Rational sequence of tests for pancreatic function. (1/24046)

Of 144 patients with suspected pancreatic disease in whom a 75Se-selenomethionine scan was performed, endoscopic retrograde pancreatography (ERP) was successful in 108 (75%). The final diagnosis is known in 100 patients and has been compared with scan and ERP findings. A normal scan reliably indicated a normal pancreas, but the scan was falsely abnormal in 30%. ERP distinguished between carcinoma and chronic pancreatitis in 84% of cases but was falsely normal in five patients with pancreatic disease. In extrahepatic biliary disease both tests tended to give falsely abnormal results. A sequence of tests to provide a rapid and reliable assessment of pancreatic function should be a radio-isotope scan, followed by ERP if the results of the scan are abnormal, and a Lundh test if the scan is abnormal but the findings on ERP are normal.  (+info)

Enhanced Th1 activity and development of chronic enterocolitis in mice devoid of Stat3 in macrophages and neutrophils. (2/24046)

We have generated mice with a cell type-specific disruption of the Stat3 gene in macrophages and neutrophils. The mutant mice are highly susceptible to endotoxin shock with increased production of inflammatory cytokines such as TNF alpha, IL-1, IFN gamma, and IL-6. Endotoxin-induced production of inflammatory cytokines is augmented because the suppressive effects of IL-10 on inflammatory cytokine production from macrophages and neutrophils are completely abolished. The mice show a polarized immune response toward the Th1 type and develop chronic enterocolitis with age. Taken together, Stat3 plays a critical role in deactivation of macrophages and neutrophils mainly exerted by IL-10.  (+info)

Reconstruction for chronic dysfunction of ileoanal pouches. (3/24046)

OBJECTIVE: A retrospective review was performed to determine the results after surgical reconstruction for chronic dysfunction of ileal pouch-anal procedures for ulcerative colitis and familial colonic polyposis at a university medical center. METHODS: During the 20-year period from 1978 to 1998, 601 patients underwent colectomy and ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) for ulcerative colitis, familial colonic polyposis, or Hirschsprung's disease. A J pouch was used for 351 patients, a lateral pouch for 221, an S pouch for 6, and a straight pull-through for 23. Acute complications after pouch construction have been detailed in previous publications and are not included in this study. Chronic pouch stasis with diarrhea, frequency, urgency, and soiling gradually became more severe in 164 patients (27.3%), associated with pouch enlargement, an elongated efferent limb, and obstruction to pouch outflow, largely related to the pouch configuration used during the authors' early clinical experience. These patients were sufficiently symptomatic to be considered for reconstruction (mean 68 months after IPAA). Transanal resection of an elongated IPAA spout was performed on 58 patients; abdominoperineal mobilization of the pouch with resection and tapering of the lower end (AP reconstruction) and ileoanal anastomosis on 83; pouch removal and new pouch construction on 7; and conversion of a straight pull-through to a pouch on 16. RESULTS: Good long-term results (mean 7.7 years) with improvement in symptoms occurred in 98% of transanal resections, 91.5% of AP reconstructions, 86% of new pouch constructions, and 100% of conversions of a straight pull-through to a pouch. The average number of bowel movements per 24 hours at 6 months was 4.8. Complications occurred in 11.6% of reconstructed patients. Five of the 164 patients (3.1%) required eventual pouch removal and permanent ileostomy. The high rate of pouch revision in this series of patients undergoing IPAA is due to a policy of aggressive correction when patients do not experience an optimal functional result, or have a progressive worsening of their status. CONCLUSIONS: Although occasionally a major undertaking, reconstruction of ileoanal pouches with progressive dysfunction due to large size or a long efferent limb has resulted in marked improvement in intestinal function in >93% of patients and has reduced the need for late pouch removal.  (+info)

Risk of major liver resection in patients with underlying chronic liver disease: a reappraisal. (4/24046)

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relation of patient age, status of liver parenchyma, presence of markers of active hepatitis, and blood loss to subsequent death and complications in patients undergoing a similar major hepatectomy for the same disease using a standardized technique. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Major liver resection carries a high risk of postoperative liver failure in patients with chronic liver disease. However, this underlying liver disease may comprise a wide range of pathologic changes that have, in the past, not been well defined. METHODS: The nontumorous liver of 55 patients undergoing a right hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma was classified according to a semiquantitative grading of fibrosis. The authors analyzed the influence of this pathologic feature and of other preoperative variables on the risk of postoperative death and complications. RESULTS: Serum bilirubin and prothrombin time increased on postoperative day 1, and their speed of recovery was influenced by the severity of fibrosis. Incidence of death from liver failure was 32% in patients with grade 4 fibrosis (cirrhosis) and 0% in patients with grade 0 to 3 fibrosis. The preoperative serum aspartate transaminase (ASAT) level ranged from 68 to 207 IU/l in patients with cirrhosis who died, compared with 20 to 62 in patients with cirrhosis who survived. CONCLUSION: A major liver resection such as a right hepatectomy may be safely performed in patients with underlying liver disease, provided no additional risk factors are present. Patients with a preoperative increase in ASAT should undergo a liver biopsy to rule out the presence of grade 4 fibrosis, which should contraindicate this resection.  (+info)

