PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

C Tiribelli

Publications and source records attributed to C Tiribelli.

117 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Serum type III procollagen peptide in alcoholic liver disease and idiopathic hemochromatosis: its relationship to hepatic fibrosis, activity of the disease and iron overload.

To assess the value of type III procollagen peptide (sPIIIP) as a marker of hepatic fibrosis, sera from 73 patients with alcohol-related liver disease and 30 patients with idiopathic hemochromatosis (IHC) were studied by a specific radioimmunoassay. sPIIIP was increased in 87% of 30 patients with cirrhosis, in 16% of 32 with steatofibrosis but in none of 11 with steatosis. There was a significant correlation with histologic hepatocellular necroinflammation (r = 0.42, p less than 0.01), but not with hepatic fibrosis. sPIIP was increased in 33% of 30 patients with IHC, whether or not they had cirrhosis or fibrosis, and whatever the level of iron overload or the extent of the hepatic deterioration. IHC patients with increased levels of sPIIIP had a higher prevalence of superimposed hepatic damage than did those with normal procollagen levels (p less than 0.05). Our findings, therefore, weaken the diagnostic value of sPIIIP as an index of connective tissue deposition in the liver, and suggest that, at least in alcohol-related liver disease and IHC, hepatocellular necroinflammation influences the results.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Serum free fatty acids and bilirubin concentration during fasting in patients with Gilbert's syndrome and normal controls.

The increments in serum concentrations of unconjugated bilirubin and free fatty acids (FFA) were measured 24 and 48 h after reduction of the caloric intake (400 cal/day) in 17 patients with Gilbert's syndrome (GS) and in 12 healthy control subjects. In males, both normal and with GS, the rise in serum bilirubin was statistically higher (p less than 0.01) as compared to females. On the contrary, no sex difference was found in FFA concentrations. A linear correlation (p less than 0.01) between bilirubin and FFA serum levels was present in normal males and in patients with Gilbert's syndrome of both sexes. Because bilirubin and FFA partly share a common, bilitranslocase-mediated, hepatic uptake mechanism, data reported support the hypothesis that a bilitranslocase function may be one of the metabolic defects in Gilbert's syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Accuracy of body mass index in detecting an elevated alanine aminotransferase level in adolescents.

AIM: We evaluated the accuracy of body mass index (BMI) in detecting an elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level in adolescents, taking into account the effects of gender, age, ethanol intake, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, and drug consumption. SUBJECTS: A representative sample of 454 adolescents (11-17 years) from two cities in northern Italy was studied (the Dionysos Study). METHODS: z-BMI was calculated as the z-score of BMI using national growth charts. Logistic regression was used to quantify the contribution of the variables of interest to an elevated ALT (> 30 UL(-1)). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated, and areas under receiver-operator characteristic curves (AUC) were used to evaluate accuracy. RESULTS: An elevated ALT was detected in 21 adolescents (4.6%). Among the studied variables, only male gender (OR=6.7, 95% CI 2.0-23.2) and z-BMI (OR=2.1, 95% CI 1.4-3.2) were significant predictors of elevated ALT. The accuracy of the prediction was 0.69 (95% CI 0.59-0.79) for gender and 0.71 (95% CI 0.59-0.81) for z-BMI. By combining gender and z-BMI, the accuracy rose to 0.80 (95% CI 0.71-0.89). CONCLUSION: BMI is a good predictor of elevated ALT in Italian adolescents and gender adds to the accuracy of the prediction.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in Italy: what could we learn from autoptic studies?

From January 1, 1968 to December 31, 1984, 31,955 autopsies were performed at the Department of Pathology of the University of Trieste. Of these 16,521 were male and 15,434 female which covered about 70% of the population who died in the area over the recent years. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with liver cirrhosis was encountered in 441 cases (380 males and 61 females, M:F ratio 5.8:1) with an overall occurrence of 1.4% in the autoptic population. On the contrary and in the absence of chronic liver disease HCC was only observed in 0.3% of the cases (45 males and 16 females, M:F ratio 2.7:1). Liver cirrhosis accounted for 10% of autopsies (2099 males and 1104 females, M:F ratio 1.8:1). A 15% of cirrhosis was associated with HCC, indicating that major attention should be paid to cirrhotic patients, in particular males after the 5th decade of life. The year distribution of HCC and cirrhosis was fairly constant during the period of time considered. These data suggest that: i) HCC is common in Italy; ii) in the vast majority, HCC occurs in the presence of cirrhosis; and iii) HCC appears to be a rather late disease as it does not reduce the life expectancy of cirrhotic and control populations. Since reliable, nationwide epidemiological data are not available in Italy, it is not known whether these data represent a local realty or whether they may be extrapolated to the entire country. Cooperative and prospective studies appear appropriate in investigating possible geographical differences in HCC distribution and permit a better understanding and prevention of the disease.

Adult↗