In addition to a general health appraisal, the preoperative medic

In addition to a general health appraisal, the preoperative medical assessment should include a history, including history of prior surgery as well as response

to bypassing agents, and an evaluation http://www.selleckchem.com/products/gsk1120212-jtp-74057.html for comorbid conditions, such as hepatitis C or HIV infection or cardiopulmonary, renal, or liver disease, for the purposes of appropriate anaesthetic management and medication dosing. A comprehensive laboratory evaluation, including complete blood count; tests for liver and renal function; blood type; and haemostatic workup, including prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), fibrinogen, inhibitor assay, and for patients who have a low-titre inhibitor or who are undergoing immune tolerance therapy (ITT), a review of their pharmacokinetics study, which may be used to guide the

dosing frequency of factor concentrates. A thrombophilia workup (factor V Leiden, prothrombin mutation, proteins C and S, and antithrombin levels), although not routinely performed, can be undertaken in those with a prior history or family history of thrombosis. In conjunction with the pain management team, a preoperative assessment of pain and current and prior use of prescribed opioids, illicit drugs or recreational substances should be performed. Dental evaluation and treatment may click here be warranted, particularly if implantation of a prosthetic device or CVAD is expected. A physical therapy evaluation may also be warranted for patients undergoing elective orthopaedic surgery (EOS). During the initial preoperative

visit, the therapist will typically evaluate the patient’s baseline musculoskeletal and functional status and bleeding patterns in preparation for planning a postoperative rehabilitative regimen and initiate 上海皓元医药股份有限公司 a plan for preoperative therapy, or ‘prehabilitation,’ as needed [8]. In addition, the therapist can determine the necessity for mobility aids or adaptations to the home environment that may facilitate mobility and prevent injury after discharge. Additional preoperative considerations may include devising a plan for perioperative intravenous access. For long-term postoperative access, placement of a CVAD or a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) may be considered in lieu of peripheral access [14]. However, given that the presence of inhibitors is an independent risk factor for infection after total knee replacement (TKR) [15], the potential benefits of CVAD placement must be weighed against the risk for infection in patients with inhibitors. Patients should be advised to discontinue any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or antiplatelet agents a week prior to surgery [13]. Referral should be made to a dietician to evaluate nutritional status, since obesity or malnourishment as determined by body mass index is an important predictor of postoperative complications [16, 17].

4 However, one of the major unresolved issues is still who is at

4 However, one of the major unresolved issues is still who is at sufficiently high risk of HCC that they should be screened. The only practical method to determine AP24534 in vitro this is by modeling studies, since it is not possible to undertake randomized controlled trials in each

subgroup of potentially at-risk subjects. Most modeling studies demonstrate that the efficacy of screening depends on disease incidence. In general, screening becomes effective at an HCC incidence of somewhere above 1.5%-2%/year for cirrhosis. The only categories of liver disease that clearly exceed this threshold are cirrhosis from chronic hepatitis B or C and stage 4 primary biliary cirrhosis.5-7 In other causes of cirrhosis, including alcoholic liver disease, the incidence of HCC is not as well documented. In the Jepsen et al. study1 the authors used administrative databases in Denmark to demonstrate that the incidence of HCC in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis at about 1% over 5 years is too low to warrant this website screening using the 1.5% annual incidence cutoff suggested in the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) guidelines. There are some questions about the study. The diagnosis of cirrhosis was not confirmed by biopsy, but is nonetheless

likely to be accurate. A more detailed review of medical records in a subcohort confirmed the accuracy of the discharge diagnoses obtained from the database. We cannot be sure, however, whether confounders such as alcoholic hepatitis were accounted for. The diagnoses of HCC were taken from the Danish Cancer registry, which 上海皓元 is apparently

100% accurate, i.e., all diagnosed HCCs were captured, but it is not certain that this represents all HCCs. We are not told what follow-up was provided to the patients with cirrhosis, or whether all patients underwent screening subsequent to the diagnosis of cirrhosis. If follow-up did not include HCC screening it is possible that some of the deaths attributed to cirrhosis were actually related to HCC. In the absence of imaging it is impossible to separate death from progressive liver disease from death from HCC. The authors found that the incidence of HCC was higher in the subcohort where detailed chart analysis was performed, suggesting that such a possibility of misdiagnosis in the remaining cohort cannot be ruled out. The incidence of HCC is at the lower end of reported rates.8-10 Second, there is a very high death rate overall. Sixty-seven percent of the patients died within about 7 years of diagnosis, presumably of their liver disease or other causes of death associated with alcohol excess. Therefore, death from advanced liver disease was a competing cause that may have reduced the overall HCC incidence. Most patients with alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis present late in the course of their disease, with the ascites or with jaundice.

