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Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently the most common chronic liver disease worldwide, with high prevalence and mortality, and closely linked with other chronic non-communicable diseases which constitute severe problems presently, such as the metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. NAFLD encompasses a spectrum of histopathologic entities directly correlated with the natural history of the disease, where non-alcoholic hepatic steatosis is considered the benign initial form, previous to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which increases the risk of hepatic complications, as well as general and liver-related mortality. Although these descriptions are conceptually clear, diagnosis of entities in the NAFLD spectrum is often complex or difficult, especially for mild or incipient forms. Liver biopsy remains the gold standard procedure for their diagnosis. However, it is impractical for large-scale use, entails risks related to invasiveness and may have low sensitivity; while imaging techniques may be costly or logistically implausible. Identification of reliable circulating biomarkers for NAFLD may alleviate these problems. Nevertheless, because NAFLS is an eminently multifactorial, it is improbable that any sole marker be enough for certain diagnostic or prognostic assessment. This review summarizes new diagnostic approaches for NAFLD, centered on the use of biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol consumption is ubiquitous in all human societies, intimately imbricated in numerous cultures. This transcendence often obscures its true impact on health at a small and large scale. Alcohol exerts deleterious effects in various organ systems, being a well-known harm for the functioning of the mind-brain, as well as the gastrointestinal, endocrine-metabolic, immunologic, reproductive, and cardiovascular systems, among others. In particular, the effect of alcohol on the cardiovascular health-disease spectrum has been of special scientific and general interest. Classically, a J-shaped curve has been associated with the correlation between alcohol intake and cardiovascular mortality. This reflects an association of lower mortality with low and moderate doses, and the tendency of cardiovascular risk (CVR) to increase progressively with heavier forms of consumption. Nevertheless, in recent years, emergent evidence has placed doubt on the robustness and ubiquity of this type of link between alcohol and CVR. Considering the ever-present characteristic of alcohol in all demographics, it is understandable that this relationship would raise unprecedented degrees of scientific and general controversy and interest; especially surrounding reports describing some benefit for moderate alcohol intake. However, in light of more recent evidence, this precept becomes much less consolidated. This review summarizes and discusses novel findings regarding the relationship between alcohol and the development of cardiovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify the clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed with Pertussis like Syndrome at the Hospital General Liborio Panchana Sotomayor. Materials and methods: This was a descriptive and retrospective study in infant patients diagnosed with Pertussis like Syndrome of the mentioned hospital during the period from June 2015 to May 2017, the clinical data of the medical histories found in the medical records department. Results: Out of the 45 patients evaluated, 57.8% were male, the most frequent age group was 2-6 months (68.9%), in-hospital management was performed in 53.1% of them, the presence of leukocytosis with lymphocytosis was the most frequent laboratory finding (37.8%), the majority received treatment with macrolides (82.2%) and only 39.1% had complications (n=9) of the admitted patients. Conclusion: there is a high frequency of Pertussis like Syndrome in our children population with a predominance in male sex, with ages between 2-6 months, leukocytosis with lymphocytosis as the most frequent laboratory finding and use of macrolides as the main antimicrobial agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]