STUDY DESIGN: To induce scoliosis in young female Wistar rats using a noninvasive method and to validate this model. PURPOSE: To induce scoliosis in a rat model noninvasively by bracing and to study the corresponding gene-expression profile in the spine and different organs. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Scoliosis involves abnormal lateral curvature of the spine, the causes of which remain unclear. In the literature, it is suggested that scoliosis is genetically heterogeneous, as there are multiple factors involved directly or indirectly in its pathogenesis. Clinical and experimental studies were conducted to understand the etiology of anatomical alterations in the spine and internal organs, as the findings could help clinicians to establish new treatment approaches. METHODS: Twelve female Wistar rats aged 21 days were chosen for this study. Customized braces and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) primers for rats were designed using Primer 3 software. Radiological analysis (X-rays), histopathological studies, SYBR green, and RT-PCR analysis were performed. RESULTS: The spines of six rats were braced in a deformed position, which resulted in a permanent structural deformity as confirmed by X-ray studies. The remaining rats were used as controls. Quantitative studies of the expression of various genes (osteocalcin, pleiotrophins, matrix metalloproteinase-2 [MMP2] and MMP9, TIMP, interleukins 1 and 6, tumor necrosis factor-α) showed their differential expression and significant upregulation (p < 0.05) in different organs of scoliotic rats in comparison to those in control rats. Histopathological findings showed tissue necrosis and fibrosis in the brain, retina, pancreas, kidney, liver, and disc of scoliotic rats. CONCLUSIONS: Bracing is a noninvasive method for inducing scoliosis in an animal model with 100% reliability and with corresponding changes in gene expression. Scoliosis does not just involve a spine deformity, but can be referred to as a systemic disease on the basis of the pathological changes observed in various internal organs.
Animals ; Braces ; Brain ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Female ; Fibrosis ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Interleukins ; Kidney ; Liver ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 ; Methods ; Models, Animal ; Necrosis ; Pancreas ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Retina ; Scoliosis ; Spine ; Up-Regulation

Klinefelter's syndrome is the most common congenital abnormality that causes primary hypogonadism. It is associated with diseases that predominantly affect women, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and it can sometimes cause veno-occlusive disease. We experienced a case of Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) in a 33-year-old man with Klinefelter's syndrome presented with hematemesis and edema in both lower extremities. The clinical and laboratory findings were compatible with SLE, antiphospholipid syndrome, and BCS. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report to describe a simultaneous presentation of these four clinical syndromes in a single patient.
Adult ; Antiphospholipid Syndrome* ; Budd-Chiari Syndrome* ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Edema ; Female ; Hematemesis ; Humans ; Hypogonadism ; Klinefelter Syndrome* ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Lower Extremity ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Despite improvements in surgical techniques and postoperative patient care, bile leakage can occur after hepatobiliary surgery and may lead to serious complications. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic treatment of bile leakage after hepatobiliary surgery. METHODS: The medical records of 20 patients who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography because of bile leakage after hepatobiliary surgery from August 2009 to September 2014 were reviewed retrospectively. Endoscopic treatment included insertion of an endoscopic retrograde biliary drainage stent after endoscopic sphincterotomy. RESULTS: Most cases of bile leakage presented as percutaneous bile drainage through a Jackson-Pratt bag (75%), followed by abdominal pain (20%). The sites of bile leaks were the cystic duct stump in 10 patients, intrahepatic ducts in five, liver beds in three, common hepatic duct in one, and common bile duct in one. Of the three cases of bile leakage combined with bile duct stricture, one patient had severe bile duct obstruction, and the others had mild strictures. Five cases of bile leakage also exhibited common bile duct stones. Concerning endoscopic modalities, endoscopic therapy for bile leakage was successful in 19 patients (95%). One patient experienced endoscopic failure because of an operation-induced bile duct deformity. One patient developed guidewire-induced microperforation during cannulation, which recovered with conservative treatment. One patient developed recurrent bile leakage, which required additional biliary stenting with sphincterotomy. CONCLUSIONS: The endoscopic approach should be considered a first-line modality for the diagnosis and treatment of bile leakage after hepatobiliary surgery.
Abdominal Pain ; Bile Ducts ; Bile* ; Catheterization ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; Cholestasis ; Common Bile Duct ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Cystic Duct ; Diagnosis ; Drainage ; Hepatic Duct, Common ; Humans ; Liver ; Medical Records ; Patient Care ; Retrospective Studies ; Sphincterotomy, Endoscopic ; Stents

