Complete Normalization (complete + normalization)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Medical Sciences


Selected Abstracts


Complete recovery of intestinal mucosa occurs very rarely in adult coeliac patients despite adherence to gluten-free diet

ALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 12 2009
A. LANZINI
Summary Background, Expected benefits of gluten-free diet (GFD) in coeliac patients include healing of small intestinal mucosa, but it remains unclear to what extent this benefit is achieved in adults. Aim, To assess factors affecting histological outcome of GFD in a large cohort of adult coeliac patients. Methods, We extracted information on 465 consecutive coeliac patients studied before and during GFD. Results, Duodenal biopsies at diagnosis were classified as Marsh I in 11, II in 25 and III in 429 cases. After a median 16 months GFD, 38 (8%) patients had histological ,normalization', 300 (65%) had ,remission' with persistent intraepithelial lymphocytosis, 121(26%) had ,no change' and 6 (1%) had ,deterioration'. Coeliac disease related serology was negative in 83% of patients with Marsh III lesion during GFD. Male gender and adherence to GFD were independently associated with histological ,normalization' and ,remission'. Persistence of intraepithelial lymphocytosis was not associated with human lymphocyte antigen gene dose or with Helicobacter pylori infection. Conclusions, Complete normalization of duodenal lesions is exceptionally rare in adult coeliac patients despite adherence to GFD, symptoms disappearance and negative CD related serology. Control biopsies are mandatory to identify lack of response to gluten-free diet. [source]


Sulthiame in childhood epilepsy

PEDIATRICS INTERNATIONAL, Issue 5 2004
Bruria Ben-Zeev
AbstractBackground:,Sulthiame is a central carbonic anhydrase inhibitor found to be effective for both partial and generalized seizures. It has been in use in some European countries and in Israel for over 30 years. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of sulthiame in childhood epilepsy by conducting a multicenter, retrospective study of patients who received this drug. Methods:,The charts of 125 consecutive epilepsy patients treated with sulthiame as monotherapy or add-on therapy were reviewed. Results:,Twenty-nine out of 39 patients with benign focal epilepsy of childhood became seizure-free. Total seizure control was also achieved in 17 of 42 patients with symptomatic, non-refractory localization-related epilepsy, and in all 10 cases with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. Complete normalization of the EEG occurred in 13 of 20 patients with benign partial epilepy of childhood. Side-effects were minimal and caused discontinuation of treatment in only seven children. Conclusion:,The high tolerability, efficacy, convenience of use and low cost suggest that sulthiame should become a first line drug in the benign partial epilepsies of childhood and juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. It also has a role as add-on treatment in other partial and myoclonic epilepsies. [source]


Wilson's disease with superimposed autoimmune features: Report of two cases and review

JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY, Issue 5 2000
Piotr Milkiewicz
Abstract We describe two females, 15 and 23 years old, respectively, who presented with classical features of Wilson's disease (WD) and several features of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). The first patient was initially diagnosed as AIH and treated with prednisolone which caused clinical improvement, with an increase of serum albumin from 22 to 30 g/L, and a decrease of aspartate aminotransferase from 103 to 47 U/L. Subsequent diagnosis of WD and introduction of penicillamine gave excellent improvement and complete normalization of liver function tests. The second patient, at first also diagnosed as having AIH, was treated with steroids and azathioprine with initial improvement, but subsequent deterioration. The diagnosis of WD was made 2 years after initial diagnosis of AIH, as the patient reached end-stage liver disease and required a transplant. Therefore, d -penicillamine treatment was not attempted. We conclude that, in patients with AIH, a thorough screening for WD is necessary, particularly when the response to steroid therapy is poor. Conversely, in patients suffering from WD with superimposed features of AIH, a combination of steroids and penicillamine may be of benefit. [source]


Abstracts of the 8th Meeting of the Italian Peripheral Nerve Study Group: 79

JOURNAL OF THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, Issue 1 2003
U Del Carro
Peripheral neuropathy is one of the most common secondary complications of diabetes mellitus, causing severe and prolonged morbidity. However, clinical and experimental studies have reported that careful glucose control may prevent, stabilize, and/or reverse neuropathy and other chronic diabetic complications. Unfortunately, insulin therapy does not prevent the development or progression of chronic lesions in the vessels, kidneys, eyes, or nerves of the diabetic patient. There is great interest in investigating other forms of endocrine replacement therapy, such as transplantation of the pancreas or of the islets of Langerhans (IT). Diabetic polyneuropathy (DP) evolution is characterized by progressive demyelination and axonal loss and is manifested by signs and symptoms on physical examination and abnormalities in nerve conduction studies (NCS). NCS provide reliable, noninvasive, objective measures of peripheral nerve function and constitute the most important technique for the evaluation of the severity of DP in clinical trials. Several research groups have demonstrated that skin biopsy with measurement of intraepidermal nerve fiber density is another method minimally invasive and repeatable that provides direct pathologic evidence of axonal damage in diabetic neuropathy. Fifty-one consecutive IDDM patients with or without end stage renal disease were enrolled at the moment of islet (Is), kidney (KD), kidney-pancreas (KP) or kidney-islet (KI) transplantation. Patients underwent skin biopsy punch, neurologic examination and neurophysiological investigation. Particularly, 20 pts underwent KP tx, 16 KD tx, 10 islet tx and 5 KI. The patients were comparable for duration of diabetes, dialysis (when present), age, lipid profile. In half of the patients a follow-up of 2 years has been reached. After KP tx, and partially with KI, a complete normalization of glycometabolic control has been achieved, with statistically lower HbA1c in comparison with KD group (KP = 6.2; 0.1% vs. KD = 8.4; 0.5%; p < 0.01). In the KI/Is group, a long-term restoration of islet endocrine function has been achieved, with insulin independence. When this has been lost, a persistent secretion of C-peptide was shown for a long period of time. This was correlated with a global improvement quality of life and vascular structure. Preliminary results will be presented. [source]


