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1.
Infection ; 52(2): 289-300, 2024 Apr.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37917397

ABSTRACT

More than half of the world's population are colonized with H. pylori; however, the prevalence varies geographically with the highest incidence in Africa. H. pylori is probably a commensal organism that has been associated with the development of gastritis, ulcers, and gastric cancer. H. pylori alone is most probably not enough for the development of gastric carcinoma, but evidence for its association with the disease is high and has, therefore, been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a Class 1 carcinogen. Bacteroidetes and Fusobacteria positively coexisted during H. pylori infection along the oral-gut axis. The eradication therapy required to treat H. pylori infection can also have detrimental consequences for the gut microbiota, leading to a decreased alpha diversity. Therefore, therapy regimens integrated with probiotics may abolish the negative effects of antibiotic therapy on the gut microbiota. These eradication therapies combined with probiotics have also higher rates of eradication, when compared to standard treatments, and are associated with reduced side effects, improving the patient's compliance. The eradication therapy not only affects gut microbiome but also affects the oral microbiome with robust predominance of harmful bacteria. However, there have been reports of a protective role of H. pylori in Barrett's esophagus, esophageal adenocarcinoma, eosinophilic esophagitis, IBD, asthma, and even multiple sclerosis. Therefore, eradication therapy should be carefully considered, and test to treat policy should be tailored to specific communities especially in highly endemic areas. Supplementation of probiotics, prebiotics, herbals, and microbial metabolites to reduce the negative effects of eradication therapy should be considered. After failure of many eradication attempts, the benefits of H. pylori eradication should be carefully balanced against the risk of adverse effects especially in the elderly, persons with frailty, and intolerance to antibiotics.


Subject(s)
Gastritis , Gastrointestinal Microbiome , Helicobacter Infections , Helicobacter pylori , Humans , Aged , Helicobacter Infections/drug therapy , Helicobacter Infections/epidemiology , Helicobacter Infections/microbiology , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Gastritis/drug therapy , Gastritis/microbiology
2.
Int J Biol Macromol ; 240: 124292, 2023 Jun 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37030465

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate the potential benefits Gum Arabic/Acacia senegal (GA) in mitigating the harmful effects of cisplatin (CP) on spermatogenesis and testicular health in male adult rats. A total of forty albino rats were used in the study and divided into four groups; control, GA, CP, and Co-treated group, which received both CP and GA concurrently. The results revealed that CP caused a significant increase in oxidative stress and a decrease in antioxidant activities (CAT, SOD, and GSH), which disturbed the testicular machinery. This caused significant histological and ultrastructural damage to the testicular structure, including atrophied seminiferous tubules with severely reduced germinal epithelium. Additionally, CP caused a decrease in reproductive hormones (testosterone and LH), a decline in nucleic proliferation PCNA immunoexpression, and an increase in cytoplasmic apoptotic Caspase-3 protein expression in testicular tissue, when compared to the control and GA groups. Moreover, the CP treatment impaired spermatogenesis and decreased sperm number and motility with abnormal morphology. However, co-administration of GA with CP mitigated the dysfunction in spermatogenesis and reversed testicular damage caused by CP through significantly (P < 0.01) reducing oxidative stress (MDA) and increasing the activities of CAT, SOD, and GSH. Additionally, co-administration of GA elevated the levels of testosterone and luteinizing hormone in blood sera, significantly (P < 0.01) improved the histometric measurements of seminiferous tubules diameter, their epithelial height, Johnsen's score of spermatogenesis, 4-level histological grading scale Cosentino's score, immunohistochemical expression of nucleic PCNA, and cytoplasmic Caspase-3 proteins. Furthermore, TEM examination confirmed the synergistic effect of GA in restoring the germinal epithelial cells ultrastructure, the elongated and transverse sections of spermatozoa in the lumen, and the interstitial tissue. All of these effects resulted in a significant improvement in sperm quality in the Co-treated animals compared with the CP group, as well as, a significant decline in the morphological abnormalities of sperm in Co-treated rats compared to those in the CP group. GA is a valuable agent for ameliorating chemotherapy-related infertility.


