Assessment of propertide of type III procollagen in chronic liver diseases

Sixty-three hepatic patients [38 males and 25 females] with ages ranging between 25-75 years [mean 48.49 +/- 1.72] were included in this study. For comparison, 20 healthy age and sex matched volunteers were taken as controls. Patients with chronic liver diseases including hepatic cirrhosis [23 patients], bilharzial hepatic fibrosis [10 patients], hepatic malignancy [15 patients] and chronic viral hepatitis C [15 patients] were included in this study. All patients and healthy subjects were thoroughly clinically examined. Fasting blood sample was taken from each individual, divided into aliquots and analyzed for aminoterminal propeptide of type IIII procollagen and liver function tests [including prothrombin time, serum albumin, bilirubin, ALT and AST]. The severity of liver disease was graded by Pugh-Child scoring including the assessment of ascites, encephalopathy, bilirubin, albumin and prothrombin time. It was concluded that propeptide of type III procollagen [PIIINP] measurement is a good noninvasive marker of manifest fibrosis. Cirrhotic patients had the highest serum PIIINP levels of all studied patients

Iodothyronine levels in mothers and newborns at delivery

In this work blood samples from the mother and cord blood as well as amniotic fluid samples were taken during delivery to estimate the levels of T[3] and T[4]. The newborns are divided into 3 groups: 20 full term [AGA], 12 full term [SGA] and 10 preterm infants. The study showed that maternal T[4] increased during pregnancy, while T[3] remained constant. Amniotic fluid T[3] and T[4] show poor correlation to maternal blood while moderate correlation to cord blood indicating that iodothyronines in amniotic fluid derive predominantly from the fetus. The level of T[3] and T[4] in cord blood and amniotic fluid were significantly higher in full term AGA than in SGA and preterm groups. Moreover the preterm values were lower in SGA groups than in the preterm one denoting the relationship between these hormones and the intra-uterine growth retardation