10) This report follows the PRISMA guidelines24 and the Cochrane

10). This report follows the PRISMA guidelines24 and the Cochrane collaboration guideline for reporting meta-analyses. Eight trials including naïve G1 patients comparing extended versus standard duration of peg-IFN plus ribavirin combination therapy were considered for this meta-analysis.7-10, 19, 21, 25-27 One trial was excluded because the longest extended treatment duration was 68 weeks.25 The DITTO-HCV study was also excluded because virologic outcome was not provided by the investigators.27 The six STA-9090 in vitro other trials published as full articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. In two trials, patients received a

fixed 800-mg/day ribavirin regimen,7, 8 whereas in the four other trials, patients received a weight-based ribavirin regimen.

The study design was variable regarding Selleck GSK 3 inhibitor the randomization procedure at baseline, week 4, week 12, week 24, or week 36. Several studies reported the results of G1 and G4 patients together, so we restricted our report to G1 patients alone. The main characteristics of the selected trials are shown in Table 1. Of a total of 3,599 G1-naïve patients treated by peg-IFN plus ribavirin, 567 slow-responder patients were randomized to receive 48 versus 72 weeks of combination therapy. Slow virologic response was defined by detectable HCV RNA at week 12 despite a log drop in viral load of more than 2 from baseline and undetectable HCV RNA at week 24. Data from clinical trials comparing SVR after

48 or 72 weeks of combination therapy in G1 patients with slow virologic response are shown in Table 2. The 72-week extended duration of peg-IFN plus ribavirin therapy was associated with a significant increase in the rate of SVR, compared with the standard 48-week duration of therapy (39.4% versus 30.3%; risk ratio: 1.40; 95% CI: 1.11-1.77; P = 0.003). The increase in SVR rate associated with extended duration was 10.7% (weight-adjusted risk difference; 95% CI: +4.4% to +17.1%; P = 0.0009). This benefit was observed in trials that used a fixed 800-mg/day ribavirin regimen with an increase in SVR rate of 19.6% (95% CI: +4.8% to +34.3%; P = 0.009) and also in trials using a weight-based ribavirin regimen. The increase in SVR associated with MCE公司 extended duration was then 8.7% (95% CI: +1.7% to +15.8%; P = 0.014). This analysis is summarized in Fig. 1A. Rate of relapse was lower in the group treated for 72 weeks (16.0% versus 33.0%; risk ratio: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.37-0.77; P = 0.008). The weight-adjusted risk difference was –12.3% (−25.4% to 0%; P = 0.005). Rate of dropouts was not statistically different between the extended duration and the standard duration groups, despite a trend toward higher dropouts in the extended-duration group (16.6% versus 10.4%; risk ratio: 1.46; 95% CI: 0.98-2.19; P = 0.065). The weight-adjusted risk difference was +4.5% (95% CI: −0.6% to +9.6%; P = 0.082).

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has proven effective for treating H

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has proven effective for treating HCC nodules, but its repeatability in managing recurrences and the impact of this approach on survival has not been evaluated. To this end, we retrospectively analyzed a Ceritinib prospective series of 706 patients with cirrhosis (Child-Pugh class ≤B7) who underwent RFA for 859 HCC ≤35 mm in diameter (1-2 per patient). The results of RFA were classified as complete responses (CRs) or treatment failures. CRs were obtained in 849 nodules (98.8%) and 696 patients (98.5%). During follow-up (median, 29 months), 465 (66.8%) of the 696 patients with CRs experienced a first recurrence at an incidence

rate of 41 per 100 person-years (local recurrence 6.2; nonlocal 35). Cumulative incidences check details of first recurrence at 3 and 5 years were 70.8% and 81.7%, respectively. RFA was repeated in 323 (69.4%) of the 465 patients with first recurrence, restoring disease-free status in 318 (98.4%) cases. Subsequently, RFA was repeated in 147 (65.9%) of the 223 patients who developed a second recurrence after CR of the first, restoring disease-free status in 145 (98.6%) cases. Overall, there were 877 episodes of recurrence (1-8 per patient); 577 (65.8%) of these underwent RFA that achieved CRs in 557 (96.5%) cases. No procedure-related deaths occurred in 1,921 RFA sessions. Estimated 3- and 5-year overall and disease-free