Subject(s)
Cisplatin , Infertility , Animals , Male , Antioxidants/pharmacology , Antioxidants/metabolism , Caspase 3/metabolism , Cisplatin/pharmacology , Gum Arabic/pharmacology , Infertility/pathology , Oxidative Stress , Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen/metabolism , Seeds/metabolism , Spermatogenesis , Spermatozoa/metabolism , Superoxide Dismutase/metabolism , Testis/metabolism , Testosterone , Rats
3.
Egypt Liver J ; 13(1): 8, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36818544

ABSTRACT

Background: Hepatic involvement is a common extranodal manifestation of common and some rare hematologic malignancies. Although the imaging features of more common hepatic diseases such as hepatocellular carcinoma, metastases, and infection may overlap with those of hepatic hematologic malignancies, combining the imaging features with clinical manifestations and laboratory findings can facilitate correct diagnosis. Imaging has an important role in the diagnosis of hepatic focal lesions. Case presentation: A case presented with isolated multiple hepatic focal lesions without nodal or spleen enlargement diagnosed only by immunohistochemical study and turned out to be primary hepatic lymphoma (PHL). PHL is rare with roughly 100 described cases and accounts for less than 1% of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Osseous involvement adds more challenge to the diagnosis. Conclusion: Hepatologists must be aware of PHL as it may be confused with more common hepatic diseases, mainly multifocal HCC and/or hepatic metastasis.

4.
Egypt Liver J ; 12(1): 43, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35880136

ABSTRACT

Coronavirus causes an outbreak of viral pneumonia that spread throughout the world. Liver injury is becoming more widely recognized as a component of the clinical picture of COVID-19 infection. Hepatitis with serum ALT elevation has been reported in up to half of patients. Patients with CLD were at a higher risk of decompensation with liver failure, hospitalization, and mortality. The percentage of acute liver injury (ALI) varied from 5 to 28%. COVID-19 hinders HCV elimination by 2030. It is recommended to continue treatment of chronic HCV and chronic HBV if already receiving treatment. Consider using antiviral therapy to prevent viral flare-ups in patients with occult or resolved HBV and COVID-19 who are receiving immunosuppressive agents. Patients with AIH do not have an increased risk of adverse outcomes even in high-risk areas. There is an association between MAFLD and disease progression. Patients with any type of cancer are at a higher risk of infection and are more likely to develop more severe clinical outcomes. Most societies advise against immunosuppressant modifications in patients with mild COVID-19, whereas in rare cases such as severe lymphopenia, worsening pneumonia, or bacterial or fungal superinfection, reduction or discontinuation of antiproliferative agents and lymphocyte-depleting therapies has been suggested.

5.
Exp Astron (Dordr) ; 53(1): 45-70, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34658528

ABSTRACT

In this paper we describe the Kottamia Faint Imaging Spectro-Polarimeter (KFISP) that has been recently developed and designed to be mounted at the Cassegrain focus of the 1.88 m telescope at Kottamia Astronomical Observatory (KAO), Egypt. The optical design of KFISP is developed such that it can be used in various modes of operation. These are: direct imaging, spectroscopic, polarimetric imaging, and spectro-polarimetric. The KFISP is an all-refractive design to meet the polarimetric requirements and includes a focal reducer with a corrector section, collimator section, parallel beam section (containing various imaging components), and camera section. The corrector section gives an unvignetted Field-of-View of 8' × 8' and the collimator section has a focal length of 305 mm and matches the focal ratio of the input beam. The parallel beam section is 200 mm long and near the middle of it there is an image of the telescope pupil. The camera section includes 5 elements and has a focal length of 154.51 mm which gives an instrument effective final focal ratio of f/6.14 (acting as a telescope focal reducer of 1:2 ratio). The KFISP contains an internal calibration system which hosts the calibration light injection system, an integrating sphere equipped with the required calibration light sources. The opto-mechanical parts of KFISP contain a double-layered carbon fiber strut structure and comprises its subsystems of slit and guider assemblies, filter wheel drawer, grism wheel drawer, polarimetric components cubical box, and CCD camera which is integrated with camera optics. The CCD camera has 2048 × 2048 pixels with 13.5-micron square pixel size. The camera is cooled by liquid Nitrogen and is fixed to the KFISP through the integrated camera lens. The KFISP has been fully commissioned, mounted and is being tested in all modes of operation. In this paper we introduce the ambitious scientific goals, the optical setups of KFISP, its opto-mechanical implementation and the performance analysis of the instrument. In addition, we describe the camera system, its performance, and its software control. Finally, we present a sample of the first light observations obtained from the instrument.

