Biomedical subjects

Ivan Boricic

Publications and source records attributed to Ivan Boricic.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Hepatitis C virus genotypes in Serbia and Montenegro: the prevalence and clinical significance.

AIM: To investigate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in Serbia and Montenegro and their influence on some clinical characteristics in patients with chronic HCV infection. METHODS: A total of 164 patients was investigated. Complete history, route of infection, assessment of alcohol consumption, an abdominal ultrasound, standard biochemical tests and liver biopsy were done. Gene sequencing of 5' NTR type-specific PCR or commercial kits was performed for HCV genotyping and subtyping. The SPSS for Windows (version 10.0) was used for univariate regression analysis with further multivariate analysis. RESULTS: The genotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 1b3a and 1b4 were present in 57.9%, 3.7%, 23.2%, 6.7%, 6.7% and 1.8% of the patients, respectively. The genotype 1 (mainly the subtype 1b) was found to be independent of age in subjects older than 40 years, high viral load, more severe necro-inflammatory activity, advanced stage of fibrosis, and absence of intravenous drug abuse. The genotype 3a was associated with intravenous drug abuse and the age below 40. Multivariate analysis demonstrated age over 40 and intravenous drug abuse as the positive predictive factors for the genotypes 1b and 3a, respectively. CONCLUSION: In Serbia and Montenegro, the genotypes 1b and 3a predominate in patients with chronic HCV infection. The subtype 1b is characteristic of older patients, while the genotype 3a is common in drug abusers. Association of the subtype 1b with advanced liver disease, higher viral load and histological activity suggests earlier infection with this genotype and eventually its increased pathogenicity.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Hepatic tuberculomas. A case report.

BACKGROUND: The liver is often involved secondarily by sytemic/extrahepatic vascular, metabolic, infectious, granulomatous, and malignant processes. CASE REPORT: A 57-year old woman was admitted because of fatigue, malaise, night sweating and right upper abdominal quadrant pain. Physical findings revealed pale skin and mucosae, and hepatomegaly. Laboratory data showed normocytic, normochromic anemia and marked inflammatory syndrome. Real-time ultrasonography revealed one hypo-echogenic nodule, 25 mm in size, in the segment II of the liver, and three hypoechogenic nodules, 11-25 mm in diameter, in segments III and IV. Enlarged lymph nodes, 20-50 mm, were observed in the region of the pancreatic head. Histo-pathological examination of the liver and peritoneum biopsies evidenced granulomas with caseous necrosis and multinuclear Langhans' giant cells, indicating hepatic and peritoneal tuberculosis. The tuberculostatic chemotherapy (isoniazid 300 mg/24h; rifampycin 600 mg/24h and pyrazinamid 2000 mg/24h) was applied for 12 months. The patient responded well to the treatment, followed-up for 6-12 months. CONCLUSION: In the differential diagnosis of focal liver lesions, pseudotumoral hepatic tuberculomas must be considered.

Antitubercular Agents↗

PubMed2003

Epidermotropic metastases from breast carcinoma showing different clinical and histopathological features on the trunk and on the scalp in a single patient.

A 54-year-old female presented with the cutaneous metastases of the breast carcinoma that produced combination of pigmented zosteriform eruption on the trunk and eroded plaque on the scalp, 13 years after radical mastectomy. Histologically, zosteriform lesions displayed prominent infiltration of the epidermis in nesting or linear pattern by neoplastic cells with focal formation of intraepidermal and subepidermal vesicles due to discohesion of tumor cells and dermal edema. Examination of scalp plaque revealed ulcerations and infiltration of the epidermis with scattered basal and suprabasal malignant cells in pagetoid fashion. Immunohistochemically, tumor cells were cytokeratin 7- and estrogen receptor-positive and cytokeratin 20 negative. HMB-45 and Melan-A-stained numerous dendritic melanocytes intermingled with intraepidermal and superficial dermal tumor cells in the trunk lesion, whereas on the scalp, only occasional melanocytes surrounding intraepidermal carcinomatous cells were identified. Our case described, to our knowledge, so far unreported combination of individually rare, clinical and histological patterns of cutaneous metastases from breast carcinoma in a single patient.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗

PubMed2003

Retroperitoneal kaposiform hemangioendothelioma with tufted angioma-like features in an infant with Kasabach-Merritt syndrome.

Kasabach-Merritt syndrome denotes profound thrombocytopenia and coagulopathy in an infant with a vascular tumor. A retroperitoneal vascular tumor with an unusual combination of histopathological features is reported, and compared with vascular lesions described in the reported cases of Kasabach-Merritt syndrome in the literature. A large retroperitoneal tumor that had expanded through the sigmoid mesocolon into the sigmoid colon wall was resected from an 8-month-old infant with fully developed Kasabach-Merritt syndrome. Histological examination revealed a combination of venous (cavernous) malformation, kaposiform hemangioendothelioma and tufted angioma-like areas. Cellular tumor components (especially tufted angioma-like parts) infiltrated the wall of the sigmoid colon to the submucosal level. Immunohistochemical staining with antibodies to the Ki-67 antigen and proliferating cell nuclear antigen showed a low proliferative activity, whereas the antiapoptotic bcl-2 protein was expressed diffusely in tumor cells. This is the first reported case of a vascular tumor with tufted angioma-like elements found in the retroperitoneum, and the first reported in combination with kaposiform hemangioendothelioma and venous malformation in the same lesion. Considering the immunohistochemical results and overlapping histological features, it may be considered that tufted angioma and kaposiform hemangioendothelioma represent different growth patterns or stages in the development of a single type of hemangioma.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗

PubMed2002

Modalities of testing Helicobacter pylori in patients with nonmalignant bile duct diseases.

AIM: This paper describes the procedure of detection of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in bile specimens in patients suffering from benign diseases of biliary ducts (lithiasis with/without nonspecific cholangitis). METHODS: The group of 72 patients entering the study consisted of 32 male and 40 female (45% and 55%, respectively). Bile was obtained during ERCP in 68 patients, and during cholecystectomy in 4 patients. A fast urease test (FUT) to determine the existence of H. pylori in gastric mucosa was carried out for all the patients during the endoscopic examination. The existence of genetic material of H. pylori was determined by detection of ureA gene by the method of nested PCR. The results of this reaction were shown by electrophoresis on 10g.L(-1) agarose gel in a band of 256bp. RESULTS: The majority of the patients included in our study had biliary lithiasis without signs of cholangitis (48 patients, 67%), whereas other patients were complicated by cholangitis (17 patients, 24%). Seven patients (9%) had normal ERCP, forming thus the control group. In the group of patients with lithiasis 26 patients (54.2%) had positive PCR of H. pylori in bile and among the patients with associated cholangitis positive PCR was detected in 9 patients (52.9%). Among the seven patients with normal ERCP only one (14%) had positive PCR of H. pylori. A high percentage of H. pylori infection of gastric mucosa was observed (57 patients, 79%). It was also observed that its slightly higher positivity was in the patients with distinct bile pathology: 81% FUT positive patients in the group with choledocholithiasis alone and 76% in the group with choledocholithiasis associated with cholangitis. Seventy-one percent of the patients with regular findings had positive FUT. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of H. pylori infection both in bile and in gastric mucosa in patients with benign diseases of biliary ducts does not show a statistically significant difference in relation to the prevalence of the same with the patients with normal ERCP. The existence of H. pylori infection possibly does not play a role in pathogenesis of benign biliary diseases.

Adolescent↗