(after repeated RFAs) survival rates were 67.0% and 40.1% and 68.0 and 38.0%, respectively. Conclusion: RFA is safe and effective for managing HCC in patients with cirrhosis, and its high repeatability makes it particularly valuable for controlling intrahepatic recurrences. (HEPATOLOGY 2011) Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of death from cancer worldwide.1 Most HCC patients have underlying cirrhosis, which MCE complicates management of their cancer and is often the direct cause of death.2 Internationally endorsed guidelines currently recommend surgical resection for early-stage HCCs in patients with well-preserved liver function.3,

4 When surgery is not possible, there are several minimally invasive options for chemical or thermal tumor ablation.5-8 One of the most effective is radiofrequency ablation (RFA),9 which is now considered potentially curative for early-stage HCCs in patients with or without surgical prospects.3, 4, 10-12 Local tumor control and survival are the parameters most widely used to assess the efficacy of surgical and nonsurgical treatments for HCC.6-16 Data on local control are fairly easy to interpret: disease relapse at the treated tumor site is regarded as a treatment failure. Survival data are more difficult to interpret. The risk of death is influenced by the outcome of the first treatment,3, 4 but also by tumor characteristics (e.g., multifocal progression, vascular involvement, etc.) and by factors partially or wholly unrelated to tumor (e.g.

In addition, episodes of serious bleeding may result in long peri

In addition, episodes of serious bleeding may result in long periods of inactivity. Finally, co-morbidities such as HIV and hepatitis C and their treatment may lead to bone mass loss. Thus, haemophilia has a number of predisposing factors associated with decreased BMD and such patients are at higher risk than the general population to develop osteoporosis [28,29]. One of the first clinical studies in haemophilia involved 19 men with severe haemophilia A (HIV negative, but 18/19 were positive Selleck PLX4032 for hepatitis C antibodies) [30]. Compared with age/sex matched controls BMD was significantly lower in the lumbar spine

(P = 0.018) and the femoral neck (P < 0.0005) in patients with haemophilia. Serum levels of total alkaline phosphatases and gamma-glutamyl

transferase were markedly elevated. This led the authors to suggest that the osteopenia observed in this haemophiliac cohort may be due to liver dysfunction, although they acknowledged that other factors such as relative immobility may TSA HDAC also be relevant [30]. More recently, Gerstner and colleagues [28] studied 30 patients with moderate to severe haemophilia to ascertain risk factors associated with decreased BMD. In this trial 70% of haemophiliac patients had decreased BMD, 43% had osteopenia and 27% osteoporosis. Factors associated with increased bone loss were: 1  Decreased joint mobility (P = 0.046). Table 3 presents findings from some representative studies on adults and children with haemophilia in which BMD data were reported [31–35]. They all show that BMD is lower in haemophiliac patients compared with controls. Pathophysiological changes associated with osteoporosis are almost irreversible as they involve loss of bone microarchitecture, and therefore preventative strategies in patients with haemophilia are the preferred option. There is good evidence that long-term factor prophylaxis from early childhood to prevent bleeding helps preserve 上海皓元 normal BMD [29]. In those countries where primary prophylaxis is not economically viable prompt treatment

with clotting factor to stop the bleeding is advocated, followed by stabilization of the joint. After the bleeding is resolved early mobilization is recommended. Physicians should then encourage participation in suitable regular physical activities [35,36]. Figure 2 outlines various treatment options for haemophiliac men with low BMD. In those with osteopenia various non-prescription medications and lifestyle changes such as calcium, vitamin D and increased exercise may help. However, in patients with osteoporosis drug therapy is required and a number of drug classes are available including the bisphosphonates, estrogens, calcitonins and monoclonal antibodies. 1  Osteoporosis can cause significant morbidity and mortality in the general population.

