Search

Objective. The association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and serum lipid profile is still controversial. The aim of this study was to determine any possible relationship between H. pylori infection and the lipid profile of patients with upper gastrointestinal symptoms. Material and methods. Consecutively selected 20-70 year-old dyspeptic patients who had undergone esophagogastroduodenoscopy were evaluated for H. pylori infection using both the CLO test and Giemsa staining. Serum total cholesterol (C), HDL-C, LDL-C, apo-A1, apo-B and triglyceride levels were measured. Results. A total of 137 patients (median age 52.0 years) were studied. Total cholesterol levels were lower in H. pylori-infected patients than in H. pylori-negative patients (mean±SEM: 199.3±5.9 versus 212.6±4.6 mg/dl, p=0.08). Patients with duodenal ulcer (DU) had significantly lower levels of all measured lipidemic parameters including cholesterol, with the exception of triglycerides, in comparison with either H. pylori-positive or -negative dyspeptic patients (cholesterol: 177.6±6.5 versus 214.6±4.2 mg/dl, p<0.0001). However, there was no difference in the total cholesterol/HDL-C ratio between DU patients and the rest of the dyspeptic patients. Conclusions. Among H. pylori-positive and H. pylori-negative patients there was no difference in lipid profile apart from a trend towards total cholesterol levels being lower in H. pylori-positive patients. However, cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, apo-A and apo-B were all decreased in DU patients even though this reduction did not result in a fall in the total cholesterol/HDL-C ratio. The etiologic factor differentiating the lipid profiles among dyspeptics only in H. pylori-positive patients carrying a DU could be dietetic, microbial, genetic or a combination of all three. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective . To study the immunophenotypic characteristics and clinical outcome of morphologically undifferentiated prostatic carcinoma with small-cell morphology (U-PC-SCM). Material and methods . Sixteen patients with U-PC-SCM were enrolled. The streptavidin–biotin complex immunohistochemical method was used on paraffin-embedded tissue sections to test positivity for prostate-specific antigen, prostate-specific acid phosphatase, CD57, androgen receptors, CK8-18, epithelial membrane antigen, carcinoembryonic antigen, CD56, neuron-specific enolase, chromogranin, synaptophysin, serotonin, various hormones, thyroid transcriptional factor-1 and Ki-67/MIB1. Results . Based on immunophenotypic criteria, we identified two groups of patients. The final diagnosis was U-PC (Gleason score 10) in Group 1 ( n =9) and pure or mixed neuroendocrine small-cell carcinoma in Group 2 ( n =7). Group 1 underwent total androgen blockade (TAB) with no major response and had a median survival of 9 months. In Group 2, three patients underwent TAB, two of whom died of progressive disease. The third patient showed a partial response (PR) for 18 months but eventually relapsed with liver metastatic lesions. He was then treated with cisplatin + etoposide and showed a PR for 3 months and survived for 5 months after the initiation of the second-line chemotherapy (CTH) treatment. The other four patients received six cycles of cisplatin + etoposide. There were two complete responses of >14 and >22 months, respectively and 2 PRs of 11 and 17 months, respectively, the partial responders surviving for 14 and 21 months, respectively. Conclusion . U-PC-SCM with a neuroendocrine immunophenotype is a histogenetically distinct entity with different clinical and laboratory manifestations which responds well to a cisplatin + etoposide CTH regimen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]