Background: Liver cirrhosis is a catabolic disease characterized by decreased adipose tissue mass and a proinflammatory state. Although hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance are commonly found in these patients, their exact mechanisms are not fully understood. Among the candidate mediators, the adipokines resistin and adiponectin have been incriminated in experimental animal models. Their exact role in cirrhotic patients remains a subject ... Read more

Background/Aim: Nitric Oxide (NO) is important in host defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in rodents, but the presence of high-output NO production in human tuberculosis has been controversial. This study aimed to investigate iNOS expression by peritoneal macrophages in TB peritonitis and to gain insights into the structural properties of peritoneal TB granuloma. Patients and Methods: Peritoneal biopsies were obtained from ... Read more

BACKGROUND: Thyroid dysfunction has long been reported in liver disease. But limited information is available on thyroid size and the involvement of thyroid hormones in the haemodynamic alterations of cirrhosis. AIMS: to 1) study changes in thyroid gland volume and functions in different grades of liver cirrhosis. 2) investigate the relationship of thyroid hormone levels to changes in the hepatic ... Read more

_BACKGROUND:_ Studies performed to date on the prevalence of gallstones in chronic renal failure (CRF) on haemodialysis (HD) have given contradictory results. _ AIMS_: to evaluate the frequency and percentage of gallstones and its main associated risk factors in a group of Egyptian haemodialysis patients. _PATIENTS AND METHODS_: The study included 147 patients with CRF on HD randomly selected from ... Read more

BACKGROUND: Diabetic patients are at risk for getting many infections including _H. pylori._ This infection has been epidemiologically linked to some extra-digestive conditions including ischemic heart disease. There is increasing evidence that certain microbial agents may have a pathogenic role in the development of atherosclerosis. The mechanisms by which _H. pylori_ might play in development of atherosclerosis are unknown. AIMS ... Read more

_BACKGROUND:_ HYPERCOAGULABILITY IS SUPPOSED TO BE A FEATURE OF ULCERATIVE COLITIS. SEVERAL MECHANISMS CAN BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS, INCLUDING ABNORMAL COAGULATION ACTIVITY, DISTURBANCES OF FIBRINOLYTIC PATHWAY AND THROMBOCYTOSIS._BACKGROUND:_ HYPERCOAGULABILITY IS SUPPOSED TO BE A FEATURE OF ULCERATIVE COLITIS. SEVERAL MECHANISMS CAN BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS, INCLUDING ABNORMAL COAGULATION ACTIVITY, DISTURBANCES OF FIBRINOLYTIC PATHWAY AND THROMBOCYTOSIS. _THE AIM WAS:__ 1) _To ... Read more

The pathophysiology of osteoporosis complicating chronic liver disease is unknown. Some studies have found leptin to be a potent inhibitor of bone formation. To investigate the relationship between leptin, osteocalcin and bone mineral density (BMD) in liver cirrhosis, sixty patients with liver cirrhosis were included in this study. They were classified into 3 groups; group I (20 premenopausal females), group ... Read more

BACKGROUND: Although _Helicobacter pylori_ is considered one of the most common bacterial infections worldwide, its mode of transmission is still unclear. Previous studies concerning factors associated with increasing risk for _H. pylori _infection gave contradictory results. AIMS: The aims of this study were to determine the proportion of _H. pylori_ seropositivity among a randomly selected out-patients sample in Sohag University ... Read more

_Advanced liver disease is commonly associated with both exaggerated fibrinolysis and with ascites. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY was to determine fibrinolytic activity in plasma and ascitic fluid (AF) of patients with liver cirrhosis and its correlation with some screening tests of coagulation “platelet count, prothrombin time & concentration (PT& PC),and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT)”, and severity of liver ... Read more

_Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease that exists worldwide. Several studies were conducted in different governorates e.g. Menofia, Dakahlia, Giza, Assiut to estimate the prevalence of brucellosis but little is known about the problem in Sohag governorate. OUR AIM was to estimate the frequency of brucellosis in farm workers in Sohag governorate using ELISA test. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study involved ... Read more