Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0019158 (hepatitis)
 30,205 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A parasitological survey of stool and urine of 2577 from 3281 individuals living in Abis villages, Alexandria was undertaken in 1998 in order to investigate the prevalence of schistosomiasis in this area and risk factors for hepatic morbidity. A random sample of 1082 individuals was interviewed using a questionnaire regarding risk factors for liver morbidity. All interviewed adults (total: 728) were clinically examined for evidence of organomegally (hepatomegally and/or splenomegally). Individuals with clinically detected organomegally were referred for detailed investigations (total: 65). The criteria for severe hepatic morbidity were AST/ALT ratio higher than 1, prothrombin activity < 70%, and evidence of portal hypertension. The results revealed that prevalence of S. mansoni accounted for 20.5%, with low intensity of infection and increased with age to reach a maximum of 40-46.3% at 15-30 years of age. Intensity of infection followed the same pattern. All tested urine samples were negative for S. haemato-bium. The prevalence of clinically detected organomegally was 10.3% among adults (75/728). Significant risk factors for developing organomegally were age > or = 35 years (2.2 folds), farming occupation (1.7 fold), history of parenteral anti-schisto-somal treatment (PAT) with or without tablets (2.03 folds), and heavy water canal exposure (2.85 folds). Detailed morbidity study on 65 individuals with clinically detected organomegally showed that 52.3% reported heavy score for water canal exposure, 33.8% were positive for HCV antibodies, and 7.7% for HBV antibodies. Procollagen level was higher than 5.5 microg/l in 26.2% of this group. The results of Doppler ultrasonography showed that 33.3% recorded a portal vein diameter > or = 13 mm, 26.2% periportal fibrosis more than grade 2 (> 5 mm), 19% hepatofugal direction of portal blood flow, 30.2% collaterals, 28.6% splenomegaly, and 17.5% hepatofugal direction of splenic blood flow. The burden of severe hepatic morbidity was alarming among this group: 33.8% with portal hypertension, 24.6% with prothrombin activity < 70, and 13.8% with AST/ALT ratio > 1. There was a 4.44 and 3.7 fold increased risk for portal hypertension with elevated levels of PIIIP and positive serologic tests for HCV and/or HBV infections, respectively. Similarly, a 4.58 and 18.35 fold increased risk for AST/ALT more than one was attributed to these two factors, respectively. Elevated procollagen level was significantly associated with viral infection (HCV and/or HbsAG). Seropositivity for HCV antibodies was found strikingly high in adults above 35 years (positive HCV antibodies in 45.9% of individuals). This indicates a high level of endemicity in the study area which is also endemic for S. mansoni. So, a heavy burden of severe liver disease exist in rural Alexandria is attributed to combined infection of S. mansoni and hepatitis viruses. This emphasizes the need for intervenetion strategies targeting these two main liver offenders.
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PMID:Morbidity of schistosomiasis mansoni in rural Alexandria, Egypt. 1470 47

A study of liver and colon cancers and their association with a previous diagnosis of schistosomiasis was performed in rural Sichuan, China. The data analysed came from 127 liver-cancer and 142 colon-cancer patients, each matched, by age, gender, hospital and township, with one or two controls. The cancer cases were identified from the hospital records of three Sichuan counties (all of which have some level of endemic schistosomiasis japonicum): Meishan (66 liver and 54 colon cases), Pujiang (16 liver and 22 colon cases) and Xichang (45 liver and 66 colon cases). Each control was selected using the hospital records for the same year the matched case of cancer was diagnosed, when the control had been found to have an illness other than cancer. Previous schistosomal infection was determined by examining the medical records at the county hospitals, searching the records at the local schistosomiasis-control stations or health-surveillance units, and, when no written record could be found, by interviews with the subjects or their relatives. Given the extremely strong association between hepatitis and liver cancer in China, only data from hepatitis-negative pairs were used in the analyses. Previous schistosomal infection was found to be significantly associated with both liver cancer (odds ratio = 3.7; 95% confidence interval = 1.0-13) and colon cancer (odds ratio = 3.3; 95% confidence interval = 1.8-6.1). The results indicate a fraction of disease attributable to schistosomiasis of 24% for colon cancer, and (among the hepatitis-negative population) one of 27% for liver cancer.
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PMID:A matched, case-control study of the association between Schistosoma japonicum and liver and colon cancers, in rural China. 1570 Dec 55

