Evaluation of the Impact of Metabolic Syndrome on Fibrosis in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a condition that consists of several disorders, and the individual impact of these disorders on metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is still not clear in a combined diagnosis of MS. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of MS on advanced fibrosis in patients with MAFLD.Methods: We recruited the patients from our gastroenterology out-patient clinic who were being followed up for MAFLD. MAFLD was diagnosed with liver biopsy in all patients. The frequency of MS and other metabolic parameters were also compared between groups with advanced fibrosis and groups in which fibrosis was not as advanced.Results: In total, we enrolled 424 biopsy-proven MAFLD patients to the study. In univariate analysis, individuals with greater age, body mass index (BMI), higher aspartate transaminase (AST), MS, impaired fasting glucose, hypertension, enlarged waist circumference (WC), diabetes mellitus (DM), and women had significantly increased risk for fibrosis. In multivariate analysis, it was found that DM, greater age, higher BMI, and increased AST were seen more commonly in MAFLD patients with advanced fibrosisConclusion: Greater age, a higher BMI, higher AST and a diagnosis of diabetes were more commonly associated with advanced fibrosis. However, DM was found to be the strongest predictive factor of advanced fibrosis in our cohort (OR: 2.495). Multivariate analyses did not indicate a significantly common occurrence of MS in the advanced fibrosis group, despite its important role in MAFLD pathophysiology.     

Surgical considerations in patients with lumbar spinal root anomalies.

Lumbosacral nerve root anomalies are rare and can cause diagnostic confusion. In this report we present 12 patients with lumbar root anomalies. Emphasis is placed on preoperative neuroradiological evaluation and the surgical implications of these anomalies.     

Circulating adhesion molecules in patients with stable coronary artery disease

To evaluate platelet and endothelial function in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD), we investigated levels of the plasma-soluble (s) adhesion molecules E-selectin (sE-selectin), P-selectin (sP-selectin), and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) in 74 patients (mean age, 53 +/- 8 years) with angiographically documented coronary artery disease. Levels were compared to 27 matched healthy control subjects. Patients were excluded if they had recent cardiovascular events or any illness that might influence platelet and endothelial cell function. Concentrations of sP-selectin were significantly higher in patients with stable CAD (276 +/- 61 ng/mL) compared with control subjects (188 +/- 32 ng/mL) (P = .0001), whereas sE-selectin and sICAM-1 levels were similar between the 2 groups. Pooling both groups showed that sICAM-1 correlated weakly with triglycerides (r = 0.240, P = .01) and sP-selectin correlated weakly with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (r = 0.204, P = .04). Although plasma sICAM-1 concentrations were significantly increased in hypercholesterolemic patients compared with those of normocholesterolemic patients (P = .04), sP-selectin and sE-selectin levels were similar between the 2 groups. In conclusion, significantly increased sP-selectin levels, indicating platelet activation, were found in patients with stable CAD. No other sign of endothelial cell activation in these patients could be detected. Moreover, sP-selectin levels seem to reflect the activation of platelets rather than of endothelial cells.     

Testicular persistence of Parvovirus B19: evidence for preferential infection of germ cell tumors

Human Parvovirus B19 has previously been implicated in the pathogenesis of testicular germ cell tumors, but this could not have been confirmed. This study was designed to investigate the testicular persistence of Parvovirus B19 and possible associations with germ cell tumors. Paraffin-embedded or fresh tissues from 36 germ cell tumors, 20 germ cell aplasias, 26 normal testicular tissues, 20 liver tissues, and 20 spleen tissues were evaluated by two different molecular assays: a nested PCR for Parvovirus B19 capsid genes and a commercial quantitative real-time PCR. Positive results were further confirmed by another commercial real-time PCR assay. Viral DNA was detected in 3 of 36 (8.3%) germ cell tumors, but not in other groups. Viral loads observed in all positive samples were less than 20 IU/reaction, suggesting very low levels of viral replication or latency. These results either directly or indirectly imply the involvement of Parvovirus B19 with testicular germ cell tumors. Viral persistence in normal testis, germ cell aplasia tissues, or hepatic/splenic tissues was not observed in this study.     

Microsatellite instability is not a common feature in medullary breast cancer

Microsatellite instability (MSI) is a form of genomic instability associated with defective DNA mismatch repair in tumors. MSI is found in 85-90% of hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer cases; however, its occurrence in breast carcinogenesis still remains to be clarified. In addition, data are limited on the incidence of MSI in the medullary subtype. The purpose of this study was to investigate the occurrence of MSI in medullary breast cancer (MBC). The study included a total of 16 patients with MBC, nine with typical and seven with atypical histology. The incidence of MSI in five microsatellite loci (D2S123, D3S1611, D17S807, D17S796 and Xq11-12) was determined by comparing paired normal and tumor tissue DNA after PCR amplification from paraffin-embedded tissues. All 16 tumors showed stability at five loci. Although the number of microsatellite markers and DNA samples may limit the value of our results, we conclude that the MSI phenotype is uncommon in human MBC.     

Is Endocan a Novel Diagnostic Marker for the Severity of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Very Low Birth Weight Infants?

IntroductionEndocan levels were found to be associated with severity and mortality of the respiratory system diseases.ObjectiveWe aimed to figure out whether endocan was an important marker for the diagnosis, severity and follow-up of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).Materials and methodsInfants with moderate/severe BPD, and who required hydrocortisone treatment were included in the study group. Infants without BPD were allocated in the control group. Endocan levels were compared between the control group and the study group, and before and after the treatment in the study group.ResultsA total of 148 infants, 74 infants in the control group and 74 infants in the BPD group, were included. The endocan level was higher in the BPD group than in the control group (P = .001). Endocan levels before treatment in the BPD group was found to be higher than endocan level after treatment (P = .021).ConclusionOur study found that endocan levels increased in moderate/severe BPD. Serum endocan levels may be a safe and novel indicator for the follow-up of response to treatment and the prognosis of the severity of the disease.     

A morphometric study of the inferior orbital fissure using three‐dimensional anatomical landmarks: Application to orbital surgery

The inferior orbital fissure (IOF) is an important structure during orbital surgery, however, neither its anatomical features nor the procedures necessary to expose the IOF have been examined in detail. A morphometric analysis of the IOF was performed on 232 orbits using computer software. The longest and shortest borders of the IOF were 18.2 ± 4.9 and 1.9 ± 1.3 mm, respectively. The outer and the inner angles were 138.9 ± 32.7° and 38.4 ± 24.7°, respectively. The perimeter of the IOF was 50.6 ± 13.5 mm and its area was 61.3 ± 39.1 mm². Eight types of IOF were observed. Type 1 IOF was observed in 42.2% and the Type 2 IOF was identified in 15.9%. A statistically significant relation was found between the longest edge and area and the widest edge and area of the IOF. The findings of our study suggest that the removal of the lateral wall should begin inferiorly, just lateral to the IOF and extended superolaterally. These data may be useful during surgical approaches to the orbit. Clin. Anat. 22:649–654, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.