6.
Rev Gastroenterol Mex (Engl Ed) ; 86(2): 125-132, 2021.
Article in English, Spanish | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33004251

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a metabolic liver disorder commonly attributed to fatty acid deposition that can induce hepatic necroinflammation, defined as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). It is strongly associated with obesity. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is a favorable surgical modality for the treatment of morbid obesity. AIM: Our study evaluated the impact of LSG on patients with NAFLD and morbid obesity, 3 months after the operation, through clinical and biochemical characteristics, clinico-biochemical indices, and imaging parameters. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Morbidly obese patients with NAFLD±NASH underwent LSG. They were thoroughly evaluated clinically (body weight, body mass index, waist circumference) and biochemically (transaminases and triglycerides), as well as through the fatty liver index (FLI), the hepatic steatosis index (HSI), and ultrasound elastography imaging studies (liver stiffness measurement [LSM] and the controlled attenuation parameter [CAP]), before and 3 months after the LSG. RESULTS: Twenty-six obese patients with NAFLD underwent LSG that resulted in a significantly high reduction in all the parameters analyzed, except for liver transaminases. CONCLUSION: LSG is considered an efficient surgical modality for the treatment of morbidly obese patients with NAFLD.

7.
Pak J Biol Sci ; 23(12): 1676-1680, 2020 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33274902

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Commiphora gileadensis is a plant in the Burseraceae family that grows in the western area of Saudi Arabia. Traditionally, it is used in the treatment of some superficial infections. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The methanolic extract of Commiphora gileadensis isolated from its leaves and branches. The in vitro study was conducted to determine the effect of this extract on Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using an agar diffusion and Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) methods. The in vivo study was conducted through two different methods. The first method, 20 male Balb c-1 mice were used for the determination of Commiphora gileadensis methanolic extract toxicity (LD50). In the second method, 40 male mice were used and were put into four groups. The first and second groups were injected subcutaneously with 108 CFU of MRSA 1 mL-1, while the third and fourth groups were injected with 108 CFU of Pseudomonas aeruginosa 1 mL-1. The comparison between groups was done by using a t-test (p<0.05). RESULTS: The methanolic extract of Commiphora gileadensis had a greater sensitivity zone on MRSA and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 7 and 3 mm respectively. The MIC of the extract was 1/8 and 1/2 for MRSA and Pseudomonas aeruginosa respectively. The in vivo study showed that the extract was non-toxic, it also showed that the extract decreased the mortality of mice induced by MRSA injection significantly (p<0.05) While insignificantly with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. CONCLUSION: The total Commiphora gileadensis methanolic extract had an antibacterial effect on MRSA and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This extract was non-toxic for the mice.


Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Commiphora , Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/drug effects , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Pseudomonas Infections/drug therapy , Pseudomonas aeruginosa/drug effects , Staphylococcal Infections/drug therapy , Animals , Anti-Bacterial Agents/isolation & purification , Anti-Bacterial Agents/toxicity , Commiphora/chemistry , Commiphora/toxicity , Disease Models, Animal , Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests , Lethal Dose 50 , Male , Methanol/chemistry , Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/growth & development , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Plant Extracts/isolation & purification , Plant Extracts/toxicity , Pseudomonas Infections/microbiology , Pseudomonas aeruginosa/growth & development , Solvents/chemistry , Staphylococcal Infections/microbiology
8.
Br J Biomed Sci ; 76(3): 105-110, 2019 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30924403

ABSTRACT

Background: Several studies have investigated certain fibrosis markers that incorporate liver function tests, fragments of liver-matrix components and/or degraded products generated by hepatic stellate cells for determining the degree of hepatic fibrosis. However, the role of these molecules in the development of hepatic fibrosis is unclear. This work aimed (a) to determine whether platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is linked to different stages of hepatic fibrosis and (b) investigate its diagnostic performance alongside other laboratory and demographic factors in assessing liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C infection. Methods: Liver-fibrosis was staged according to Fibroscan, PDGF quantified using ELISA, and liver function tests and other analytes determined by standard techniques in 239 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Results: Patients with significant (F2-F4), advanced fibrosis (F3-F4) and cirrhotic liver disease (F4) showed significantly (P<0.0001) higher PDGF levels increase respectively compared to stage F0/1. We used this to construct the PARA-Index (PDGF/albumin ratio, age), which performed well in assessing hepatic-fibrosis stages with AUCs of 0.91, 0.87 and 0.86 for identifying F2-F4, F3-F4 and F4, respectively. Additionally, the PARA-Index correlated strongly (r=0.65, P<0.0001) with the severity of the fibrosis. An elevated PARA-index provided odds ratios of 21.0, 20.7 and 10.3 for developing F2-F4, F3-F4 and F4, respectively. Conclusion: A panel of mitogenic (PDGF), biochemical (albumin) and demographical (age) parameters may improve liver-fibrosis staging with a high degree of accuracy in those with a hepatitis C virus infection.