Klinefelter's syndrome is the most common congenital abnormality that causes primary hypogonadism. It is associated with diseases that predominantly affect women, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and it can sometimes cause veno-occlusive disease. We experienced a case of Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) in a 33-year-old man with Klinefelter's syndrome presented with hematemesis and edema in both lower extremities. The clinical and laboratory findings were compatible with SLE, antiphospholipid syndrome, and BCS. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report to describe a simultaneous presentation of these four clinical syndromes in a single patient.
Adult ; Antiphospholipid Syndrome ; Budd-Chiari Syndrome ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Edema ; Female ; Hematemesis ; Humans ; Hypogonadism ; Klinefelter Syndrome ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Lower Extremity ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Chronic liver disease leads to liver fibrosis, and although the liver does have a certain regenerative capacity, this disease is associated with dysfunction of the liver vessels. C-reactive protein (CRP) is produced in the liver and circulated from there for metabolism. CRP was recently shown to inhibit angiogenesis by inducing endothelial cell dysfunction. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of CRP levels on angiogenesis in a rat model of liver dysfunction induced by bile duct ligation (BDL). METHODS: The diameter of the hepatic vein was analyzed in rat liver tissues using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The expression levels of angiogenic factors, albumin, and CRP were analyzed by real-time PCR and Western blotting. A tube formation assay was performed to confirm the effect of CRP on angiogenesis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) treated with lithocholic acid (LCA) and siRNA-CRP. RESULTS: The diameter of the hepatic portal vein increased significantly with the progression of cirrhosis. The expression levels of angiogenic factors were increased in the cirrhotic liver. In contrast, the expression levels of albumin and CRP were significantly lower in the liver tissue obtained from the BDL rat model than in the normal liver. The CRP level was correlated with the expression of albumin in hepatocytes treated with LCA and siRNA-CRP. Tube formation was significantly decreased in HUVECs when they were treated with LCA or a combination of LCA and siRNA-CRP. CONCLUSION: CRP seems to be involved in the abnormal formation of vessels in hepatic disease, and so it could be a useful diagnostic marker for hepatic disease.
Angiogenic Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Animals ; Bile Ducts/surgery ; C-Reactive Protein/*analysis/genetics/metabolism ; Cells, Cultured ; Disease Models, Animal ; Hepatic Veins/abnormalities ; Hepatocytes/cytology/metabolism ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; Humans ; Lithocholic Acid/pharmacology ; Liver/metabolism/pathology ; Liver Cirrhosis/etiology ; Liver Diseases/metabolism/*pathology ; Male ; Microscopy, Fluorescence ; Mitochondria/drug effects/metabolism ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Small Interfering/metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Serum Albumin/genetics/metabolism

Toxoplasmosis is an important cause of foodborne, inflammatory, as well as congenital abnormalities. There is an urgent need for safe and effective therapies to eliminate or treat this cosmopolitan infectious disease. A medicinal herbal plant, Meliae fructus, has been used to soothe the liver and kills worms in Chinese medicine. In this study, Meliae fructus ethanol extract was examined and screened for its anti-T. gondii activity. For anti-T. gondii activity screening, in vitro study of Meliae fructus extract using tachyzoit of T. gondii RH strain-infected HeLa cells was performed. Further, in vivo anti-T. gondii study using a mouse infection model was conducted. Safety of herbal compounds was evaluated in SD rats by treatment with Meliae fructus extract for 28 days. As a result, selectivity of Meliae fructus ethanol extract was 5.85, which was higher than sulfadiazine selectivity (2.06). We also performed an in vivo study to evaluate the anti-T. gondii activity of Meliae fructus extract in a mouse model. The inhibition rate of Meliae fructus extract was as high as that of sulfadiazine. These results demonstrate that Meliae fructus can successfully cure T. gondii infection and could be a promising native herb treatment for prevention of T. gondii infection.
Animals ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Communicable Diseases ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Ethanol* ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; Liver ; Mass Screening ; Melia* ; Mice ; Plants ; Plants, Medicinal ; Rats ; Sulfadiazine ; Toxoplasma ; Toxoplasmosis