These values were averaged for each photograph and the relative f

These values were averaged for each photograph and the relative fluorescence of all photographs was averaged for each replicate. Mean fluorescence for wounded and sham-wounded samples incubated without DCFH-DA were subtracted from the values for samples incubated with DCFH-DA to correct for background fluorescence. When 10% of replicates were re-measured, they were on average

<5% different from the original measured value. Cellular accumulation of strong oxidants after grazing was determined for P. decipiens, the only species of macroalgae AP24534 included in this study that is palatable to the amphipod G. antarctica, by measuring the oxidation of DCFH in vivo. Circular, paired P. decipiens samples (n = 5, 8–10 mm diameter) were excised with a cork borer 24–48 h prior to experimentation and held in flowing seawater until use. Both samples from each individual were placed in a plastic bottle containing five G. antarctica in filtered seawater. Bottles were floated in an aquarium containing flow-through ambient seawater (~1.5°C) for 2 h to allow grazing. Samples were removed from grazers and one sample was incubated

with DCFH-DA, while its paired sample was incubated in the same manner, but without DCFH-DA, as described previously. Samples were viewed microscopically and imaged according to the previous section with the exception that three photographs were taken of each sample, each photograph containing Talazoparib concentration a haphazardly chosen section of grazed

edge with a substantial portion of inner, ungrazed thallus. Since G. antarctica feed on edges (authors’ personal observations), photographs were analyzed for brightness using ImageJ as above, but the five randomly determined sections analyzed for grazed tissue were chosen from directly along the grazed thallus edge and the five randomly determined sections analyzed for control tissue were chosen from directly along the side of the photograph nearest the inner, ungrazed thallus. Strong oxidants in the seawater medium were quantified medchemexpress by measuring the oxidation of DCFH in the presence of esterase and peroxidase using a fluorometer (following Weinberger et al. 1999) before and 1 min after wounding. Paired samples of A. mirabilis, H. grandifolius, T. antarcticus (n = 10), and D. anceps and P. decipiens (n = 9) were placed in 15 mL SFSW under constant rotation on ice. Samples were wounded by multiple punches using a sterile plastic 5 mL pipette tip over the entire thallus surface. Paired, control tissue was treated in the same way as wounded samples with the exception of wounding. To sample, 1,000 μL of the seawater medium was combined with either 500 U catalase (Sigma C9322) in DI or the same volume of DI water.

73 copies/mL (404-911 copies/mL), 358 IU/mL (117-510 IU/mL),

73 copies/mL (4.04-9.11 copies/mL), 3.58 IU/mL (1.17-5.10 IU/mL), and 1.71 Paul Ehrlich (PE) IU/mL (−0.64 to 2.63 PE IU/mL), respectively. For the prediction of VR (HBV DNA

< 60 copies/mL at 24 months) in HBeAg(+) LY294002 purchase patients, baseline alanine aminotransferase (P = 0.013), HBV DNA (P = 0.040), and qHBsAg levels (P = 0.033) were significant. For the prediction of VR, the area under the curve for the baseline log qHBsAg level was 0.823 (P < 0.001); a cutoff level of 3.98 IU/mL (9550 IU/mL on a nonlogarithmic scale) yielded the highest predictive value with a sensitivity of 86.8% and a specificity of 78.9%. As for SR (HBeAg loss at 24 months), the reduction of qHBeAg was significantly greater in the SR(+) group versus the SR(−) group. The sensitivity and specificity were 75.0% and 89.8%, respectively, with a decline of 1.00 PE IU/mL at 6 months. With ETV therapy, the correlation between HBV DNA and qHBsAg peaked at 6 months in HBeAg(+) patients. Conclusion: Both qHBsAg and qHBeAg decreased significantly with ETV therapy. The baseline qHBsAg levels and the on-treatment decline of qHBeAg in HBeAg(+) patients were proven to be highly useful in predicting VR and SR, respectively. The determination of qHBsAg and qHBeAg can help us to select the appropriate strategy for the management of patients with CHB. However, the dynamic interplay between qHBsAg,

qHBeAg, and HBV DNA during antiviral therapy remains to be elucidated. (Hepatology 2011;) Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a worldwide health problem, with more than 400 million people thought to www.selleckchem.com/products/rxdx-106-cep-40783.html be infected. Moreover, these patients are at increased risk for disease progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.1 Large cohort studies have shown that elevated levels of HBV DNA are closely associated with the development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and reducing HBV DNA to undetectable levels is one of the primary goals in patients receiving antiviral therapy.2,