Epidemiological studies in the developing world are frequently biased by the simultaneous presence of several infectious pathogens. In the present study, we examined the usefulness of circulating markers of oxidative stress and liver fibrosis to investigate the distinct forms of chronic liver inflammations associated with schistosomiasis and viral hepatitis, respectively. The study was performed in a Sudanese population exposed to Schistosoma. Circulating hyaluronic acid (HA) was used as a marker of liver fibrosis; the severity of schistosomiasis was determined by ultrasonic examination; viral hepatitis infection was ascertained by circulating anti-hepatitis antibodies. Serum markers were examined also in Sudanese subjects not exposed to Schistosoma infection and in French control subjects. We found a drastic decrease of lycopene levels in the subjects exposed to schistosomiasis in comparison with non-exposed Sudanese and French control subjects. Retinol, alpha-tocopherol and five carotenoids were unchanged. Lycopene depletion was unlikely to be due to variations of nutritional origin, since the lycopene/beta-carotene ratio was five-fold lower in the population at risk of schistosomiasis than in the other groups. We found that high HA serum levels were associated with severe periportal fibrosis but not with viral infection. Conversely, levels of the oxidized lipid malondialdehyde (MDA) were associated with viral infection but not with the severity of schistosomiasis, even though the two infections had additive effects. We concluded that serum markers are valuable tools for investigating the complex effects of co-existing factors of chronic liver inflammation.
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PMID:Circulating markers of oxidative stress and liver fibrosis in Sudanese subjects at risk of schistosomiasis and hepatitis. 1581 96

Dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever constitute a substantial health burden on the population in Thailand. In this study, the impact of symptomatic dengue virus infection on the families of patients hospitalized at the Kamphaeng Phet Provincial Hospital with laboratory-confirmed dengue in 2001 was assessed, and the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost for fatal and non-fatal cases of dengue were calculated using population level data for Thailand. When we accounted for the direct cost of hospitalization, indirect costs due to loss of productivity, and the average number of persons infected per family, we observed a financial loss of approximately US$61 per family, which is more than the average monthly income in Thailand. The DALYs were calculated using select results from a family level survey, and resulted in an estimated 427 DALYs/million population in 2001. This figure is of the same order of magnitude as the impact of several diseases currently given priority in southeast Asia, such as the tropical cluster (trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis, and onchocerciasis), malaria, meningitis, and hepatitis. These results indicate that dengue prevention, control, and research should be considered equally important as that of diseases currently given priority.
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PMID:Economic impact of dengue fever/dengue hemorrhagic fever in Thailand at the family and population levels. 1596 64

The role of liver biopsy (LB) in donor selection for adult living donor liver transplantation remains controversial, since the procedure is associated with additional potential risks for the donor. From April 1998 to August 2004, 730 potential living donors for 337 adult recipients underwent our multistep evaluation program. In 144 candidates, LB was performed. LB was obtained in a percutaneous ultrasound-guided fashion by means of Menghini needle (32 cases) or Tru-cut needle (112 cases). The biopsy specimen was preserved in 5% formalin and processed with hematoxylin & eosin-stained sections. Thirty-one (21%) of 144 candidates who underwent an LB had a positive finding at histological examination that induced their exclusion from donation, of whom 21 had liver steatosis of varying kind and grade (10%-80%) and 10 had a nonsteatotic hepatopathy (non-A-D hepatitis in 6 cases, diffuse granulomatosis in 2, schistosomiasis in 1, fibrosis in 1). The only observed major complications related to LB were 2 intraparenchymal haematomas, both of which resolved spontaneously within a few months. In conclusion, based on these findings, we believe that preoperative LB in the donor selection for adult LDLT is necessary, once the initial donor screening and noninvasive evaluation is complete. Because other screening modalities can be unreliable, without preoperative LB a fraction of potential donors will be operated on inappropriately, risking both donor and recipient. The main objective of LB should be to ensure the donor's safety more than the preservation of the graft function.
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PMID:Preoperative donor liver biopsy for adult living donor liver transplantation: risks and benefits. 1603 60

Screening for imported parasites and infections in apparently healthy travellers and immigrants from the tropics is made more difficult by the lack of specificity and sensitivity of the standard investigations of blood and stools. Investigations must focus on parasites and infections prevalent in the area where the person has been. In the majority of people returned from the tropics, no infections or parasites are detected. However, some parasites, such as schistosomiasis, amoebae, and strongyloides, persist for many years and must be treated to prevent the development of serious complications at a later stage. The possibility of HIV infection and hepatitis should also be kept in mind when screening.
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PMID:[Screening of apparently healthy people returning from "the tropics"]. 1623

