Findings indicate high leptin levels to be positively correlated with obesity and diastolic blood pressure in male patients with myocardial infarction.

<b><i>Background:</i></b> The World Health Organization (WHO) proposed an updated reporting system for pancreaticobiliary cytology, which moves low-grade malignancies to “positive for malignancy” group and serous cystadenoma to “negative for malignancy” group. The WHO system also created two new categories, namely, pancreatic neoplasia-low grade (PaN-Low) and pancreatic neoplasia-high grade (PaN-High), which includes neoplastic mucinous cysts and stratifies them according to their cytologic atypia. The risk of malignancy (ROM) of the new categories of the WHO system needs to be defined. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Cytologic slides of all patients, who underwent endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy at our institution from January 2010 to December 2021 and had a histopathological or clinical follow-up of at least 6 months, were reviewed and reclassified under the Papanicolaou Society of Cytopathology (PSC) and WHO reporting systems. The absolute ROM was calculated for each category of both reporting systems. <b><i>Results:</i></b> A total of 420 EUS-FNA samples from 410 patients were reviewed and reclassified. The absolute ROM for the proposed WHO system was 35% for “nondiagnostic,” 1.0% for “negative for malignancy,” 69.0% for “atypical,” 11% for “PaN-Low,” 100% for “PaN-High,” 91% for “suspicious for malignancy,” and 100% for “malignant.” Comparatively, the absolute ROM under the PSC reporting system was 34% for “nondiagnostic,” 1.0% for negative (for malignancy), 50.0% for “atypical,” 0.0% for “neoplastic: benign,” 16% for “neoplastic: other,” 88% for “suspicious for malignancy,” and 100% for “positive or malignant.” <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> The proposed WHO international reporting system has advantages regarding risk stratification improvement and case management.

IntroductionMucosal healing is the main treatment goal in ulcerative colitis (UC). Many noninvasive parameters have been used in clinical practice to assess mucosal healing. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), C-reactive protein (CRP) x NLR and mean platelet volume (MPV) in predicting mucosal health. MethodThis study was designed as a retrospective and single-center. A total of 165 patients, 126 active and 39 in remission, were included in this study. The patients were divided into two groups. The patients were divided into two groups. Group-1 consisted of newly diagnosed patients and patients using only mesalazine; Group-2 was including patients using CS and/or AZT plus mesalazine for at least one month. The relationship between Rachmilewitz endoscopic activity index (EAI) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), CRP, NLR, CRP x NLR, MPV and platelet (PLT) was evaluated. Using receiver operating characteristic curves, cut-off values were determined for these parameters to predict active disease. ResultsA positive correlation was found between CRP, PLT and NLR and EAI (p<0.001). A negative correlation was found between MPV and EAI (p<0.001). The accuracy of CRP, NLR, CRP x NLR and PLT (2.65 mg/dl, 2.06, 4.29 and 278.5 x 10 9 /L at the indicated cut-off values, respectively) in detecting disease activity was 77.0%, 65.1%, 77.0% and 72.2%, respectively. MPV was not statistically significant in predicting disease activation (p> 0.05). ConclusionCRP and CRP x NLR are significant non-invasive markers for detecting mucosal health in UC. In addition, these markers can be used to evaluate mucosal health regardless of treatment types.

Objectives Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II (PIVKA-II) are used as tumour markers for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigate whether combined liver function marker such as gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and PIVKA-II increase their diagnostic predictive value in diagnosis of HCC. Methods The serum levels of PIVKA-II, AFP and GGT/AST ratio were analysed in 112 transplant candidates. Of these patients, 66 (59%) had HCC and 46 (41%) patients did not. Results Histological grade was positively correlated with serum levels of PIVKA-II and AFP (r = 0.255, P < 0.039 and r = 0.284, P < 0.021, respectively) and only tumour size positively correlated with the serum level of PIVKA-II (r = 0.270, P < 0.028), but no correlation between the number of tumour, Milan criteria and PIVKA-II (r = −0.002, P = 0.984 and r = 0.154, P = 0.216, respectively) with AFP (r = −0.024, P = 0.851 and r = 0.080, P = 0.522, respectively). Sensitivity and specificity of AFP, PIVKA-II and GGT/AST ratio at cutoff values of 6.08, 2.63 and 0.89, respectively, were as follows: 77, 77 vs 71, 83 vs 60 and 53%. The combination of AFP and PIVKA-II and GGT/AST ratio in HCC diagnosis increased AUROC values as follows; 0.860 vs 0.882 and 0.823 vs 0.840, respectively. Conclusions This study showed that combined tumour markers such as AFP, PIVKA-II and GGT/AST ratio increase their sensitivity in HCC diagnosis.

Background: Inflammation plays an important role in the development of cardiovascular disease, including atherosclerosis and arrhythmia. The aim of this study was to evaluate atrial conduction times (ACTs) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in which systemic chronic inflammation is evident. Methods: In this cross-sectional, prospective, single-center study, 79 IBD patients (51 ulcerative colitis; 28 Crohn's disease) and 70 healthy controls were included. Atrial electromechanical properties were measured by recording simultaneous surface electrocardiography (ECG) with transthoracic echocardiography (ECHO) and tissue Doppler imaging methods. The relationship between age, disease duration, and ACT was evaluated. Results: There were significantly increased conduction durations of lateral-PA (time interval from the onset of the P-wave on surface ECG to the beginning of the late diastolic wave), septal-PA, tricuspid-PA, and interatrial–electromechanical delay (IA-EMD), right intraatrial EMD, and left intraatrial (LI-EMD) durations in IBD patients ( P < 0.001). In IBD patients, there was a positive correlation with age, lateral PA, septal PA, tricuspid PA, IA-EMD, and LI-EMD ( P < 0.05). A positive correlation was found between disease duration and only lateral PA and tricuspid PA ( P < 0.05). Conclusion: In IBD patients, prolonged ACT consists a potential risk for severe atrial arrhythmias. ECG and ECHO screening can be useful in identifying risk groups in IBD patients and taking precautions for future cardiac complications.