Biomedical subjects

M Praet

Publications and source records attributed to M Praet.

78 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of graft viability in heterotopic auxiliary liver transplantation in the rat.

In the rat model of heterotopic auxiliary liver transplantation, the coexistence of the engrafted liver and the recipient's native liver makes it difficult to evaluate the posttransplant graft viability. In this study, auxiliary liver transplantation was performed in Wistar rats, in which the recipient's native liver was handicapped with a 68% partial hepatectomy and a common bile duct ligation. Serum biochemistry of the liver was analyzed and compared with that of the selected control group. The surgical handicap of the liver showed severe damaging effects: the handicapped native livers appeared atrophic at autopsy, and no long-term animal survival could be achieved without an auxiliary liver transplantation. As the engrafted liver corrected the cholestasis of the handicapped native liver, significant differences of serum biochemistry were found between the transplanted group and the control group: for bilirubin concentration and gamma glutamyl transferase activity from postoperative day 3 to 28 (p < .05); for alkaline phosphatase on days 3, 7, 14, and 28 (p < .05); for alanine aminotransferase activity on days 3 and 14 (p < .05); and for aspartate aminotransferase activity on day 14 (p < .05). The efficiency to induce hepatic failure and to hamper its regeneration capacity in the native liver makes animal survival and liver biology as reliable parameters to evaluate the posttransplant graft viability in this rat model.

Alanine Transaminase↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Immune-mediated pathology following hepatitis B vaccination. Two cases of polyarteritis nodosa and one case of pityriasis rosea-like drug eruption.

The association of hepatitis B virus infection and vasculitis or other immune-mediated manifestations is well documented. Reports on such manifestations in relation to hepatitis B vaccination are scarce, however. We report 2 patients who developed polyarteritis nodosa following vaccination against hepatitis B. In one patient this resulted in an ischemic and necrotic digital ulcus, necessitating surgical amputation. The other patient presented with typical cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa which responded well to corticosteroid treatment. A third patient developed a severe pityrias rosea-like eruption. He was treated with topical steroids with healing of the lesions, leaving only post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. The literature on these associations is reviewed.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Mesalazine interstitial nephritis presenting as colitis ulcerosa exacerbation.

Mesalazine is the first line treatment in paediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). There are several reports in the literature about nephrotoxicity (1/150 treated patients), from renal insufficiency to reversible nephritis. It is currently advised to follow creatinine in patients treated with mesalazine during the first 5 years of treatment; however this may reveal the problem too late. As demonstrated in this paediatric case, a high degree of clinical suspicion is needed to diagnose the side effects before irreversible kidney damage occurs. Since the treatment of IBD exacerbation and mesalazine induced interstitial nephritis is based upon steroids, delayed diagnosis of the latter is at risk.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Churg-Strauss syndrome presenting as polymyositis.

Churg-Strauss syndrome is a vasculitis-based pathology, predominantly characterized by asthma and eosinophilia. Histopathologically, the vessel wall infiltration contains a substantial proportion of eosinophils and extravascular granulomata can be demonstrated. We report a case of Churg-Strauss syndrome presenting as polymyositis.

Blood Vessels↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Etiological factors and underlying conditions in patients with leucocytoclastic vasculitis.

This study concerns a retrospective analysis of 63 consecutive patients presenting with leukocytoclastic vasculitis at the Departments of Dermatology or Rheumatology of the University Hospital Ghent (Belgium) (period 1988-1993). The diagnosis of leukocytoclastic vasculitis was confirmed by histopathology in all cases. All patients were screened for underlying causes, including drugs, infection, systemic autoimmune disease or neoplasia. In 34 patients, an etiological factor was identified: drugs (5 patients), infection (6 patients), drugs or infection (4 patients), systemic autoimmune disease (10 patients), Henoch Shönlein (6 patients), neoplasia (2 patients) and cryoglobulinemia (1 patient). In the group of patients with leukocytoclastic vasculitis in the context of systemic autoimmune disease, 4 patients suffered from systemic lupus erythematosus, 2 from Wegener's disease, 2 from Behçet's disease, 1 from polyarteritis nodosa and 1 from rheumatoid arthritis. In the remaining 29 patients, no cause for the vasculitis could be identified.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The pathophysiology of lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus disseminatus in addition to the more restricted, lupus-like syndromes, is the consequence of an attack by the immune system on the cellular and nuclear structures of the body. These disorders are also frequently associated with disturbances of the coagulation cascade. In this review paper, the factors that provoke or enhance these disturbances are considered, as well as the way by which this provocative effect is exerted. An intermutual relation between various elements is described, whereby congenital factors (heredity, race) and non-congenital factors (sex hormones, pregnancy, environment, ultraviolet light, drugs, infection) play a role. These factors induce the activation cascade of the disease, via two different axes: on the one hand modifications in the DNA structure, on the other immune stimulation. This eventually results in tissue damage.

Causality↗