagnosis of pancreatic hamartoma.\nConclusion: Pancreatic hamartoma is an extremely rare tumour with benign features, such as no dilatation of the\nMPD and well-defined, slight hyperintensity or iso-intensity on T2WI and iso-intensity on DWI, with obvious\nprogressive enhancement. Therefore, detailed review of multiple imaging modalities may help in diagnosis of PH\nand prevent unnecessary surgery for patients with this diagnosis....
Objective. The aim of this preliminary study was to describe putative markers of cerebral vasculopathy and investigate relationships\namong these markers, demographic factors, and cognitive function in a young sample of neurologically normal\nchildren with SCD. Study Design. Thirty-eight children with homozygous HbS, aged 4â??11 years, were included. Estimated IQ\nand markers of coagulation and endothelial activation, hemolysis, and inflammation, as well as transcranial Doppler velocities,\nhydroxyurea use, and demographic information were obtained. Results. Using multiple regression analyses, there were few\nsignificant independent associations between biomarkers or blood flow velocity and estimated IQ. Lactic dehydrogenase\n(LDH) independently predicted cognitive function, but blood flow velocity did not mediate this relationship. Maternal\neducation, patient age, and hydroxyurea status were independent predictors of cognition. Given the small sample size, a LASSO\nstatistical model was employed to further identify potential predictors of IQ, which identified LDH, absolute neutrophil count\n(ANC), platelet count, thrombin-antithrombin (TAT), tissue factor (TF), maternal education, age, and hydroxyurea as\npotential predictors of cognition. Conclusions. In addition to effects of age and maternal education, some vasculopathic\nmarkers are associated with cognitive function in young children with SCD, and these relationships do not appear to be\nmediated through blood flow velocity. Although the lack of association among certain variables was not as predicted, results\nprovide support for further research regarding the influence of vasculopathic markers on cognitive function in children with\nSCD without stroke, especially intravascular hemolysis and coagulation/endothelial activation, and a possible role for HU\ntreatment in preventing or reversing cognitive decline....
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare poorly differentiated neuroendocrine tumor, usually located in sun-exposed skin, with\naggressive behavior and with high recurrence risk and metastatic disease. In Latin America, case series have been published, and it\ndoes not exceed 32 patients in 10 years, and in Colombia, there are case reports. We present a descriptive retrospective crosssectional\nstudy in patients diagnosed with MCC in the Department of Pathology and Laboratories at the University Hospital\nFundaci´on Santa Fe de Bogot´a(FSFB) between January 2003 and December 2018. We present the demographic, clinical, and\npathological variables of these patients, as well as a literature review....
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