Background and aim of work Endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease are strongly linked to chronic kidney disease. It has been hypothesized that visfatin may play an important role in uremia-related atherosclerosis and the relation between visfatin and endothelial dysfunction has been proved. We aimed to study and characterize the relation of visfatin to some clinical and biochemical parameters among chronic renal failure (CRF) patients on regular hemodialysis. Patients and methods This study was carried out on a total of 90 individuals, divided into two groups: group A included 68 patients with CRF on regular hemodialysis (44 men and 24 women) and group B included 22 healthy individuals as controls (four men and 18 women). All participants were subjected to the following: full clinical assessment, BMI assessment, FBS (Fasting blood sugar), PPBS (postprandial blood sugar), Hb level, lipid profile, serum urea, creatinine, potassium, phosphorus, and serum visfatin. Results Serum visfatin concentration was significantly high in group A (uremic on hemodialysis) compared with group B (control) (48.95 ng/ml ±11.62 compared with 22.65 ng/ml ± 5.24; P < 0.001); a highly significant positive correlation was found between serum visfatin and serum low-density lipoprotein (r = 0.39; P < 0.001) and a significant positive correlation between serum visfatin and serum triglycerides and serum uric acid (r = 0.28; P < 0.05 and r = −0.24; P < 0.05), respectively, whereas a highly significant negative correlation between serum visfatin and Hb (r = −0.43; P < 0.001) and a significant negative correlation between serum visfatin and serum urea (r = −0.25; P < 0.05), blood sugar, both fasting and postprandial (r = −0.34; P < 0.001 and r = −0.39; P < 0.001), respectively, were found in the patients in group A, without a significant correlation either to high-density lipoprotein, serum creatinine, the etiology of CRF, or to the duration of dialysis in the patients in group A. Conclusion This study proves the association of serum visfatin with CRF, unrelated to the biochemical parameter of kidney functions; however, further studies to examine visfatin expression within renal tissue may clarify its definitive role in CRF.
BACKGROUND:Hepatitis C virus is one of the most common etiologic agents of chronic liver diseases, including liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in which there is continuous inflammation and regeneration of hepatocytes. Cytokeratin-18 (CK18) has been suggested to play an important role in tumorigenesis of epithelial cancers.AIM:Estimation of CK18 serum levels in patients with chronic viral hepatitis C (CHCV) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and find the relationship between their levels, the severity of the disease and the development of HCC.METHODS:We measured serum levels of CK18 in 60 Egyptian patients (30 with CHCV & 30 with HCC) and 30 healthy controls.RESULTS:Patients with HCC had highly significant increased CK18 levels compared with CHCV patients, healthy controls. Cytokeratin-18 among the three classes of Child-Pugh classification show highly significant gradual increase from child A to C. Furthermore, In HCC there were positive correlations between CK18 and with RBCs, ESR, and AFP.CONCLUSION:CK18 is a sensitive indicator of the severity of liver disease. Patients with CHCV infection can be followed up by measurement of its serum level which can predict the development of HCC. The combination of AFP and CK18 increased the sensitivity of detection for HCC.
Background: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic musculoskeletal disorder resulting in chronic widespread pain. Although it is currently believed to be the result of a central nervous system malfunction that increases pain transmission and perception. Patients with fibromyalgia frequently experience psychiatric problems. Objectives: Is to estimate the presence of fibromyalgia among Egyptian patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and those with chronic depression. Patients and methods: This study was done on 277 patients; 176 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (group I), and 101 patients with chronic depression (group II). The patients were selected from Al-Zahraa University Hospital, Al-Azhar University. All patients were subjected to thorough clinical examination, laboratory investigation, calculation of disease activity score, modified Beck scale for depression. Results: Among RA patients FM diagnosis was established in 21.02% patients and 20.45% were females. Their mean age; 48.43 (±6.85) years that was significantly higher than RA patients only (29.48±8.59) years. Among (group II) patients, FM diagnosis was established in 40 (39.60%) female patients and 3(2.97%) male patients. Our results showed that depressive symptoms were more common in RA patients with fibromyalgia. DAS28 score was significantly higher in RA patients with FM mainly due to subjective component (number of tender joints and patient global assessment). Conclusion: Fibromyalgia may coexist with autoimmune inflammatory disorder like RA, commoner in older age, females and it worsens the disease activity. However, it is more common in patients with chronic depression.
Background Up to 90% of patients diagnosed with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) regularly receive hemodialysis (HD) as renal replacement therapy. Patients with ESRD have a diminished physical function, so physical therapy during HD sessions can be a significant part of physical rehabilitation for these patients. The improvement in quality of life (QoL) is regarded as a main target in the management of patients with ESRD. Aim The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of a physical therapy program on the QoL in patients with ESRD on HD. Patients and methods This sectional study was conducted on 60 ESRD patients on regular HD who are allocated from the HD unit, Internal Medicine Department of El-Zahraa University Hospital from March 2018 to August 2018. The patients were subjected to anthropometric measurements including weight, height, and BMI; all laboratory variables were recorded. The QoL was assessed using the short-form 36 questionnaire and the score was calculated at the beginning of the study and after 6 months. Results There was a statistically significant decrease in blood urea (49.54±15.62 to 33.92±13.89) and plasma creatinine (6.19±1.43 to 4.20±1.95) after 6 months of starting intradialytic exercise in comparison to the baseline. There is statistically significant improvement in the results of some items of the short-form 36 health questionnaire after 6 months from the start of the study. Conclusion Exercise program during the intradialytic period can provide a significant improvement of QoL and physical ability of patients with chronic kidney disease.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.