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Biomedical subjects

G Bansky

Publications and source records attributed to G Bansky.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Effect of ursodeoxycholic acid in acute viral hepatitis.

In previously published studies ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) showed beneficial effect on the course of chronic hepatitis. We investigated the effect of UDCA on the course of acute viral hepatitis in a prospective double-blind study. Seventy-eight consecutive patients were randomly assigned either to the UDCA group or to placebo. At 12 months of follow-up 76 patients were available for the final assessment. The analysis of all cases and of the patients with hepatitis B (n = 59) showed a comparable rate of decline of the alanine aminotransferase and other liver function tests in the treatment group and in the placebo group. However, the elevation of alanine aminotransferase persisted more frequently in the placebo group (all cases, p = 0.05; hepatitis B group, p = 0.03). Persistence of the hepatitis B virus infection, measured by the presence of hepatitis B early antigen and hepatitis B virus DNA (polymerase chain reaction and hybridization) at 12 months of follow-up, was observed in I of 33 patients in the UDCA group and in 6 of 25 patients in the placebo group (p = 0.02). Gallstones detected by entry ultrasound dissolved in four of eight cases in the UDCA group and in none of six in the placebo group. We conclude that UDCA has a beneficial effect on the course of the acute viral hepatitis. It may enhance the clearance of the hepatitis B virus and thus prevent the development of chronic hepatitis.

Acute Disease↗

[Neuroendocrine tumors of the stomach (stomach carcinoid)].

We report about two patients with gastric neuroendocrine tumours (carcinoids) and chronic atrophic gastritis. A 68-year-old woman presented with nonspecific dyspeptic complaints. Gastroscopy revealed a single neuroendocrine tumour of the corpus. 33 months after endoscopic therapy she is free of detectable tumour. As cause of an upper gastrointestinal bleeding in a 75-year-old woman, a small ulcerated fundic neuroendocrine tumour was found together with other multiple tumours. Repeated endoscopic removals of these and further developing similar tumours were necessary during a follow-up of 25 months. Neuroendocrine tumours of the stomach are rare and are potentially malignant. According to their clinical context they can be divided into three subtypes: 1. tumours in chronic atrophic gastritis, 2. tumours in multiple endocrine neoplasia type I, 3. sporadic tumours, not associated with particular diseases. The first two types may be gastrin-promoted; they occur often multifocal only in the nonantral mucosa and seem to behave relatively benign. Metastasis limited to regional lymph nodes has not been described often. The very rare third type appears solitary in the whole stomach and seems to have a higher malignant potential with frequent distant metastasis to the liver. Therapy should be mainly guided by subtype and tumour size.

Aged↗

[Inflammatory bowel diseases: conservative therapy].

Recent advances in the medical treatment of the inflammatory bowel diseases are reviewed with emphasizes on controlled clinical trials. The newly developed mesalazine contains the active moiety of sulfasalazine, the 5-aminosalicylic acid. In ulcerative colitis mesalazine appears to be as efficacious as the time-honored sulfasalazine; it has however less adverse effects. Corticosteroids remain the most effective drugs in severe attacks of all forms of inflammatory bowel diseases. The immunosuppressive agents 6-mercoptopurine and azathioprine are useful second-line drugs in otherwise refractory Crohn's disease. The place of cyclosporin is at present uncertain. Metronidazole is the only efficient antibiotics in the treatment of Crohn's disease. The relative merits of various diets are discussed.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

[Current possibilities in the therapy of hepatic encephalopathy].

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a complex neuropsychiatric syndrome associated with acute or chronic liver disease. It is generally considered a metabolic and potentially reversible syndrome. An important component of HE is increased neuro-inhibition caused by reduced hepatic metabolism of gut-derived nitrogenous substances and by activation of the postsynaptic GABAA-receptor complex in the central nervous system. Effective conventional therapy of HE includes prevention of precipitating factors, restriction of dietary protein an administration of lactulose (or lactitol) and possibly also of antibiotics. In addition, animal studies and uncontrolled clinical studies indicate that the benzodiazepine antagonist flumazenil effectively diminishes the increased neuroinhibition in certain patients with HE. However, these favourable flumazenil effects must be confirmed in larger randomized and placebo-controlled multicenter studies before flumazenil can be regarded as a useful new addition to current management of patients with acute or chronic hepatic encephalopathy.