No abstract available.
Arteriovenous Fistula/complications ; Fatty Liver/complications/radiography/ultrasonography ; Hemangioma/etiology/radiography/*ultrasonography ; Hepatic Artery/abnormalities ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/radiography/ultrasonography ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Portal Vein/abnormalities ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a serious complication of end-stage liver disease, which is characterized by hypoxia, intrapulmonary vascular dilatation, and liver cirrhosis. Liver transplantation (LT) is the only curative treatment modality for patients with HPS. However, morbidity and mortality after LT, especially in cases of severe HPS, remain high. This case report describes a patient with typical findings of an extracardiac pulmonary arteriovenous shunt on contrast-enhanced transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), and clubbing fingers, who had complete correction of HPS by deceased donor LT. The patient was a 16-year-old female who was born with biliary atresia and underwent porto-enterostomy on the 55th day after birth. She had been suffered from progressive liver failure with dyspnea, clubbing fingers, and cyanosis. Preoperative arterial blood gas analysis revealed severe hypoxia (arterial O2 tension of 54.5 mmHg and O2 saturation of 84.2%). Contrast-enhanced TEE revealed an extracardiac right-to-left shunt, which suggested an intrapulmonary arteriovenous shunt. The patient recovered successfully after LT, not only with respect to physical parameters but also for pychosocial activity, including school performance, during the 30-month follow-up period.
Adolescent ; Anoxia ; Arteriovenous Fistula/etiology ; Biliary Atresia/*diagnosis/etiology ; Cyanosis/complications ; Dyspnea/complications ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal ; End Stage Liver Disease/complications/*surgery ; Female ; Hepatic Artery/abnormalities ; Hepatopulmonary Syndrome/*diagnosis/ultrasonography ; Humans ; *Liver Transplantation ; Osteoarthropathy, Secondary Hypertrophic/complications

Splenic arteriovenous fistula (SAVF) is an unusual cause of portal hypertension, and is rarely associated with an infective aetiology. It is often difficult to identify SAVF clinically, and thus, radiological modalities are invariably required for diagnosis and treatment. We herein describe a case of SAVF occurring in a patient with compensated cirrhosis as a sequel to salmonella gastroenteritis, and presenting with acute gastric variceal bleeding. Selective transcatheter embolisation of the splenic artery was effective in controlling bleeding.
Adult ; Angiography ; Arteriovenous Fistula ; diagnostic imaging ; microbiology ; therapy ; Colonoscopy ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; methods ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices ; etiology ; Gastroenteritis ; microbiology ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; etiology ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; microbiology ; Male ; Salmonella Infections ; microbiology ; Splenic Artery ; abnormalities ; diagnostic imaging ; Splenic Vein ; abnormalities ; diagnostic imaging ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

We present a case of a patient with rapid deterioration of esophageal varices caused by portal hypertension accompanied by a large arterioportal shunt that developed after radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma. We used n-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) as an embolic material to achieve pinpoint embolization of the shunt, because the microcatheter tip was 2 cm away from the shunt site. Under hepatic arterial flow control using a balloon catheter, the arterioportal shunt was successfully embolized with NBCA, which caused an improvement in the esophageal varices.
Aged ; Arteriovenous Fistula/etiology/radiography/*therapy ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*surgery ; Catheter Ablation/*adverse effects ; Embolization, Therapeutic/*methods ; Enbucrilate/*therapeutic use ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices/etiology/*therapy ; Hepatic Artery/*abnormalities/radiography ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/*surgery ; Male ; Portal Vein/*abnormalities/radiography