Infectious diseases represent a continuous and increasing threat to human health and welfare. Due to emerging diseases, increasing resistances, international travelling, and the risk of bioterroristic attacks, infectious diseases concern the whole world and can only be combated by internationally coordinated and interdisciplinary approaches. When assessing the worldwide publication activities on infectious diseases in the years 1994-2004 accessible via the ISI Science Citation Index Expanded, an overall increase by 24% can be monitored. Furthermore, it becomes evident that highest research priorities are given to HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, tuberculosis, respiratory infections, and sepsis. Ten countries - including the USA, the UK, France, Germany, and Japan - contributed to more than 80% of these publications; nation-specific research priorities focusing on the current problems in the respective country can be estimated. Countries with the highest disease burdens are still not given the opportunity to contribute adequately to the scientific field. Based on our data, relatively increasing publication activities include those on respiratory infections, tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis, and sepsis, whereas decreasing activities were determined for AIDS, diarrhoea, meningitis, schistosomiasis, and other diseases. Accordingly, the prevalence of many infectious diseases occurring in tropical countries is not clearly reflected in the worldwide publication activities.
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PMID:Infectious diseases - a global challenge. 1644 13

The pathogenesis of schistosomiasis japonica has been extensively studied, however only little attention has been paid to the presence and localization of mast cells in relation to Schistosoma japonicum induced lesions. The aim of the present pilot study was to assess the parasitological and pathological responses in S. japonicum infected pigs with emphasis on the description of the distribution of mast cells in relation to lesions in the liver and cecum. Six pigs were exposed to 2,000 cercariae and examined 9 weeks post-infection. Three unexposed pigs of the same age served as helminth free controls. All infected pigs developed granulomatous hepatitis and typhlitis. In the liver, the degree of mast cell infiltration was higher in the infected pigs compared to the unexposed control group. This distinction could not be shown in the cecum. In both the liver and cecum, a mild to moderate number of mast cells were present within the granulomas. A significant relation was found between infection with S. japonicum and the mast cell infiltration in the liver. Due to their possible association with hepatic fibrosis, it seems as if they have some function in the fibrogenic process and thereby play a dual role in the pathogenesis of S. japonicum. In conclusion, the results show that mast cells are recruited to egg induced lesions in both the liver and the cecum.
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PMID:Distribution of mast cells in relation to Schistosoma japonicum induced lesions in pigs. 1712 Dec 86

A novel hepatitis-associated virus, hepatitis G virus (HGV) has recently been identified. The virus is known to be parenterally transmitted and has been found frequently in subjects chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). We investigated the seroprevalence of HGV infection in 91 Egyptians infected with hepatitis C and/or B virus including 52 patients with chronic liver disease and 39 asymptomatic subjects. A newly developed immunoassay was used to detect antibody to HGV envelope protein E2. The overall prevalence of anti-HGV in study subjects was 34.1%. Hepatitis G virus antibody was more frequent in patients with chronic liver disease (36.4%-43.9%) than in asymptomatic persons (23.1%). Analysis of demographic features, risk factors and clinical history of the study population revealed that older age and history of schistosomiasis were the factors significantly associated with anti-HGV positivity. The study demonstrated that HGV is highly prevalent in individuals infected with other parenterally transmitted hepatitis viruses. The impact of such observation rises in view of the endemicity of hepatitis C and B viruses in Egypt.
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PMID:Hepatitis G virus in Egyptians infected with other parenterally transmitted hepatitis viruses. 1721 18

Severe liver disease due to Schistosoma mekongi was frequent in northern Cambodia. Between 1995 and 2002, seven rounds of mass chemotherapy (praziquantel) reduced infection from 50% to below 3%. In 2002, we assessed hepatosplenic morbidity by historical, clinical and ultrasonographic investigations in adults (older than 14 years) from endemic (n=342) and non-endemic (n=103) areas (Kratie province). Clinical hepatomegaly (25 vs. 0%), splenomegaly (55 vs. 0%), reported blood in stool (41 vs. 20%) and abdominal pain (78 vs. 57%) were significantly higher in the endemic area. In this area, significantly more subjects reported a family history of death due to schistosomiasis (12 vs. 0%); 63% (vs. 0%) reported having at least three treatments of praziquantel in previous years; and only 11% (vs. 99%) had normal liver ultrasonographic examination. Periportal fibrosis with portal hypertension was diagnosed in 46% (vs. 0%) of people in this area; 18% (vs. 0%) and 5% (vs. 0%) of portal hypertension was classified as moderate and severe, respectively. People aged between 24 and 35 years were mostly affected. There was no gender difference. The pathology in the endemic district is most probably residual morbidity of S. mekongi infections. Contributions of co-infections (hepatitis) cannot be excluded. Careful monitoring of the affected communities is required.
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PMID:Liver morbidity due to Schistosoma mekongi in Cambodia after seven rounds of mass drug administration. 1756 42


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