Sonographic Diagnosis of Arterioportal Fistula

Aim. We aimed to identify and describe characteristic and diagnostic ultrasonographic features of arterioportal fistula cases. Patients. In this case series we describe 3 patients with arterioportal fistula. By depending on shared sonographic features of these patients we describe a “sonographic pattern” for the sonographic diagnosis of arterioportal fistula. Conclusion. In summary; both of the artery and vein related with fistula were wider than normal and seen as adjacent anechoic circles, there was an aneurismatic dilation on vein which has turbulent flow within it, the communication between the artery and aneurism can be seen sonographically, both of the vessels have arterial flow, filling of the vein was retrograde and other branches of the artery and vein unrelated with aneurism were all normal in dimension

Angiogenesis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Angiogenesis is an important component of pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Chronic inflammation and angiogenesis are two closely related processes. Chronic intestinal inflammation is dependent on angiogenesis and this angiogenesis is modulated by immune system in IBD. Angiogenesis is a very complex process which includes multiple cell types, growth factors, cytokines, adhesion molecules, and signal transduction. Lymphangiogenesis is a new research area in the pathogenesis of IBD. While angiogenesis supports inflammation via leukocyte migration, carrying oxygen and nutrients, on the other hand, it has a major role in wound healing. Angiogenic molecules look like perfect targets for the treatment of IBD, but they have risk for serious side effects because of their nature

Changes in Liver Tissue Trace Element Concentrations During Hepatitis B Viral Infection Treatment

Approximately 350-400 million people in the world have Hbs Ag (hepatitis B virus surface antigen) positivity. In the international guidelines, the permanent suppression of replication in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection therapy is reported as the primary therapeutic goal. Trace elements play a key role in liver diseases. The aim of our study is to determine some trace element concentrations in the liver during HBV treatment periods. The measurement of 11 trace elements (manganese, lead, nickel, chromium, cadmium, iron, copper, zinc, silver, cobalt, and aluminum) was carried out by the method of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in liver biopsy materials (before starting treatment and at the sixth month of the treatment period). There was an increase in zinc and copper concentrations in liver materials at the sixth month of treatment compared to the pre-treatment values (the median zinc value was 48.05g/g before treatment and 74.9g/g at 6months after initial treatment, p=0.035; median copper was 2.82g/g before treatment and 5.31g/g after 6months, p=0.002). General estimations indicated that zinc (p=0.002), iron (p=0.0244), copper (p=0.0003), and aluminum (p=0.0239) values may be effective in HAI (histological activity index) changes. Only iron levels could be at a very low level effective on the changes caused by fibrosis (p=0.0002). Liver tissue zinc and copper levels increased in parallel with the improvement of inflammation in antiviral-treated HBV patients. In addition, the levels of zinc and copper in the liver tissue can be useful markers for liver tissue damage detection

Diffusion Weighted MRI for Hepatic Fibrosis: Impact of b-Value

Background: Hepatic fibrosis is a typical complication of chronic liver diseases resulting in cirrhosis that remains a major public health problem worldwide. Liver biopsy is currently the gold standard for diagnosing and staging hepatic fibrosis. Percutaneous liver biopsy; however, is an invasive procedure with risks of complications. Therefore, there is need for alternative non-invasive techniques to assess liver fibrosis and chronic liver diseases. In recent years, MRI techniques, including diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), have been developed for in vivo quantification of liver fibrosis

The Efficiency of Fractional Anisotropy, Apparent Diffusion Coefficient, and Contrast Enhancement Index in Liver Fibrosis Staging

Objectives: Even though magnetic resonance imaging has been described as the most effective imaging method for the diagnosis of liver fibrosis, an accepted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique is yet to be defined. The aim of this study is to determine the efficiency of MRI in the staging of liver fibrosis

Could Complement C4 be an Alternative to Biopsy for Chronic Hepatitis B Histopathologic Findings?

Background: Hepatitis B leads to chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular cancer. Viral markers and other laboratory tests used in diagnosis and follow-up of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) do not correlate well with disease activity and liver histopathology. For this reason, alternative tests that indicate disease activity are needed. We aimed to investigate the utility of serum complement levels for follow-up in patients with CHB with normal and high transaminase levels