Concurrent de novo autoimmune hepatitis and recurrence of primary biliary cirrhosis post,liver transplantation

LIVER TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 5 2001
Chee Kiat Tan FRCP (Edin)
Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is well known to recur after liver transplantation (LT). The recurrence is usually subclinical and evident only on histological examination. Recently, a new entity of de novo autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) has emerged that occurs after LT in patients who underwent transplantation for diseases other than AIH. This new condition occurs more often in children; however, there was a recent report of the first 2 cases in adults who originally underwent LT for PBC. We report the first case of concurrent de novo AIH and recurrence of PBC documented on the liver biopsy of an adult patient who underwent LT for end-stage PBC. Unlike the earlier report of 2 adults, our patient manifested an antinuclear antibody titer of more than 1/800 from a previously negative titer pre-LT, as well as fulfilled the International AIH Group criteria for a definite diagnosis of AIH. PBC recurrence was evidenced by typical florid duct lesion, antimitochondrial antibody titer increasing from 1/40 to greater than 1/800, and an elevated serum immunoglobulin M level. After the addition of azathioprine to baseline immunosuppression of tacrolimus and prednisolone, the patient responded rapidly, with complete normalization of liver test results. [source]


The Characterization of Contractile and Myoelectric Activities in Paralyzed Tibialis Anterior Post Electrically Elicited Muscle Fatigue

ARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 4 2010
Nan-Ying Yu
Abstract This study aimed to understand the myoelectric and mechanical characteristics of muscle recovering from electrically elicited fatigue. A modified Burke fatigue protocol was delivered to activate the tibialis anterior of 13 spinal cord injured subjects for 4 min. Before and after the fatigue protocol, a series of pulse trains was delivered to induce three twitches and a fused contraction at 0, 1, 3, and 5 min and then followed every 5 min for 60 min. The recovery processes of the ankle dorsiflexion torque and the evoked electromyography (EMG) parameters were analyzed and characterized by a first-order exponential equation. The recovery process was found to be faster in regard to tetanic muscle contraction. Factors relating to low-frequency fatigue, postfatigue potentiation, and the quickly normalized relaxation rate were taken into account for the discussion of this result. During the recovery process, the disassociation was found not only between twitch and tetanic contractions but also between mechanical and myoelectric activities. After the complete normalization of EMG parameters from about 15 min post fatigue, the tetanic force recovered incompletely to an asymptotic level. [source]


Levetiracetam monotherapy for childhood occipital epilepsy of gastaut

ACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 5 2009
A. Verrotti
Objectives ,, The aim of this open label pilot study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of levetiracetam (LEV) as ,de novo' monotherapy in children and adolescents with late onset childhood occipital epilepsy,Gastaut type (COE-G). Material and methods ,, Twelve patients suffering from COE-G were enrolled in this prospective study. The age of seizures onset ranged from 6.1 to 16.2 years with a peak of frequency at mean (±SD) 10.54 ± 2.77 years. Therapy with LEV was started at 10 mg/kg/day and, after titration, the final dose was generally achieved within 4 weeks and ranged from 20.7 to 45.2 mg/kg/day. Results ,, At the 6 month evaluation, 11 (91.6%) of the 12 patients studied were seizure free, and one (8.3%) showed four additional episodes. Electroencephalography (EEG) activity was normal in six (54.5%) patients, unchanged in two (18.1%) children, and in four (33.3%) patients sporadic occipital abnormalities persisted. At the 12-month evaluation all patients were completely seizure free. Four patients (33.3%) continued to show some EEG abnormalities, while eight (72.8%) patients had normal EEG. At the 18-month evaluation all patients were seizure free and 10 patients (83.3%) showed a complete normalization of EEG abnormalities. Discussion ,, Monotherapy with LEV was effective and well tolerated in patients with COE-G. Nevertheless, prospective, large, long-term double-blind studies are needed to confirm these findings. [source]


Coronary Slow Flow Phenomenon and Risk for Sudden Cardiac Death Due to Ventricular Arrhythmias: A Case Report and Review of Literature

CLINICAL CARDIOLOGY, Issue 8 2008
Dr. Shoaib Saya
Abstract We report a case of coronary slow flow phenomenon (CSFP) in a patient who underwent coronary angiography due to anginal chest pain and recurrent syncope with complete normalization of flow after intracoronary adenosine. He was noted to have multiple episodes of nonsustained ventricular tachycardia on holter monitor and increased QTc dispersion on surface electrocardiogram (EKG). He responded very well to oral dipyridamole therapy with complete resolution of his symptoms and no episodes of ventricular tachycardia on the event recorder at 3 months. We review the diagnosis and clinical features of CSFP and its association with increased QTc dispersion and the role of oral dipyridamole therapy in this condition. Copyright © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]