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Important Cofactor (important + cofactor)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Histological assessment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

HISTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 5 2006
S G Hübscher
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an important complication of the metabolic syndrome, which is becoming an increasingly common cause of chronic liver disease. Histological changes typically mainly affect perivenular regions of the liver parenchyma and include an overlapping spectrum of steatosis, steatohepatitis and persinusoidal or pericellular fibrosis, in some cases leading to cirrhosis. Once cirrhosis has developed, typical hepatocellular changes are often no longer conspicuous, leading to such cases being mistakenly diagnosed as ,cryptogenic'. Portal inflammation, ductular reaction and periportal fibrosis can also be seen as part of the morphological spectrum of NAFLD, particularly in the paediatric population. Hepatocellular carcinoma has also been described as a complication of NAFLD-associated cirrhosis. NAFLD is also an important cofactor in other chronic liver diseases, especially hepatitis C. Histological assessments have an important role to play in the diagnosis and management of NAFLD. These include making the potentially important distinction between simple steatosis and steatohepatitis and providing pointers to the aetiology, including cases where a dual pathology exists. A number of systems have been devised for grading and staging the severity of fatty liver disease. These require further evaluation, but have a potentially important role to play in determining prognosis and monitoring therapeutic responses. [source]

Mouse models in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and steatohepatitis research

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PATHOLOGY, Issue 1 2006
Quentin M. Anstee
Summary Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents a histological spectrum of liver disease associated with obesity, diabetes and insulin resistance that extends from isolated steatosis to steatohepatitis and cirrhosis. As well as being a potential cause of progressive liver disease in its own right, steatosis has been shown to be an important cofactor in the pathogenesis of many other liver diseases. Animal models of NAFLD may be divided into two broad categories: those caused by genetic mutation and those with an acquired phenotype produced by dietary or pharmacological manipulation. The literature contains numerous different mouse models that exhibit histological evidence of hepatic steatosis or, more variably, steatohepatitis; however, few replicate the entire human phenotype. The genetic leptin-deficient (ob/ob) or leptin-resistant (db/db) mouse and the dietary methionine/choline-deficient model are used in the majority of published research. More recently, targeted gene disruption and the use of supra-nutritional diets to induce NAFLD have gained greater prominence as researchers have attempted to bridge the phenotype gap between the available models and the human disease. Using the physiological processes that underlie the pathogenesis and progression of NAFLD as a framework, we review the literature describing currently available mouse models of NAFLD, highlight the strengths and weaknesses of established models and describe the key findings that have furthered the understanding of disease pathogenesis. [source]

Staphylococcus aureus and hand eczema severity

BRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
P. Haslund
Summary Background, The role of bacterial infections in hand eczema (HE) remains to be assessed. Objectives, To determine the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus in patients with HE compared with controls, and to relate presence of S. aureus, subtypes and toxin production to severity of HE. Methods, Bacterial swabs were taken at three different visits from the hand and nose in 50 patients with HE and 50 controls. Staphylococcus aureus was subtyped by spa typing and assigned to clonal complexes (CCs), and isolates were tested for exotoxin-producing S. aureus strains. The Hand Eczema Severity Index was used for severity assessment. Results,Staphylococcus aureus was found on the hands in 24 patients with HE and four controls (P < 0·001), and presence of S. aureus was found to be related to increased severity of the eczema (P < 0·001). Patients carried identical S. aureus types on the hands and in the nose in all cases, and between visits in 90% of cases. Ten different CC types were identified, no association with severity was found, and toxin-producing strains were not found more frequently in patients with HE than in controls. Conclusions,Staphylococcus aureus was present on hands in almost half of all patients with HE, and was significantly related to severity of the disease. This association indicates that S. aureus could be an important cofactor for persistence of HE. [source]

Dietary zinc, copper and selenium, and risk of lung cancer

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER, Issue 5 2007
Somdat Mahabir
Abstract Zinc, copper and selenium are important cofactors for several enzymes that play a role in maintaining DNA integrity. However, limited epidemiologic research on these dietary trace metals and lung cancer risk is available. In an ongoing study of 1,676 incident lung cancer cases and 1,676 matched healthy controls, we studied the associations between dietary zinc, copper and selenium and lung cancer risk. Using multiple logistic regression analysis, the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of lung cancer for all subjects by increasing quartiles of dietary zinc intake were 1.0, 0.80 (0.65,0.99), 0.64 (0.51,0.81), 0.57 (0.42,0.75), respectively (p trend = 0.0004); similar results were found for men. For dietary copper, the ORs and 95% CI for all subjects were 1.0, 0.59 (0.49,0.73), 0.51 (0.41,0.64), 0.34 (0.26,0.45), respectively (p trend < 0.0001); similar reductions in risk and trend were observed by gender. Dietary selenium intake was not associated with risk, except for a significant inverse trend (p = 0.04) in men. Protective trends (p < 0.05) against lung cancer with increased dietary zinc intake were also found for all ages, BMI > 25, current smokers, pack-years ,30, light drinkers and participants without emphysema. Increased dietary copper intake was associated with protective trends (p < 0.05) across all ages, BMI, smoking and vitamin/mineral supplement categories, pack-years ,30 and 30.1,51.75 and participants without emphysema. Our results suggest that dietary zinc and copper intakes are associated with reduced risk of lung cancer. Given the known limitations of case,control studies, these findings must be interpreted with caution and warrant further investigation. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]