Hepato Gastroenterol
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Hepato Gastroenterol · May 1999
Immunoglobulins and IgG subclasses in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
Serum immunoglobulin levels and distribution are altered in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The purpose of this study is to examine the value of serum concentration of IgG subclasses for the diagnosis and evaluation of disease activity of IBD and to assess possible differences in the immunoglobulin changes between patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). ⋯ In IBD some of the IgG immunoglobulin subclass concentration changes correlate, positively or negatively, with disease activity and therefore could be used as additional markers of it. However, serum immunoglobulin levels cannot be used to differentiate between UC and CD.
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Hepato Gastroenterol · Mar 1999
ReviewAn approach to the rational use of steatotic donor livers in liver transplantation.
Steatosis or fatty change is a common finding in donor liver biopsies during liver transplantation, and seems to be more frequent than in the general population. Fat can be stored in hepatocytes within macrovacuoles (macrosteatosis) or microvacuoles (microsteatosis), with different degrees of severity. Higher degrees of both macro and microsteatosis may increase the severity of the ischemia-reperfusion lesion producing an initial poor function in the recipient. ⋯ However, only severe macrosteatotic (> 60%) grafts have been associated with primary non-function, and are universally rejected for transplantation. While donor livers with any severity of microsteatosis do not influence recipient survival and can be safely implanted, donor livers with moderate to severe macrosteatosis (30-60%) have a relative risk of primary non-function and should be considered for transplantation in the absence of other known risk factors. A protocol with a rational use of these steatotic livers is suggested.
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Hepato Gastroenterol · Mar 1999
Comparative Study Clinical TrialPost-operative chemotherapy in non-curative gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer.
The definitive effects of post-operative chemotherapy for prolonging survival in patients with non-curative gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer have not been established. ⋯ Post-operative chemotherapy may contribute to prolonged survival in patients with non-curable advanced gastric cancer, even when patients had peritoneal dissemination. However, the long-term survival rate was not improved by post-operative chemotherapy. More aggressive chemotherapy may be needed to improve the long-term prognosis for such patients.
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Hepato Gastroenterol · Mar 1999
Survival after repeat hepatic resection for recurrent colorectal metastases.
This is a retrospective study examining survival of patients undergoing repeat hepatic resection for recurrent colorectal metastases. ⋯ In appropriately selected patients, repeat hepatic resection for colorectal metastases is a worthwhile treatment. Mortality, morbidity, and survival are similar to those following the initial resection.
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Hepato Gastroenterol · Jan 1999
Significance of pre-treatment immunological parameters in colorectal cancer patients with unresectable metastases to the liver.
In this study, we have compared the profiles of peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) subsets and serum cytokine levels of healthy individuals with those of patients with unresectable liver metastases from colorectal carcinoma before starting regional chemoimmunotherapy. Since the therapeutic responses are limited only to a subset of patients, we hypothesize that the initial status of immunity and individual immune response to a tumor might be significant to the therapeutic outcome. ⋯ The results may serve as an initial guideline to open a discussion on the rationale of such a panel of tests, hopefully leading to standardized laboratory pre-selection and monitoring of patients treated with regional chemoimmunotherapy.