Subject(s)
Albumins/metabolism , Biomarkers/metabolism , Hepatitis C, Chronic/metabolism , Liver Cirrhosis/metabolism , Platelet-Derived Growth Factor/metabolism , Adult , Female , Hepatitis C, Chronic/diagnosis , Hepatitis C, Chronic/virology , Humans , Liver/metabolism , Liver/physiopathology , Liver/virology , Liver Cirrhosis/diagnosis , Liver Cirrhosis/virology , Male , Middle Aged , Mitogens/metabolism , ROC Curve , Severity of Illness Index
9.
Aliment Pharmacol Ther ; 47(9): 1296-1305, 2018 May.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29504152

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Interferon-free regimens are associated with high sustained virological response; however, associated adverse effects have yet to be fully reported. AIM: To evaluate the adverse effects associated with the different direct-acting antiviral drug (DAA) regimens in Egyptian patients. METHODS: This multicenter retrospective study included all adverse effects during and after treatment with DAA regimens of 149 816 chronic hepatitis C treated Egyptian patients. Patients received sofosbuvir (SOF)/ribavirin (RBV) (n = 21 835), SOF/simeprevir (n = 24 215) SOF/daclatasvir (DCV) (n = 58 477), SOF/DCV/RBV (n = 45 188) and paritaprevir/ombitasvir/ritonavir/RBV (n = 101). The duration of treatment varied between 12 and 24 weeks. All changes in the treatment regimens, discontinuation, mortality, and serious side effects were reported. RESULTS: Adverse effects developed in 2475 (1.7%) (mean age [54 ± 9], male gender [53%]) patients. Serious side effects developed in 68% of these patients, and SOF/RBV was the most common causing regimen (73%, P < 0.001). Anaemia and hyperbilirubinemia were the most common side effects (731/149816, 0.5% and 463/149816, 0.3%, respectively) and SOF/RBV (588/21835, 3% and 353/21835, 1.6%, respectively) showed the highest incidence in the treated patients. Hepatocellular carcinoma and mortality were reported in 0.02% and 0.06% of all treated patients, respectively. Patients with liver cirrhosis showed higher incidence of serious side effects (Log rank P = 0.045) and mortality (Log rank P = 0.025) than patients without liver cirrhosis. Male gender (P = 0.012), lower haemoglobin (P < 0.001), platelets (P < 0.001) and albumin (P = 0.001), higher bilirubin (P = 0.002) and cirrhosis (P < 0.001) were factors associated with serious side effects development. CONCLUSION: Adverse effects associated with DAAs are few, anaemia being the most common. SOF/RBV regimen showed the highest rate of side effects while SOF/DCV showed the least.


Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/adverse effects , Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions/epidemiology , Hepatitis C, Chronic/drug therapy , Hepatitis C, Chronic/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , Drug Therapy, Combination , Egypt/epidemiology , Female , Genotype , Hepacivirus/drug effects , Hepacivirus/genetics , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Sustained Virologic Response , Treatment Outcome , Young Adult
10.
Br J Biomed Sci ; 75(1): 19-23, 2018 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28945150

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Fibrosis markers are useful for the prediction of cirrhosis but clinical scores such as King's score, AST-Platelet ratio index (APRI), Biotechnology research center (BRC), Fibrosis routine test (FRT), Fibro-α score and Fibro-quotient (FibroQ) have limited accuracy for diagnosing significant fibrosis. We hypothesised that new markers (reflecting the balance between hepatic fibrogenesis and fibrolysis) together with other indirect fibrosis markers would together construct a more sensitive and specific score capable of identifying fibrosis than existing scores. METHODS: Collagen IV, hyaluronic acid, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) were measured by ELISA, and AST, ALT, platelet count, albumin, total bilirubin, INR and AFP by routine methods in 148 patients with hepatitis C induced liver disease. Stepwise linear discriminant analysis and area under receiver-operating characteristic curves (AUCs) were used to create a predictive score and compare it to others. RESULTS: Patients with significant fibrosis (n = 100, F2-F4) showed 2.08, 2.14, 1.80 and 1.90-fold increase in collagen IV, hyaluronic acid, PDGF and TIMP-1, respectively, over patients with no or mild fibrosis (n = 48, F0/F1)(all p < 0.01). Significant independent predictors of F2-F4 were AFP (AUC 0.79), age (0.76), PDGF (0.74), collagen IV (0.78) and TIMP (0.75), which together formed a five-marker score 'Fibro-Mark' for predicting F2-F4. In comparison with other scores, AUC for Fibro-Mark was 0.89, BRC was 0.83, followed by FRT and King's score (both 0.82), APRI (0.80), Fibro-α (0.70) and finally Fibro Q (0.63). CONCLUSIONS: The Fibro-Mark score provides better discrimination in hepatic-fibrosis staging in chronic hepatitis C patients than existing scores.


