Primary biliary cirrhosis is often associated with autoimmune diseases. However, its association with pernicious anemia has rarely been reported.We report a case of a 68-year-old woman who presented jaundice and pruritus. Mildly elevated serum levels of alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase were detected. The titer of anti-mitochondrial M(2 )anti-body was elevated. Histology of...

Cholangiocarcinoma is a fatal cancer of the biliary epithelium and has an incidence that is increasing worldwide. Survival beyond a year of diagnosis is less than 5%, and therapeutic options are few. Known risk factors include biliary diseases such as primary sclerosing cholangitis and parasitic infestation of the biliary tree, but most cases are not associated with any of these underlying dise...

It is known that the fluids bathing tumors might contain a higher level of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) than those found in the blood. Therefore, we evaluated the role of bile CEA in diagnosing bile duct cancer. One hundred and thirty two patients were prospectively studied. The patients were divided into 3 groups: the bile duct cancer (n=32), pancreatic cancer (n=16), and benign biliary ...

BACKGROUND Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), also known as Osler-Weber-Rendu syndrome, is a rare autosomal dominant genetic vascular dysplasia. OBJECTIVES The aim is to characterize the liver involvement of HHT by multi-detector helical computed tomography. PATIENTS AND METHODS Through the use of multi-detector helical computed tomography, scan data derived from 12 cases of HHT w...

UNLABELLED : BACKGROUND Up to now, few data are available regarding the clinical characteristics of autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis overlap syndrome. The study was to investigate and analyze the prevalent and clinical features of Chinese patients with this disease. METHODS Clinical data on patients diagnosed as autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis overlap sy...

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is essential for the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatobiliary diseases but is invasive and may induce various complications, such as pancreatitis, cholangitis, hemorrhage and perforation. For successful and safe ERCP procedures first, initial selective cannulation without complications is essential. However, even in experts, selective bil...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Intraductal ultrasonography (IDUS) has been performed as an adjunct to endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC) during radiocontrast cholangiography (RC). Radiation exposure during RC poses a health risk to both patients and examiners. We evaluated the feasibility of IDUS without RC in various extrahepatic biliary diseases. METHODS IDUS was performed with the insertion of a...

Cholangiocytes are the epithelial cells that line the bile ducts. Along the biliary tree, two different kinds of cholangiocytes exist; small and large cholangiocytes. Each type has important differences in their biological role in physiological and pathological conditions. In response to injury, cholangiocytes become reactive and acquire a neuroendocrine-like phenotype with the secretion of a n...

Calreticulin plays a critical role in the etiology of multiple autoimmune diseases. It is unknown, however, whether calreticulin levels are of clinical significance for patients with biliary atresia. This study was to confirm possible correlations between serum calreticulin levels and the immunohistochemical features of biliary atresia. Serum was collected from 44 biliary atresia patients, 15 i...

Submit Manuscript | http://medcraveonline.com the last fifty years, 20 cases have been reported in the literature [1]. The decrease incidence of this complication is probably due to the technologic developments in imaging techniques, efficient use of broadspectrum antibiotics and impetuous and rational surgical management of the biliary tract diseases [2]. External fistulas of the biliary tract...