Atorvastatin therapy in patients with RA reduced disease activity and conventional and novel vascular risk factors that promote the atheromatous lesion. Therapy was also associated with concomitant improvement in endothelial function.

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Oxidative stress and oxidative cellular damage play an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic UC and the associated carcinogenetic process. p53Abs levels could help in early detection of dysplasia in these conditions.

Background: Early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most important step in successful treatment. However, it is usually rare due to the lack of a highly sensitive specific biomarker so that the HCC is usually fatal within few months after diagnosis. The aim of this work was to study the role of plasma nuclear factor kappa B (NF-ĸB) and serum peroxiredoxin 3 (PRDX3) as diagnostic biomarkers for early detection of HCC in a high-risk population. Materials and Methods: Plasma nuclear factor kappa B level (NF-ĸB) and serum peroxiredoxin 3 (PRDX3) levels were measured using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), in addition to alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in 72 cirrhotic patients, 64 patients with HCC and 29 healthy controls. Results: NF-ĸB and PRDX3 were significantly elevated in the HCC group in relation to the others. Higher area under curve (AUC) of 0.854 (for PRDX3) and 0.825 (for NF-ĸB) with sensitivity of 86.3% and 84.4% and specificity of 75.8% and 75.4% respectively, were found compared to AUC of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (0.65) with sensitivity of 72.4% and specificity of 64.3%. Conclusions: NF-ĸB and PRDX3 may serve as early and sensitive biomarkers for early detection of HCC facilitating improved management. The role of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-ĸB) as a target for treatment of liver fibrosis and HCC must be widely evaluated.

Aim: The present study was a preliminary trial evaluating the possible antifibrotic effect of pentoxifylline on experimentally induced schistosomal hepatic fibrosis and, also, to investigate its effect on serum leptin and transforming growth factor-β1 levels as possible antifibrotic mechanisms in correlation with the hepatic fibrosis indices. Methods: In the study, ninety Swiss, laboratory bred parasite free, albino mice of both sexes were included. Ten mice served as a control non-infected, nontreated group and sacrificed at one time. The remaining 80 mice were infected subcutaneously with 50 Schistosoma mansoni cercariae/mouse and classified into the following groups: Group I (infected & non-treated), group II (infected & treated with praziquantel), group III (infected & treated with pentoxifylline) and group IV (infected & treated with a combination of praziquantel and pentoxifylline). Each group was further subdivided into 2 subgroups; subgroup 'a' which started treatment at 6 th week post-infection (P.I.) and sacrificed at the end of 9 th week P.I and subgroup 'b' which started treatment at 14 th week P.I and sacrificed at the end of 17 th week P.I. The efficacy of the treatment was assessed by histopathological examination of the liver with measurement of granuloma size, estimation of hydroxyproline content in the liver, and assessment of serum levels of leptin and transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1). Results: Praziquantel (PZQ) caused significant reductions in granuloma sizes and hepatic hydroxyproline content and caused non-significant reductions in serum levels of leptin and transforming growth factor-ß1 at the 9 th & 17 th weeks P.I (group II). Pentoxifylline (PTX) caused significant reductions in granuloma size, hepatic hydroxyproline, and serum levels of leptin and transforming growth factor-ß1 at the 9 th & 17 th weeks P.I (group III). Combined therapy of both PZQ & PTX in group IV caused more reductions in granuloma size, hepatic hydroxyproline, and serum levels of leptin and TGF-ß1 at the 9th & 17th weeks P.I when compared to the other groups. Conclusion: Pentoxifylline (PTX) is a promising antifibrotic drug, acting by reducing serum TGF-ß1 and leptin levels in the experimental schistosomal hepatic fibrosis. Also, the use of that antifibrotic drug in combination with antischistosomal drug, praziquantel (PZQ) was more effective in the control of fibrotic processes in schistosomal hepatic fibrosis.