Subject(s)
Collagen Type IV/blood , Hepatitis C, Chronic/diagnosis , Hyaluronic Acid/blood , Liver Cirrhosis/diagnosis , Platelet-Derived Growth Factor/metabolism , Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1/blood , Adult , Alanine Transaminase/blood , Area Under Curve , Aspartate Aminotransferases/blood , Bilirubin/blood , Biomarkers/blood , Discriminant Analysis , Female , Hepacivirus/pathogenicity , Hepacivirus/physiology , Hepatitis C, Chronic/blood , Hepatitis C, Chronic/complications , Hepatitis C, Chronic/virology , Humans , International Normalized Ratio , Liver/metabolism , Liver/pathology , Liver/virology , Liver Cirrhosis/blood , Liver Cirrhosis/complications , Liver Cirrhosis/virology , Male , Middle Aged , Platelet Count , Predictive Value of Tests , Prognosis , Serum Albumin/metabolism , Severity of Illness Index , alpha-Fetoproteins/metabolism
11.
J Viral Hepat ; 24(4): 262-267, 2017 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28145032

ABSTRACT

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major health problem in Egypt as the nation bears the highest prevalence rate worldwide. This necessitated establishing a novel model of care (MOC) to contain the epidemic, deliver patient care and ensure global treatment access. In this review, we describe the process of development of the Egyptian model and future strategies for sustainability. Although the magnitude of the HCV problem was known for many years, the HCV MOC only came into being in 2006 with the establishment of the National Committee for Control of Viral Hepatitis (NCCVH) to set up and implement a national control strategy for the disease and other causes of viral hepatitis. The strategy outlines best practices for patient care delivery by applying a set of service principles through identified clinical streams and patient flow continuums. The Egyptian national viral hepatitis treatment programme is considered one of the most successful and effective public health programmes. To date, more than one million patients were evaluated and more than 850 000 received treatment under the umbrella of the programme since 2006. The NCCVH has been successful in establishing a strong infrastructure for controlling viral hepatitis in Egypt. It established a nationwide network of digitally connected viral hepatitis-specialized treatment centres covering the country map to enhance treatment access. Practice guidelines suiting local circumstances were issued and regularly updated and are applied in all affiliated centres. This review illustrates the model and the successful Egyptian experience. It sets an exemplar for states, organizations and policy-makers setting up programmes for care and management of people with hepatitis C.


Subject(s)
Delivery of Health Care/organization & administration , Disease Management , Hepatitis C, Chronic/diagnosis , Hepatitis C, Chronic/drug therapy , Public Health Administration/methods , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , Egypt/epidemiology , Hepatitis C, Chronic/epidemiology , Humans , Practice Guidelines as Topic
12.
Aliment Pharmacol Ther ; 45(5): 681-687, 2017 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28070899

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Chronic hepatitis C virus infection is one of the most important health problems in Egypt. The Ministry of Health's National Treatment Programme introduced sofosbuvir-based therapy in October 2014. AIM: To assess the clinical effectiveness and predictors of response to SOF-based treatment regimens, either dual therapy, with SOF/ribavirin (RBV) for 6 months or triple therapy with SOF/peg-IFN-alfa-2a/RBV for 3 months, in a cohort of patients treated in National Treatment Programme affiliated centres in Egypt. METHODS: Between October 2014 and end of 2014, patients who were eligible for treatment were classified according to their eligibility for interferon therapy: Group 1 (interferon eligible) were treated with triple therapy for 12 weeks and Group 2 (interferon ineligible) were treated with dual therapy for 24 weeks. Difficult to treat patients included those with F3-F4 on Metavir score, Fib-4 >3.25, albumin ≤3.5, total Bilirubin >1.2 mg/dL, INR >1.2 and platelet count <150 000 mm3 . RESULTS: Twelve weeks post-treatment data were available on 14 409 patients; 8742 in group 1 and 5667 in group 2. In group 1, the sustained virological response at week 12 (SVR12) was 94% and in group 2 the SVR12 was 78.7%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis in which treatment failure is the dependent variable was done. Male gender, being a difficult to treat patient and previous interferon therapy were significant predictors of nonresponse in both treatment groups. CONCLUSION: Results of sofosbuvir-based therapies in Egypt achieved similar rates of SVR12 as seen in phase III efficacy studies.


Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/administration & dosage , Hepacivirus/genetics , Hepatitis C, Chronic/drug therapy , Sofosbuvir/administration & dosage , Adult , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , Drug Therapy, Combination , Egypt , Female , Genotype , Humans , Interferon-alpha/administration & dosage , Male , Middle Aged , Polyethylene Glycols/administration & dosage , Recombinant Proteins/administration & dosage , Retrospective Studies , Ribavirin/administration & dosage , Ribavirin/therapeutic use
13.
Transplant Proc ; 40(5): 1481-4, 2008 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18589133

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) recurrence after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) represents a challenging issue due to universal viral recurrence and invasion into the graft, although the incidence of histological recurrence, risk factors, and survival rates are still controversial. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Recurrence of HCV was studied in 38 of 53 adult patients who underwent LDLT. RESULTS: Recipient and graft survivals were 86.6% at the end of the follow-up which was comparable to literature reports for deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT). Clinical HCV recurrence was observed in 10/38 patients (26.3%). Four patients developed mild fibrosis with a mean fibrosis score of 0.6 and mean grade of histological activity index (HAI) of 7.1. None of the recipients developed allograft cirrhosis during the mean follow-up period of 16 +/- 8.18 months (range, 4-35 months). Estimated and actual graft volumes were negatively correlated with the incidence and early clinical HCV recurrence. None of the other risk factors were significantly correlated with clinical HCV recurrence: gender, donor and recipient ages, pretransplantation Child-Pugh or model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scores, pre- and postoperative viremia, immunosuppressive drugs, pulse steroid therapy, and preoperative anti-HBc status. CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative patient and graft survival rates for HCV (genotype 4)-related cirrhosis were more or less comparable to DDLT reported in the literature. Clinical HCV recurrence after LDLT in our study was low. Small graft volume was a significant risk factor for HCV recurrence. A longer follow-up and a larger number of patients are required to clarify these issues.


Subject(s)
Hepatitis C/surgery , Liver Transplantation/physiology , Living Donors , Adult , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/surgery , Egypt , Female , Genotype , Hepacivirus/genetics , Humans , Liver Neoplasms/surgery , Liver Transplantation/mortality , Male , Middle Aged , Postoperative Complications/virology , Recurrence , Retrospective Studies , Survival Analysis
14.
J Photochem Photobiol B ; 90(2): 95-104, 2008 Feb 27.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18249003

ABSTRACT

This work presents the applicability of applying a fuzzy logic approach to the calculation of noontime erythemal UV irradiance for the plain areas of Egypt. When different combinations of data sets were examined from the test performance point of view, it was found that 91% of the whole series was estimated within a deviation of less than +/-10 mW/m(2), and 9% of these deviations lay within the range of +/-15 mW/m(2) to +/-25 mW/m(2).


Subject(s)
Expert Systems , Fuzzy Logic , Solar Energy , Ultraviolet Rays , Artificial Intelligence , Egypt
15.
J Photochem Photobiol B ; 90(3): 198-206, 2008 Mar 28.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18280747

ABSTRACT

The problem we address here describes the on-going research effort that takes place to shed light on the applicability of using artificial intelligence techniques to predict the local noon erythemal UV irradiance in the plain areas of Egypt. In light of this fact, we use the bootstrap aggregating (bagging) algorithm to improve the prediction accuracy reported by a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) network. The results showed that, the overall prediction accuracy for the MLP network was only 80.9%. When bagging algorithm is used, the accuracy reached 94.8%; an improvement of about 13.9% was achieved. These improvements demonstrate the efficiency of the bagging procedure, and may be used as a promising tool at least for the plain areas of Egypt.


