Interferon free antiviral treatment of chronic hepatitis C in patients affected by β-thalassemia major

Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) significantly affects the prognosis of liver disease [1] and health related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with β-thalassemia major [2, 3]. CHC cure is a crucial event in the prognosis of the disease, since prevents fibrosis progression, decreases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and improves survival. Standard antiviral therapy with Pegylated Interferon (PEG-IFN) and Ribavirin (RBV) has long been the standard of care, despite its limited efficacy and increased ribavirin induced hematological adverse events in thalassemic patients [4]. Recently, several novel highly effective direct antiviral agents (DAAs) have been approved for HCV treatment, with impressive cure rates, higher than 90%, after 8–12 weeks of therapy and mild adverse events [5], but there are no published reports documenting the efficacy, safety and impact on QOL of available interferon-free antiviral regimens in patients with βthalassemia majo

an application of cosmo sky med to coastal erosion studies

AbstractStarted in 2009, the COSMOCoast project aims to the investigation of the potential of Remote Sensing in support to the management of coastal areas. Particular attention is paid to the contribution of data acquired from the COSMO-SkyMed constellation, in view of their frequency of acquisitions and ground resolution; in particular this paper aims at assessing the potential of COSMO-SkyMed data for coastline delineation. The results are conceived to be of particular interest for public administration bodies in charge of coastal defense. Keywords: Remote Sensing, Coastal Zones Management, COSMO-SkyMed

Autochthonous acute hepatitis E: treatment with sofosbuvir and ribavirin

Introduction: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging cause of autochthonous-acute-hepatitis and acute-on-chronic-liver-failure in western countries. Treatment is not routinely used, despite ribavirin has a good antiviral effect. In vitro sofosbuvir inhibits HEV replication, but clinical data are lacking. Case report: We report a case of acute-on-chronic-liver-failure due to HEV treated with sofosbuvir and ribavirin. The treatment was capable of rapidly inducing both HCV and HEV viral suppression. Conclusion: In conclusion, although more data are required before firm conclusions could be drawn, the combination of sofosbuvir and ribavirin in not immunosuppressed patients with acute hepatitis E may be able to clear HEV infection

HCV cirrhotic patients treated with direct acting antivirals: detection of tubular dysfunction and resolution after viral clearance

Background/aims: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been identified in tubular epithelial cells of infected patients, however the presence of tubular dysfunction, which is a risk factor for chronic kidney disease, has never been examined in vivo. The present prospective longitudinal study aimed to estimate the prevalence of tubular dysfunction alone or with glomerular damage and its evolution after HCV clearance in cirrhotic patients. Methods: One-hundred-thirty-five consecutive Child-Pugh-A cirrhotic patients were evaluated before antiviral treatment and six months after the end of therapy. Tubular dysfunction was evaluated by urinary-alpha1-microglobulin-to-creatinine-ratio (α1-MCR), glomerular damage was assessed by urinary-albumin-to-creatinine-ratio (ACR). Results: Almost all the patients (93.3%) showed a normal or mildly decreased e-GFR (KDIGO-G1/G2-categories). Tubular dysfunction was found in 23.7% (32/135) of patients, co-occurring with glomerular damage in 37.5% (12/32) of cases, while glomerular damage was found in 16.3% (22/135) of patients. In multiple logistic regression, glomerular damage and the concomitant presence of diabetes and hypertension were the only predictors significantly associated with tubular dysfunction. After HCV-clearance, patients experienced a significant reduction of α1-MCR levels (21.0 vs 10.5 μg/mg, p=0.009) and tubular dysfunction resolved in 57.1% of subjects. Conclusions: Tubular dysfunction is an unrecognized feature of HCV-related kidney disease in cirrhotic patients and its presence should be primarily investigated in subjects with glomerular damage, diabetes and hypertension, despite normal e-GFR. Tubular dysfunction resolves in the majority of cases after HCV clearance, however, it may persist after antiviral treatment and further studies should evaluate its long term impact on kidney function

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements