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Background Egypt has the highest hepatitis C virus prevalence worldwide where about 24% of the people are estimated to carry HCV and more than 50% of blood donors have anti-HCV in some towns. The burden of hepatocellular carcinoma has been increasing in Egypt with a doubling in the incidence rate in the past 10 years. Thus, the aim of the present study was to analyze the interleukin-18 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as a diagnostic tumor marker for hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with hepatitis C-related cirrhosis. Results This study included 33 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) complicating HCV-related cirrhosis patients, 37 cirrhotic patients without HCC (cirrhosis group), and 20 healthy individuals who were included as a control for 9 months of follow-up. SNPs of the IL-18 gene were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction. There was a statistically significant difference in the GG genotype in the HCC group in comparison with the control group (P = 0.04). There was a statistically significant difference in the G allele in the cirrhosis and HCC groups in comparison with the control group (p1 < 0.001 and p2 = 0.03, respectively). Patients with GC genotype have a risk for developing HCC by 6.33-folds more than those with GG genotype while patients with GC genotype have a risk for developing cirrhosis by 5.43-folds more than those with GG genotype, and cirrhotic patients with CC and GC genotype had a risk for developing HCC by 1.17-folds more than those with GG genotype. Conclusion Our findings revealed that the analysis of IL-18 single nucleotide gene polymorphism could be a valuable marker for the prediction of progress towards cirrhosis in chronic HCV patients and also to subsequent development of HCC in HCV cirrhotic patients proved by the results of both GG genotype and its G allele; also, cirrhotic patients with CC and GC genotype have a risk for developing HCC by 1.17-folds more than those with GG genotype.

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Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is considered one of the main causes of chronic liver disease around the world. Liver biopsy has been believed to be the gold standard for the assessment of the degree of liver fibrosis. Thus, there is a need to improve non-invasive evaluation of liver fibrosis. The aim of the present study was to study the changes in serum levels of ATX (Autotaxin) as a marker of hepatic fibrosis in responders to HCV treatment by DAAs. This prospective study was carried out at hepatology outpatient clinics for HCV treatment in Mansoura Specialized Medical Hospital that involved 54 participants: 34 patients with HCV and 20 controls; ATX was measured for the controls and all patients before and after treatment. Results: We found a significant higher ATX level in control subjects vs HCV patients, 100% of control subjects had ATX > 97.5 and 58.8% of HCV had ATX ≤ 97.5. Also, a significantly higher ATX after treatment with DAAs as a whole was observed. Conclusion: The authors concluded that ATX should be considered cautiously as a diagnostic marker for liver fibrosis in Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C infection. Although this study yielded negative results, this may be important to prevent duplication of the research efforts.

Background Hepatitis C virus infection is one of the main causes of chronic liver disease worldwide. Both chronic hepatitis C and chronic kidney disease are common and serious diseases; this work aimed to determine the clinical impact of HCV infection on malnutrition inflammation index score in chronic kidney disease patients. This study was conducted on 96 patients on haemodialysis. They were divided into two groups. The first group was composed of 46 patients who were on maintenance haemodialysis and had chronic hepatitis C. The second group was composed of 50 patients on haemodialysis who were negative for hepatitis C. Results HCV-infected patients were associated with higher malnutrition inflammation score values (10% had MIS 16–20) compared to non-infected patients (2% only had MIS 16–20). Conclusion The prevalence of malnutrition was higher in the HCV-positive than the HCV-negative group.

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Background/ Purpose: The assessment of QoL grew, yet little attention had been given to QoL of university students. We aimed to study quality of life in different Egyptian university students, find the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome among university students and the relation of IBS to QoL. Methods: 656 students were included in the study 82 from each faculty, two questionnaires (quality of life and ROME IV) were handed over to students of Faculties of Medicine and Education in Mansoura, Alexandria, Port Said and Assiut Universities. Results: Only 365 students completed the questionnaire, Medical students had significantly lower QoL than students in Faculty of Education (median score of QoL in medical students = 127 vs 152 in non-medical students). Male students (median score of QoL = 142) had higher QoL than female students (median score of QoL = 134). Younger students had higher QoL scores in all dimensions than older students (median score of QoL = 147 vs 129). Only 40 students had IBS (11%). Conclusion: Medical students had significantly lower QoL than non-medical students. Male and younger students had significantly higher QoL than female and older students respectively. Prevalence of IBS among students was 11%.