3 The current gold standard in monitoring viral loads is real-time 上海皓元 polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which offers high sensitivity and accuracy.4 Data from these assays reflect the disease status and are employed by most clinical studies.2, 3 The shortcomings of PCR, however, are its relatively high cost and unavailability in some areas. Moreover, viral activity can still be monitored in patients with undetectable HBV DNA through the measurement of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and/or hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) titers. HBsAg has long served as a qualitative serological marker for the diagnosis of HBV. Recent advances in the development of HBsAg assays with a quantitative, analytical approach have led to the exploration of its potential role in monitoring disease and therapy outcome. Since 2004, when Deguchi et al.

However, because the net result of global miRNA deficiency in hep

However, because the net result of global miRNA deficiency in hepatocytes was impaired

S phase Y-27632 price entry, loss of miR-378 appears to be insufficient to compensate loss of miR-21 during liver regeneration. Specific inhibition of miR-21 and miR-378 in vivo could be used to delineate their individual contributions to regulation of liver regeneration.30 Because a single miRNA typically targets many genes, the effects of miR-21 and miR-378 during liver regeneration are most likely not restricted to inhibition of Btg2 and Odc1. For example, in addition to Tgfbi and Smad7, the TargetScan algorithm predicts Tgfbr2, Acvr1c (activin A receptor 1C), and Acvr2a (activin A receptor 2A) as direct and conserved miR-21 targets

involved in TGFβ and activin signaling. miR-21 might target these genes to limit the inhibitory effect of TGFβ and activin signaling on G1 to S phase transition of hepatocytes after 2/3 PH.25 The levels of the proliferation-promoting gene Ccnd1 were increased in hepatocytes with global miRNA deficiency before 2/3 PH. Our selleck miRNA profiling revealed that miR-16, an miRNA known to inhibit Ccnd1 in the prostate, is expressed in the liver.31 Thus, loss of miR-16 may explain de-repression of Ccnd1 in Dgcr8del/fl, Alb-Cre+/− mice. In analogy, it is possible that loss of other miRNAs normally expressed in hepatocytes but not induced by 2/3 PH may contribute to impaired liver regeneration in Dgcr8del/fl, Alb-Cre+/− mice. This could explain the spontaneous oval cell activation in a subset of Dgcr8del/fl, Alb-Cre+/− mice. In addition, mouse miRNAs continue to be identified and we cannot rule out that miRNAs not represented on our arrays play a role in liver regeneration. However, in contrast to findings after DGCR8 inactivation in the skin,32 miR-21 was depleted in whole liver samples of mice 上海皓元医药股份有限公司 with hepatocyte-specific DGCR8 deficiency. This shows that miR-21 is mainly

expressed in hepatocytes in the liver and supports our conclusion that miR-21 directly regulates cell cycle progression in hepatocytes. Specific induction of miR-21 in G1 phase after 2/3 PH and impaired G1 to S phase transition in both hepatocytes with global miRNA deficiency and in those with FoxM1 deficiency further suggest that miR-21 plays a leading role in miRNA regulation of liver regeneration. Our analyses focused on miRNA target genes that are conserved between mouse and human. Although little has been reported about miR-378′s regulation or function, the expression of miR-21 is known to be increased in primary human liver cancer.33, 34 Moreover, miR-21 has been shown to promote proliferation of human liver cancer cell lines by inhibition of the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) tumor suppressor.33 Therefore, it is likely that miR-21 inhibits Btg2, and potentially other regulators of hepatocyte proliferation, also in human liver regeneration. The authors thank Dr.

Our data show that this is not the case, implying the lack of any

Our data show that this is not the case, implying the lack of any major iron regulatory role of putative muscle-derived sHjv under physiological conditions. We do not expect that the small genetic background differences of the mice would substantially affect iron parameters, as between distinct pure inbred strains.43, 44 Nevertheless, direct measurement of sHjv levels in the serum of mice with tissue-specific disruption of Hjv and wildtype controls, as well as assessment of its capacity to inhibit

BMP signaling, are required to further validate the origin and the function of circulating sHjv. In conclusion, our overall data demonstrate that hepatic Hjv is necessary and sufficient to prevent iron overload and control hepcidin expression, whereas muscle Hjv is dispensable. Similar conclusions were drawn in a report that was recently published while this http://www.selleckchem.com/products/bgj398-nvp-bgj398.html article was under review.45 We thank Dr. Mike Rudnicki (University of Ottawa) for the MCK-Cre mice and Dr. Nancy EPZ-6438 concentration Andrews (Duke University) for the Hjv−/− mice. We also thank Dr. Naciba Benlimame for assistance with histology. K.P. holds a Chercheur National career award from the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Quebéc (FRSQ). K.G. is supported by doctoral awards from the J. Latsis and A. Onassis Public Benefit Foundations. Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article.