Combined Modality Therapy↗

Effects of the benzodiazepine receptor antagonist flumazenil in hepatic encephalopathy in humans.

If increased gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-mediated neurotransmission contributes to the mediation of hepatic encephalopathy, it may be possible to induce ameliorations of the syndrome by pharmacologically antagonizing a component of the GABA/benzodiazepine receptor complex. To test this possibility we administered the benzodiazepine receptor antagonist flumazenil by intravenous injection to 14 patients with hepatic encephalopathy complicating cirrhosis. Flumazenil administration induced variable and transient, but distinct, improvements of the mental status in 71% of the patients. The degree of encephalopathy improved from stage IV to stage II in 4 patients and from stage IV to stage III in 2 patients. The mental status of all patients with less advanced encephalopathy (3 with stage III, 1 with stage II) also improved, but these responses were clinically less impressive. The arousal effect occurred within minutes after the injection and lasted for 1 to 2 h. Furthermore, it was associated with a significant increase of the mean electroencephalographic frequency from 4.2 to 5.2 cycle/s. Of the 8 patients who were ultimately discharged from the hospital, 7 had responded to flumazenil. No patient who died within 48 h of receiving flumazenil had shown any arousal effect. These findings strongly favor a prominent pathogenetic role of increased GABAergic tone in hepatic encephalopathy in humans and suggest that a positive response to flumazenil might be of prognostic value in predicting short-term survival in encephalopathic patients with liver disease.

Adult↗

[Report of experiences with 31 surgically treated patients with deformity of the femur shaft].

In 1986/1987 we made a follow-up of 31 patients having undergone a surgical treatment of a deformity of the femur shaft in 1971 through 1981. For a better interpretation of the results we divided these patients into three partly overlapping groups: Patients with deformities of the angel or rotation, patients being shortened in case of length-differences and those being elongated. Finally we investigated, that in nine out of ten cases we got a good result by correcting angle-and rotation-deformities and by the shortening osteotomy. The extension osteotomy caused more complications and not so good results than those of the first two groups. We recognized, that the follow-up treatment was very long, and the method of the operation was not standardized but was adapted to the circumstances of the single case.

Bone Diseases↗

[Hepatic manifestations of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)].

Hepatic manifestations of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were analyzed in 76 consecutive patients. Serological markers of hepatitis B were found in 84%. All instances of biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis were associated with delta infection. One patient with intestinal cryptosporidiosis had a severe cholestasis. In the majority of patients histological examination of the liver revealed non-specific alterations, but in several cases was diagnostic of mycobacterial disease. The study of liver disease in HIV-infected patients could lead to a better understanding of diseases such as chronic hepatitis B and sclerosing cholangitis.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Treatment of distal ulcerative colitis with beclomethasone enemas: high therapeutic efficacy without endocrine side effects. A prospective, randomized, double-blind trial.

Sixteen patients with 18 attacks of distal ulcerative colitis were treated randomly with either 0.5 mg topically administered beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) or 5 mg betamethasone phosphate (BMT). The effect of the steroid enemas on adrenocortical function was examined by ACTH tests, which were performed before and 20 days after treatment. At completion of the trial, a marked suppression of the adrenocortical function was found in seven of eight patients treated for nine attacks with BMT but not in any patients in the BDP group (P less than 0.01). The mean posttreatment basal and stimulated plasma cortisol levels in the BMT group were significantly lower as compared with the BDP group. The overall therapeutic response assessed by score systems was comparable in the two treatment groups. It is concluded that, in the topical treatment of ulcerative colitis, BDP is preferable to BMT because it exerts an equal anti-inflammatory action without affecting adrenocortical function.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗

[Severe electrolyte disorders during the therapy of heart failure with the therapy of heart failure with the ACE-inhibitor enalapril].

Angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibition by captopril and enalapril may influence sodium and potassium homeostasis. In patients without cardiac failure and with normal renal function significant electrolyte disturbances rarely occur. We report on four patients who developed life-threatening electrolyte disturbances following treatment with enalapril for severe cardiac failure (NYHA-class II-IV). There were important concomitant factors in all four cases: in one case under additional medication with a thiazide diuretic and a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory, hyponatremia of 107 mmol/l occurred. In two further cases severe hyperkalemia of 7.4 and 7.3 mmol/l was observed in the presence of acute renal failure due to enalapril-induced hypotension and concomitant therapy with a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug respectively. In a fourth case the combination of enalapril with a potassium-sparing diuretic provoked severe hyperkalemia of 7.9 mmol/l.

Acute Disease↗

Treatment of Budd-Chiari syndrome by dorsocranial liver resection and direct hepatoatrial anastomosis.

Since 1980 an operation which reestablishes the blood outflow from occluded hepatic veins was performed in 7 patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome by one of us (A. Senning). Using extracorporeal circulation a dorsocranial cylindrical resection of the liver including the confluence of the occluded hepatic veins was performed by transcaval approach. The incised right atrium was sutured around the resected liver area. There was one intraoperative death. In 6 patients with a mean postoperative follow-up of 19.2 months (4-42 months), the patency of hepatoatrial anastomosis was documented by angiography or Doppler-2d-echocardiography. Four patients are free of symptoms and signs of Budd-Chiari syndrome. In one of two patients with associated cirrhosis compression of inferior vena cava reoccurred and in another patient esophageal varices persist. We conclude, that the hepatoatrial anastomosis is an effective treatment of Budd-Chiari syndrome.

Adult↗

Budd-Chiari syndrome in sarcoidosis.

A 34-year-old previously healthy woman presented with bilateral interstitial lung changes and thrombotic occlusions of the hepatic veins. A transcaval wedge resection of the liver and a hepato-caval anastomosis were performed. This operation reestablished the impaired intrahepatic venous flow and relieved the portal hypertension and the associated symptoms. Histopathological examination of both liver and lung tissues revealed noncaseating granulomas without microorganisms, confirming the suspected diagnosis of sarcoidosis. The hepatic veins were demonstrated to be narrowed by sarcoid granulomas forming the mechanical basis for venous stasis and extensive thrombotic occlusions. To our knowledge only one other case of a Budd-Chiari syndrome occurring in a patient with sarcoidosis has been reported.

Adult↗

[Non-A, non-B hepatitis in patients with chronic hemodialysis].

A prospective study was conducted of the incidence and course of acute viral hepatitis in 69 chronic hemodialysis patients. During a mean observation period of 15.4 months, 5.6 cases/100 patients/year of non-A, non-B hepatitis and 1.1 cases/100 patients/year of hepatitis B virus infection occurred. 19 out of 38 patients with serologic evidence of immunity against hepatitis B virus infection developed the antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen after active immunization. All cases of non-A, non-B hepatitis had an asymptomatic course, but there was a tendency to chronicity. The overall impact of non-A, non-B hepatitis in patients on chronic hemodialysis is discussed.

Adult↗

[Aorto-intestinal fistulas. 4 case reports].

Four cases of aorto-enteric fistula are reported. The two primary types occurred after rupture of an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta into the duodenum and as a consequence of tumor infiltration of both the aorta and the intestinal wall in a woman with metastatic ovarian cancer. The two secondary types developed as a late complication of reconstructive surgery of the abdominal aorta. The condition was diagnosed or suspected on the basis of endoscopic findings in two cases. The pathogenetic role of graft infection in the development of secondary aorto-enteric fistula is emphasized. The generally poor prognosis can be considerably improved if prompt resection of the graft is combined with axillo-bifemoral anastomosis.

Aged↗