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The spectrum of serological markers associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is rapidly growing. Due to frequently delayed or missed diagnoses, the application of non-invasive diagnostic tests for IBD, as well as differentiation between ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), would be useful in the pediatric population. In addition, the combination of pancreatic autoantibodies and antibodies against Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies/perinuclear cytoplasmic antibody (pANCA) improved the sensitivity of serological markers in pediatric patients with CD and UC. Some studies suggested that age-associated differences in the patterns of antibodies may be present, particularly in the youngest children. In CD, most patients develop stricturing or perforating complications, and a significant number of patients undergo surgery during the disease course. Based on recent knowledge, serum antibodies are qualitatively and quantitatively associated with complicated CD behavior and CD-related surgery. Pediatric UC is characterized by extensive colitis and a high rate of colectomy. In patients with UC, high levels of anti-CBir1 and pANCA are associated with the development of pouchitis after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis. Thus, serologic markers for IBD can be applied to stratify IBD patients into more homogeneous subgroups with respect to disease progression. In conclusion, identification of patients at an increased risk of rapid disease progression is of great interest, as the application of early and more aggressive pharmaceutical intervention could have the potential to alter the natural history of IBD, and reduce complications and hospitalizations.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of preemptive pantoprazole infusion on early endoscopic findings in patients with acute ulcer bleeding. Records of 333 patients admitted with acute ulcer bleeding were analyzed. Ulcer bleeders were given either 80 mg bolus of pantoprazole followed by continuous infusion of 8 mg per hour or saline infusion until endoscopy. In 93 patients saline infusion whereas in 240 patients bolus plus infusion of pantoprazole was administrated with mean (±SD) durations of 5.45 ± 12.9 hours and 6.9 ± 13.2 hours, respectively (P = 0.29). Actively bleeding ulcers were detected in 46/240 (19.2%) of cases in the pantoprazole group as compared with 23/93 (24.7%) in the saline infusion group (P = 0.26). Different durations of pantoprazole infusion (0-4 hours, >4 hours, and >6 hours) had no significant effect on endoscopic and clinical outcome parameters in duodenal ulcer bleeders. Gastric ulcer bleeders on pantoprazole infusion longer than 4 and 6 hours before endoscopy had actively bleeding ulcers in 4.3% and 5% compared to the 19.5% active bleeding rate in the saline group (P = 0.02 and P = 0.04). Preemptive infusion of high-dose pantoprazole longer than 4 hours before endoscopy decreased the ratio of active bleeding only in gastric but not in duodenal ulcer patients.

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UNLABELLED: The role of routine second-look endoscopy in the management of patients with acute peptic ulcer bleeding is controversial. A more precise identification of higher risk patient group, based on both clinical and endoscopic criteria, is needed to determine whether there are high-risk patients who may benefit from this management strategy. AIM: Or aim was to find out whether scheduled second-look endoscopy has any beneficial effect in the clinical outcome. METHODS: Both endoscopic and clinical data were analyzed in 274 acute gastroduodenal ulcer bleeding patients. The need for repeated endoscopic haemostatic intervention was used as a measure to evaluate the potential beneficial effect of the second look endoscopy. Patients were categorized according to the Forrest classification detected during the emergency endoscopy. RESULTS: In the subgroup of actively bleeding patients (Forrest Ia, Ib) a second endoscopic haemostasis was performed in 23.8% of cases. In the patient subgroup with visible vessel ulcers (Forrest IIa) and in those with adherent clot covered ulcers (Forrest IIb) the needs for a repeated haemostasis were 13.0% and 13.3% respectively. Despite the not statistically significant differences, remarkable clinical impact was noted favoring scheduled second look endoscopy in patients with initially active ulcer bleeding. CONCLUSION: In the light of the retrospective study results it may be concluded that the scheduled second look endoscopy strategy offers a beneficial clinical outcome for selected patients estimated to be a very high risk of re-bleeding following the initial endoscopic therapy for active bleeding.

