an 11-year-old female patient with autoimmune hepatitis (aih) was referred to our rheumatology clinic due to her current musculoskeletal manifestations. the patient had been diagnosed with aih 3 months previously, based on jaundice and impaired liver function tests, and she had been treated with low-dose prednisolone and azathioprine. she presented with malaise, arthritis, a malar rash on the f...

chronic liver diseases in children is the result of many different diseases including: metabolic, genetic, infectious, toxic and idiopathic causes. this was a case series study on 133 infants and children with age range 6 month to 12 years old, who presented clinically with manifestation of chronic liver disease and were admitted to children hospital medical center from year 1999 to 2000. in th...

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), also known as human herpesvirus 4, is a member of the Herpesviridae virus family. EBV infection can cause infectious mononucleosis (IM) in the lytic phase of EBV's life cycle. Past EBV infection is associated with lymphomas, and may also result in certain allergic and autoimmune diseases. Although potential mechanisms of autoimmune diseases have not been clearly el...

CONTEXT The PNPLA3 I148M variant has been recognized as a genetic determinant of liver fat content and a genetic risk factor of liver damage progression associated with steatohepatitis. The I148M variant is associated with many chronic liver diseases. However, its potential association with inflammatory and autoimmune liver diseases has not been established. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION We systemical...

background: celiac disease (cd) has been found in up to 10% of the patients presenting with unexplained abnormal liver function tests (lft). as there is no precise data from our country in this regard, we investigated the prevalence of cd in patients presenting with abnormal lft. methods: from 2003 to 2008, we measured iga anti-tissue transglutaminase (t-tg) antibody (with elisa technique) with...

Interleukin-1 family 7 (IL-1F7) is a novel member of IL-1F cytokines. IL-1F7 is more commonly known as IL-37. IL-37 join the α-subunit of the IL-18 receptor, or IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP), and binding of these proteins can enhance the IL-18 suppression. IL-37 also translocates to the cell nucleus and affects gene transcription. IL-37 inhibits the phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated pr...

Macrophagic myofasciitis was first reported in 1998. This disease manifests as diffuse myalgia and chronic fatigue. Its pathophysiology has been traced to the presence of an aluminum adjuvant used in vaccines against hepatitis A and B virus and tetanus toxoid; the adjuvant aggregates at the site of injection. One-third of patients with macrophagic myofasciitis develop autoimmune disease. Vocal ...

OBJECTIVES To review and evaluate the role of vitamin D in autoimmune diseases based on current studies. METHOD We searched PubMed using keywords such as 'vitamin D', 'autoimmune disease', and 'autoimmunity'. We compiled and reviewed various studies including prospective cohorts, cross-sectional studies, longitudinal evaluations, genetic studies, and experimental models that investigated the ...