In vitro induction of activation-induced cell death in lymphocytes from chronic periodontal lesions by exogenous Fas ligand. (5/24046)

Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease which gradually destroys the supporting tissues of the teeth, leading to tooth loss in adults. The lesions are characterized by a persistence of inflammatory cells in gingival and periodontal connective tissues. To understand what mechanisms are involved in the establishment of chronic lesions, we hypothesized that infiltrating lymphocytes might be resistant to apoptosis. However, both Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL were weakly detected in lymphocytes from the lesions, compared with those from peripheral blood, suggesting that these cells are susceptible to apoptosis. Nevertheless, very few apoptotic cells were observed in tissue sections from the lesions. Lymphocytes from the lesions expressed mRNA encoding Fas, whereas Fas-ligand mRNA was very weakly expressed in lymphocytes from the lesions and in periodontal tissues. Since the results indicated that lymphocytes in the lesions might be susceptible to Fas-mediated apoptosis but lack the death signal, we next investigated if these lymphocytes actually undergo apoptosis by the addition of anti-Fas antibodies in vitro. Fas-positive lymphocytes from the lesions underwent apoptosis by these antibodies, but Fas-negative lymphocytes and Fas-positive peripheral lymphocytes did not undergo apoptosis by these antibodies. These results indicate that lymphocytes in the lesions are susceptible to activation-induced cell death and are induced to die by apoptosis after the addition of exogenous Fas ligand.  (+info)

The sialylation of bronchial mucins secreted by patients suffering from cystic fibrosis or from chronic bronchitis is related to the severity of airway infection. (6/24046)

Bronchial mucins were purified from the sputum of 14 patients suffering from cystic fibrosis and 24 patients suffering from chronic bronchitis, using two CsBr density-gradient centrifugations. The presence of DNA in each secretion was used as an index to estimate the severity of infection and allowed to subdivide the mucins into four groups corresponding to infected or noninfected patients with cystic fibrosis, and to infected or noninfected patients with chronic bronchitis. All infected patients suffering from cystic fibrosis were colonized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. As already observed, the mucins from the patients with cystic fibrosis had a higher sulfate content than the mucins from the patients with chronic bronchitis. However, there was a striking increase in the sialic acid content of the mucins secreted by severely infected patients as compared to noninfected patients. Thirty-six bronchial mucins out of 38 contained the sialyl-Lewis x epitope which was even expressed by subjects phenotyped as Lewis negative, indicating that at least one alpha1,3 fucosyltransferase different from the Lewis enzyme was involved in the biosynthesis of this epitope. Finally, the sialyl-Lewis x determinant was also overexpressed in the mucins from severely infected patients. Altogether these differences in the glycosylation process of mucins from infected and noninfected patients suggest that bacterial infection influences the expression of sialyltransferases and alpha1,3 fucosyltransferases in the human bronchial mucosa.  (+info)

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy and quality of life. (7/24046)

The quality of life (QOL) of 79 people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes and 37 non-diabetic controls was assessed using the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). The NHP consists of six domains assessing energy, sleep, pain, physical mobility, emotional reactions and social isolation. Symptomatic diabetic neuropathy was present in 41 of the patients. The neuropathy patients had significantly higher scores (impaired QOL) in 5/6 NHP domains than either the other diabetic patients (p < 0.01) or the non-diabetic (p < 0.001) controls. These were: emotional reaction, energy, pain, physical mobility and sleep. The diabetic patients without neuropathy also had significantly impaired QOL for 4/6 NHP domains compared with the non-diabetic control group (p < 0.05) (energy, pain, physical mobility and sleep). This quantification of the detrimental effect on QOL of diabetes, and in particular of chronic symptomatic peripheral diabetic neuropathy, emphasizes the need for further research into effective management of these patients.  (+info)

Reliability of information on physical activity and other chronic disease risk factors among US women aged 40 years or older. (8/24046)

Data on chronic disease risk behaviors and related variables, including barriers to and attitudes toward physical activity, are lacking for women of some racial/ethnic groups. A test-retest study was conducted from July 1996 through June 1997 among US women (n = 199) aged 40 years or more who were white, black, American Indian/Alaska Native, or Hispanic. The sample was selected and interviews were conducted using a modified version of the methods of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. For behavioral risk factors such as physical inactivity, smoking, and low fruit and vegetable consumption, group prevalences were generally similar between interviews 1 and 2. However, kappa values for selected physical activity variables ranged from 0.26 to 0.51 and tended to be lower for black women. Discordance was low for variables on cigarette smoking and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (kappa = 0.64-0.92). Discordance was high (kappa = 0.33) for low consumption of fruits and vegetables. Additional variables for barriers to and access to exercise ranged widely across racial/ethnic groups and in terms of measures of agreement. These methods illustrate an efficient way to sample and assess the reliability of data collected from women of racial/ethnic minority groups.  (+info)