Search results for "CIRRHOSIS"
showing 10 items of 964 documents
Hepatitis C virus eradication by direct antiviral agents abates oxidative stress in patients with advanced liver fibrosis
2020
Background and aims: HCV eradication improves non-hepatic outcomes such as cardiovascular diseases, although without clearly defined mechanisms. In this study we aimed to assess whether improvement of carotid atherosclerosis may be linked to a reduction in systemic oxidative stress after viral clearance. Methods: We studied a retrospective cohort of 105 patients (age 62.4 ± 11.2 years; 62 men) with F3/F4 fibrosis, characterized by carotid ultrasonography at baseline and at sustained virologic response (SVR) follow-up. Levels of 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α (F2-isoprostanes) and other oxidative stress markers were measured on frozen sera. Association between change (denoted as Δ) in oxidative str…
Efficacy of an escalating dose regimen of pegylated interferon ?-2a plus ribavirin in the early phase of HCV reinfection after liver transplantation
2007
We evaluated the safety and efficacy of an escalating dose regimen of pegylated interferon alpha-2a (PEG-IFN(alpha-2a)) and ribavirin in the early phase of recurrent hepatitis C after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). In this prospective study, 26 patients transplanted for hepatitis C virus cirrhosis with recurrent hepatitis C were treated 3.4 +/- 3.6 months after OLT and compared with an untreated historical control. PEG-IFN(alpha-2a) was initiated as monotherapy, following stepwise dose escalation up to 180 mug/week and the addition of ribavirin up to 1200 mg/day or maximally tolerated doses for 48 weeks. In the intent-to-treat analysis, 38% showed an early virological response (EVR…
Association Between Serum Levels of Neurofilament Light Chains and Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis.
2021
INTRODUCTION: Serum biomarkers for the diagnosis of minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in patients with liver cirrhosis would be desirable. In this proof-of-concept study, we investigated the association between MHE and serum levels of neurofilament light chains (sNfL) in patients with liver cirrhosis. METHODS: sNfL were studied in patients with liver cirrhosis (with or without MHE) and controls (patients with ischemic stroke, transitory ischemic attack, and healthy individuals). MHE was diagnosed using the Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score. RESULTS: Patients with MHE showed higher sNfL than patients without MHE and controls. In multivariable analyses, higher sNfL were independent…
Oesophagogastroduodenoscopy in patients with cirrhosis: Extending the range of detection beyond portal hypertension
2010
Background: Oesophagogastroduodenoscopy is currently recommended for the screening of varices in cirrhosis. In addition to the assessment of varices, oesophagogastroduodenoscopy can detect conditions that, while unrelated to portal hypertension, may require treatment. Aims: We evaluated in a large cohort of cirrhotic patients the prevalence of upper digestive findings other than oesophagogastric varices, the associations between upper gastrointestinal findings, portal hypertension and features of cirrhosis, and the incidence of new lesions in the course of a surveillance program. Methods: Analysis of the records of 611 consecutive cirrhotic patients undergoing oesophagogastroduodenoscopy fo…
Health-related quality of life in patients with compensated and decompensated liver cirrhosis.
2019
Compensated (Child-Pugh [CP] A) and decompensated (CP B/C) liver cirrhosis significantly differs in terms of impairment of health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, sufficient data on potentially treatable factors associated with HRQoL in both stages of the disease are still lacking. Consequently, aims of this study were to determine differences in HRQoL between patients with compensated and decompensated liver cirrhosis and to identify potentially treatable factors associated with HRQoL.218 patients with liver cirrhosis were enrolled into this study. Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ) was used to assess HRQoL. Covert hepatic encephalopathy (CHE) was diagnosed according to a …
Outcome Prediction of Covert Hepatic Encephalopathy in Liver Cirrhosis: Comparison of Four Testing Strategies
2020
INTRODUCTION: Despite the negative impact of covert hepatic encephalopathy on the outcome of patients with liver cirrhosis, data regarding the ability of different testing strategies to predict overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE) development and mortality are limited. This study aimed to compare the ability of Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES), critical flicker frequency (CFF), simplified animal naming test (S-ANT1), and clinical covert hepatic encephalopathy (CCHE) score to predict OHE development and mortality. METHODS: A total of 224 patients with liver cirrhosis were tested with different testing strategies and prospectively followed up regarding clinically relevant outcom…
Impact of antithrombin III on hepatic and intestinal microcirculation in experimental liver cirrhosis and bowel inflammation: An in vivo analysis
2005
AIM: To analyze the hepatic and intestinal microcirculation in an animal model of liver cirrhosis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and to characterize the anti-inflammatory action of antithrombin III (ATIII) on leukocyte kinetics and liver damage. METHODS: Hepatic and intestinal microcirculation was investigated by intravital videomicroscopy. Standardized models of experimental chronic liver cirrhosis and bowel inflammation were employed. Animals were divided into four groups (n = 6/group): controls, animals with cirrhosis, animals with cirrhosis and IBD, animals with cirrhosis and IBD treated with ATIII. RESULTS: Cirrhosis facilitated leukocyte rolling and sticking in hepatic sinusoids…
Surveillance Program for Diagnosis of HCC in Liver Cirrhosis: Role of Ultrasound Echo Patterns
2017
International guidelines suggest ultrasound surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) early diagnosis in liver cirrhosis (LC) patients, but 40% of nodules <2 cm escape detection. We investigated the existence of an ultrasound pattern indicating a higher risk of developing HCC in patients under surveillance. 359 patients with LC (Child-Pugh A-B8) underwent ultrasound screening (median follow-up 54 months, range 12–90 months), liver function tests, alpha-fetoprotein assay, and portal hypertension evaluation. Echo patterns were homogeneous, bright liver, coarse, coarse small nodular pattern, and coarse large nodular pattern. During follow-up 13.9% developed HCC. At multivariate analys…
Apolipoprotein AI and HDL are reduced in stable cirrhotic patients with adrenal insufficiency: a possible role in glucocorticoid deficiency
2015
Backgrounds and aims: Adrenal insufficiency (AI) has been reported in patients with stable cirrhosis. A lack of substrates has been suggested as a possible contributing pathogenic mechanism leading to glucocorticoid deficiency in these subjects. To better explore this hypothesis, we studied lipoproteins in cirrhotics with and without AI. Methods. A total of 81 cirrhotic patients and 30 normal volunteers were enrolled. The severity of liver disease was graded by Child-Pugh score. Total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglyceride (TG), and apolipoprotein AI (Apo-AI) levels were evaluated. HDL subfractions were measured by gradient gel electrop…
Nontumorous portal vein thrombosis in liver cirrhosis: Possible role of β-blockers
2018
<b><i>Objective:</i></b> Nonselective β-blockers (NSBB) are used in liver cirrhosis (LC) to prevent variceal bleeding because they decrease portal pressure. A main risk factor for the development of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in LC is decreased portal vein inflow velocity. The aim of our study was to examine retrospectively the incidence of PVT and its correlation with the use of β-blockers in a cohort of LC patients. <b><i>Subjects and Methods:</i></b> Data from 230 LC patients (90% Child-Pugh class A), who had been followed up for at least 5 years, were reviewed. The diagnosis of PVT was made by ultrasound. The presence of PVT was evaluate…