Subject(s)
Artificial Intelligence , Erythema/etiology , Ultraviolet Rays/adverse effects , Algorithms , Egypt , Models, Theoretical , Neural Networks, Computer , Reproducibility of Results , Time Factors
16.
Gulf J Oncolog ; (2): 55-64, 2007 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-20084725

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of locally advanced non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) followed by radiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty nine patients were randomized to chemotherapy (group A) or radiotherapy alone (group B). The induction chemotherapy consists of cisplatin (80 mg/m2) day 1 and Gemcitabine (1250 mg/m2), infusion day 1 and 8. Cycles were repeated every 3 weeks. Radiotherapy was given 4-6 weeks after chemotherapy to a dose of 60 Gy/30 fractions/6 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 66 patients were evaluable for response; 34 in group A and 32 in group B. The overall response rate was 41.2% for group A and 21.8% for group B (P < 0.5) but with no complete response observed in either group. At a median follow up of 15 months, the overall survival was 65% and median survival was 12 months for group A. However in group B the overall survival at 15 months was 30% and the median survival was 9 nt (P < 0.001). Treatment toxicity in group A was mainly haemotological in 79% of patients none of them was grade II or IV. Grade Nausea and vomiting was reported in 73.5% of patients, grade I esophagitis in 5.8% of patients, grade I, radiation pneumonitis in 26.4% of patients. Alopecia was observed in 29.4% of patients, nephrotoxicity in 17.4%. Treatment toxicity in group B were generally less than in group A but not statistically significant except fr grade III vomiting (15.6%) and alopecia (0%). CONCLUSION: Combination chemotherapy of cisplatin and gemcitabine is a tolerable and active induction chemotherapy regimen for patients with locally advanced NSCLC. Sequential radiotherapy given after induction chemotherapy is tolerable and offers a hope of improved locoregional control and survival compared with radiotherapy alone.


Subject(s)
Adenocarcinoma/drug therapy , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Carcinoma, Large Cell/drug therapy , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/drug therapy , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/drug therapy , Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy , Neoadjuvant Therapy , Adenocarcinoma/radiotherapy , Adenocarcinoma/secondary , Adult , Aged , Carcinoma, Large Cell/radiotherapy , Carcinoma, Large Cell/secondary , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/radiotherapy , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/secondary , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/radiotherapy , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/secondary , Cisplatin/administration & dosage , Combined Modality Therapy , Deoxycytidine/administration & dosage , Deoxycytidine/analogs & derivatives , Female , Humans , Lung Neoplasms/pathology , Lung Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Staging , Prognosis , Remission Induction , Survival Rate , Treatment Outcome , Gemcitabine
17.
Transplant Proc ; 37(7): 3147-50, 2005 Sep.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-16213332

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is an alternative source of organs for patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) in absence of deceased donor LT. In LDLT the greatest concern is donor safety. Our objective was to evaluate the outcome of donors after right lobe liver donation in a single LT center in Egypt. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty LDL resections were performed from 2001 to 2004. The mean donor age was 29.2 +/- 6.4 years. Residual liver volume was 41.1 +/- 4.5%. Mean operative time was 560 +/- 62.2 minutes; mean ICU stay, less than 24 hours; mean hospital stay, 15.4 +/- 7.7 days; and mean follow-up period, 6 months. RESULTS: There was no mortality. The overall complication rate was 68% (34 donors). Major complications included intraoperative bleeding in one, biliary leak in two, and pneumonia in three donors. Minor complications included mild pleural effusion in 13 donors, transient ascites in 10, mild depression in 7, intra-abdominal collections in 3, and wound infections in 1 donor. Residual liver volume did not affect the complication rate. None required reoperation. Return to predonation activity occurred within 6 to 8 weeks. No liver impairment occurred during follow-up. CONCLUSION: Right lobe adult LDLT is a safe procedure with regard to donor outcome. Major complications occurred in only 10% of our series.


Subject(s)
Hepatectomy/methods , Liver Transplantation/methods , Tissue and Organ Harvesting/methods , Adult , Blood Loss, Surgical , Cholangiography , Cholecystectomy , Egypt , Hepatectomy/adverse effects , Hepatic Artery/surgery , Hepatic Veins/surgery , Humans , Length of Stay , Liver Failure/surgery , Patient Selection , Postoperative Complications/epidemiology , Retrospective Studies , Tissue and Organ Harvesting/adverse effects , Treatment Outcome
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