MCE公司
“Aim:  The aim of this prospective study was to determine cow’s milk protein allergy (CMPA) cases in a tertiary care hospital in India and to study its clinical presentations and outcome following treatment. Methods:  Consecutive children with chronic diarrhea from June 2004 to December 2007 were evaluated with hemogram, anti-endomysial antibody, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, sigmoidoscopy and intestinal biopsies. Initial diagnosis of CMPA was based on characteristic intestinal biopsy (> 6 eosinophils/HPF) and diagnosis was confirmed by positive milk challenge. Results:  Forty CMPA cases (25 boys, with a mean age of 17.2 ± 7.8 months and symptom duration

of 8.3 ± 6.2 months) presented with diarrhea (bloody in 16, watery in 16, combined in three, recurrent hematemesis in two, rectal bleeding in one and one case each with pain in the abdomen with vomiting and anemia with occult bleeding). Sigmoidoscopy revealed aphthous ulcers in 82% of cases and rectal biopsy was positive in 97% of cases. All children improved on a milk-free diet. Milk challenge was positive in 100% of cases when it was done early (within 6 months). On follow up of 15 ± 9 months, milk was successfully restarted in 25 cases after a median milk-free period of 15 months, 10 were still on a milk-free diet and five were lost to follow up while on a milk-free diet. Conclusions:  CMPA is not uncommon in a developing country such as India.

Genetic relationships between individuals can, in turn, affect

Genetic relationships between individuals can, in turn, affect BTK inhibitor their social behaviour and the emergent

social organization of the population. Using combination of behavioural and genetic data from the wild boar Sus scrofa population in Białowieża Primeval Forest (eastern Poland), we evaluated the socio-genetic structure of wild boar groups, the spatial genetic structure of the population and dispersal patterns. We found that wild boar post-weaning movements were largely spatially limited to the vicinity of maternal range, with female boars showing a tendency to settle in the direct neighbourhood of the kin and male boars dispersing further away from the natal area. Consequently, such dispersal patterns were reflected in the kin-based social organization and the spatial genetic structure of the population, which was manifested at a spatial scale corresponding to the size of a few home ranges (<5 km). A negative relationship between geographic distance and genetic relatedness, which was particularly strong in female boars, indicated a presence

of local kin clusters dominated by female boars and the importance of female philopatry in shaping the structure of wild boar population. This was confirmed by the genetic profile and composition of social groups. This study showed the role dispersal decisions can play in the emergence Akt inhibitor of the kin-based and matrilineal social system of wild boars. “
“Morphological adaptations of amphisbaenians for a fossorial life constrain their ecological demands in a greater way than for epigeal reptiles. Studies on the diet of amphisbaenians suggest that most species are generalists, although others seem more selective. However, there is no information on the diet preferences of almost any species because most studies

did not evaluate the availability 上海皓元医药股份有限公司 of prey in the environment. We analysed the spring diet selection of a population of the amphisbaenian Trogonophis wiegmanni from the Chafarinas Islands, in North Africa. We specifically examined diet estimated from faecal material collected from live amphisbaenians and compared diet with the availability of invertebrates in the soil. Results indicate that the diet of T. wiegmanni amphisbaenians consists of some of the types of invertebrates that are more commonly found under rocks used by amphisbaenians, such as insect larvae, snails, isopods, beetles and ants. This diet could be initially considered generalist, and probably opportunistic. However, the comparison of proportions of prey types in the diet and those available in the habitat revealed that T. wiegmanni does not eat prey at random, but selects some particular prey types (insect larvae and pupae and, surprisingly, snails), while others (ants and isopods) are consumed less than expected by their abundance. We did not found differences between sexes or age classes in diet composition.