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Previously we observed elevation of the serum concentration of two acute-phase protein (AFP) complement components (C9 and C1-inhibitor) in patients with chronic hepatitis C who responded (R) to IFN-alpha therapy, but not in non-responders (NR). In the present study we investigated the effect of high-dose IFN-alpha therapy on serum concentrations of two positive [orosomucoid (OROSO) and C-reactive protein (CRP)] and two negative [transferrin (TF) and fetuin/alpha2HS-glycoprotein (AHSG)] AFP in an outpatient setting. We investigated blood samples of 40 patients with chronic hepatitis C at the onset and at the end of a 3-month treatment with high-dose IFN-alpha2b (5 MIU/day for 6 weeks, followed by 5 MIU t.i.w.) and of 52 healthy individuals. Serum concentrations of OROSO, TF and AHSG were measured by radial immunodiffusion; CRP levels were determined by immunotubridimetry. Compared to controls, patients with chronic hepatitis C had significantly lower OROSO and CRP, and higher AHSG levels. By the end of treatment, OROSO concentration increased in R (P = 0.0054), but not in NR patients. In contrast, TF levels decreased in R (P = 0.0040), but did not change in NR patients. Similarly, in R patients, AHSG levels tended to decrease (P = 0.0942) following IFN-alpha treatment. We conclude that the acute-phase reaction is suppressed in patients with chronic hepatitis C that may be potentially related to the responsiveness to IFN-alpha therapy.

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INTRODUCTION: In addition to interferon, lamivudine is the other widely used antiviral agent in the therapy of chronic hepatitis B. This nucleoside analogue inhibits the RNA-dependent DNA polimerase and the reverse transcription by integrating in the viral DNA, which results in the secondary suppression of viral protein synthesis and replication of HBV. It has numerous advantages such as effective viral inhibition, mild side effects and the possibility of oral administration; on the other hand it poses the problem of time-correlated appearance of lamivudine resistant mutants during therapy. AIMS: In the Virusserology Laboratory of the Department I. Internal Medicine, Szent György Hospital, Székesfehérvár, detection and type determination of the therapy resistant mutants in the C and B domains of HBV DNA polimerase gene has been carried out the for one year. In this paper, the authors review the molecular biological background of lamivudine resistance and summarise the applied test methodologies and the early results. PATIENTS: Six-month and/or 12-, 18-month samples of 18 chronic hepatitis B patients (4 women/14 men) treated in seven Hepatology Centres in Hungary were analysed. METHODOLOGY: Mutants of codons 528, 552, and 555 in the HBV polimerase gene were determined by nested polimerase chain reaction and reverse hybridisation. RESULTS: M528, V552, I552 and I555 mutants in different variations could be detected in ten out of 18 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Nowadays, drug therapy is the only treatment option used for the therapy of early and progressed chronic hepatitis B in Hungary. This new diagnostic technique was introduced to clarify the background of ineffective lamivudine therapy. Therapy resistance can occur due to the lack of reaction or the appearance of the special, therapy resistant mutants of the virus. Detection of these YMDD mutants together with the clinical picture and the biochemical and virological parameters can help in forming a decision about cessation of lamivudine therapy or application of a new drug.

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Previously we detected more than 3 times higher anti-cholesterol antibody (ACHA) levels in HIV positive patients compared to healthy individuals, however, this level significantly decreased during highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). In our present study we examined whether these findings could also be detected in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). We calculated the correlation between the ACHA levels and the C5b-9 complement activation product. 39 patients with CHC were treated with IFN-alpha-2b (Schering-Plough) 5 MU daily for 6 weeks, followed by 5 MU TIW. Serum levels of ACHA and complement activation products were measured with ELISA. Serum HCV RNA was measured by a highly sensitive branched DNA technique before and 3, 6 and 12 months after the beginning of IFN-alpha-2b therapy. 52 healthy persons served as controls. At the onset of treatment ACHA level was significantly (p = 0.0062) higher in patients (40 (24-69) AU/ml) (median (interquartile range)) than in control sera (26 (20-35) AU/ml). In the 26 responder patients ACHA levels decreased to the normal level during the therapy, but no change was observed in the 13 non-responders. In patients with a sustained response ACHA levels remained low till the end of the 12 months IFN treatment. ACHA levels were significantly (p = 0.0422) higher in the patients with low (< 4.0 mmol/l) than in those with normal (> or = 4.0 mmol/l) cholesterol concentrations. The ACHA level before the therapy strongly correlated (r = 0.5499, p = 0.0014) with C5b-9 serum levels. ACHA levels are elevated in CHC, but this elevation is not as high as in HIV. Decrease of viral load by IFN-alpha-2b treatment in the responders results in normalization of ACHA concentration. High ACHA levels in patients with low serum cholesterol concentration suggest that high ACHA levels may contribute to the decrease in cholesterol levels. The correlation between the ACHA and C5b-9 levels indicate, that the ACHA may play a role in the complement activation in CHC.

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