No abstract

Purpose To investigate the compositional and functional characteristics of T1DM-associated gut microbiota in two Egyptian cities and to study the geographical locality effects. Patients and Methods This case-control study included 32 children with controlled T1DM and 16 controls, selected from two different regions of Egypt. The gut microbiota of both diabetic and control children was analyzed through 16S rRNA gene sequencing; this was done using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Results Consistent findings among the diabetic children included significantly lower alpha diversity than the control children, as well as a lower mean Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio, and reduced proportions of Firmicutes and the genera Prevotella and Ruminococcus . In the diabetic children, there were also significantly enriched representations of Actinobacteria , Bacteroidetes , and Proteobacteria and the genera Lactobacilli, Bacteroides , and Faecalibacterium . When comparing the two diabetic groups, the Ismailia group (IsDM) was found to have a significantly higher F/B ratio and diversity indices, with resultant differences at the functional level. Conclusion There are a number of consistent changes in the microbiota profile characterizing the diabetic groups irrespective of the geographical location including significantly lower alpha diversity, mean Firmicutes/ Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio, and reduced proportions of Firmicutes and genera Prevotella and Ruminococcus . There are also significantly enriched representations of Actinobacteria , Bacteroidetes , and Proteobacteria and genera Lactobacilli, Bacteroides , and Faecalibacterium pointing to the greater driving power of the disease.

The VAP score is a novel model that had higher diagnostic performance to predict different fibrosis stages and subclinical cirrhosis among CHC patients compared to the other studied scores and hence may offer a useful strategy to stratify patients who would benefit from direct-acting antivirals.

Background: Oesophageal varices (OV) have the greatest clinical impact. Upper endoscopy is the gold standard for OV diagnosis, despite its own limitations. Non-invasive detection of OV promises to decrease the necessity of endoscopic screening.

Background: Screening of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is challenged especially in patients with normal alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels. Aberrant p16 methylation has been implicated in HCC. Objectives and Aims: This study aimed to assess serum methylated p16 (MP16) expression levels and to evaluate MP16 diagnostic performance in HCC detection among HCVinfected Egyptian patients with normal AFP levels. Methods: MP16 levels were quantified using real-time PCR in 230 serum samples (30 healthy controls, 95 with HCV-HCC, 40 with chronic hepatitis C "CHC" and 65 with HCV cirrhosis). Diagnostic performance of MP16 for diagnosis of HCC was done using receiver operator characteristic curve analysis. Results: Serum MP16 levels were significantly higher in HCC than CHC, cirrhosis, and healthy subjects and significantly higher in HCC with normal AFP levels than those with higher AFP. ROC curves revealed promising diagnostic performance for MP16 in discriminating HCC with normal AFP levels from non-HCC cases. This predictive ability improved by combining MP16 and AFP (AUC of 0.872 with 100% sensitivity, 76.5% specificity, 79.1% positive predictive value, 100% negative predictive value, and 87.5% accuracy). Conclusion: MP16 can be a potential noninvasive molecular biomarker for HCC detection in patients with hepatic mass(es) and normal AFP levels especially in those where liver biopsy and radiological imaging cannot be done.