Search results for "Gastroenterology and hepatology"
showing 10 items of 93 documents
Serological Tests Do Not Predict Residual Fibrosis in Hepatitis C Cirrhotics with a Sustained Virological Response to Interferon
2016
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Liver biopsy (LB) has lost popularity to stage liver fibrosis in the era of highly effective anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy, yet diagnosis of persistent cirrhosis may have important implications following HCV eradication. As performance of serological non-invasive tests (NITs) to predict residual fibrosis in non-viremic HCV patients is unknown, we investigated accuracy of NITs to predict residual fibrosis in cirrhotics after a sustained virological response (SVR) to interferon (IFN). METHODS: Thirty-eight patients with a pre-treatment histological diagnosis of cirrhosis and a 48–104 months post-SVR LB were tested with APRI, CDS, FIB-4, FibroQ, Forns Score, GUCI Ind…
The PHES battery does not detect all cirrhotic patients with early neurological deficits, which are different in different patients.
2017
Background and aims The psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES) is the “gold standard” for minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) diagnosis. Some reports suggest that some cirrhotic patients “without” MHE according to PHES show neurological deficits and other reports that neurological alterations are not homogeneous in all cirrhotic patients. This work aimed to assess whether: 1) a relevant proportion of cirrhotic patients show neurological deficits not detected by PHES; 2) cirrhotic patients with mild neurological deficits are a homogeneous population or may be classified in sub-groups according to specific deficits. Methods Cirrhotic patients “without” (n = 56) or “with” MHE (n = 4…
Significant liver fibrosis assessed using liver transient elastography is independently associated with low bone mineral density in patients with non…
2017
Background Metabolic bone disorders frequently occur in patients with chronic liver disease; however, the association between liver fibrosis and bone mineral density in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is unclear. Methods This is a cross-sectional analysis of 231 asymptomatic subjects (160 women, 61.6 years old) from a university hospital setting, between February 2012 and December 2014. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured at the lumbar spine, femur neck, and total hip using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Liver fibrosis and steatosis were assessed using transient elastography. Results Among a total of 231 individuals, 129 subjects (55.8%) had NAFLD. BMDs …
Serum γ-glutamyl transferase levels, insulin resistance and liver fibrosis in patients with chronic liver diseases.
2012
Background and Aims: Serum levels of γ-glutamyl-transpeptidase(γ-GT) were associated with liver disease severity and metabolic alterations, which in turn are able to affect hepatic damage. In patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C (G1CHC) and chronic hepatitis B (CHB), we assessed the link between liver fibrosis and γ-GT serum levels, and we evaluated if normal or high γ-GT serum levels affect the association between insulin resistance (IR) and severity of liver fibrosis. Methods: 843 consecutive patients with chronic liver disease (CLD)(193 NAFLD, 481 G1CHC, 169 CHB) were evaluated by liver biopsy (Kleiner and Scheuer scores) and clinical and…
In HCV-related liver cirrhosis, local pulse wave velocity increases and in decompensated patients correlates with poorer survival
2018
BackgroundCirrhotic cardiomyopathy (CCM) refers to cardiac dysfunction in patients with liver cirrhosis, in the absence of other known cardiac disease.MethodsControl group and patients diagnosed of liver cirrhosis without known cardiac disease or hepatocellular carcinoma were enrolled for this clinical observation study. Patients with diabetes mellitus, hypertension were excluded. Absolute global longitudinal strain, one-point carotid pulse wave velocity (one-point PWV) and various parameters were measured in resting status.ResultsThere were 29 participants in the control group and 80 patients in the liver cirrhosis group. 27.8% of cirrhotic patients presented with normal systolic but abnor…
Genetic variation in the TLL1 gene is not associated with fibrosis in patients with metabolic associated fatty liver disease.
2020
Metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is the most prevalent liver disease in Western nations, with high heritability. A recent study of Japanese patients with the disease suggested that TLL1 rs17047200 is associated with fibrosis; whether a similar association is observed in Caucasian patients with MAFLD is unknown. We investigated the association of the TLL1 rs17047200 polymorphism with liver fibrosis in a cohort of Caucasian patients with MAFLD (n = 728). We also investigated whether TLL1 expression is altered during liver injury in humans, in murine models of fibrosis, and in in-vitro. While TLL1 expression is upregulated in the liver of humans with MAFLD and in mice, the rs17…
Glucokinase Regulatory Protein Gene Polymorphism Affects Liver Fibrosis in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
2014
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Variant in glucokinase regulatory protein (GCKR), associated with lipid and glucose traits, has been suggested to affect fatty liver infiltration. We aimed to assess whether GCKR rs780094 C-->T SNP influences the expression of steatosis, lobular inflammation and fibrosis in NAFLD patients, after correction for PNPLA3 genotype. METHODS: In 366 consecutive NAFLD patients (197 from Sicily, and 169 from center/northern Italy), we assessed anthropometric, biochemical and metabolic features; liver biopsy was scored according to Kleiner. PNPLA3 rs738409 C>G and GCKR rs780094 C>T single nucleotide polymorphisms were also assessed. RESULTS: At multivariate logistic regression an…
Reproductive status is associated with the severity of fibrosis in women with hepatitis C.
2012
Introduction Chronic hepatitis C is the main cause of death in patients with end-stage liver disease. Prognosis depends on the increase of fibrosis, whose progression is twice as rapid in men as in women. Aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of reproductive stage on fibrosis severity in women and to compare these findings with age-matched men. Materials and Methods A retrospective study of 710 consecutive patients with biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis C was conducted, using data from a clinical database of two tertiary Italian care centers. Four age-matched groups of men served as controls. Data about demographics, biochemistry, liver biopsy and ultrasonography were analyzed. Contrib…
Performance of two HCV RNA assays during protease inhibitor-based triple therapy in patients with advanced liver fibrosis and cirrhosis.
2014
Introduction: On-treatment HCV RNA measurements are crucial for the prediction of a sustained virological response (SVR) and to determine treatment futility during protease inhibitor-based triple therapies. In patients with advanced liver disease an accurate risk/benefit calculation based on reliable HCV RNA results can reduce the number of adverse events. However, the different available HCV RNA assays vary in their diagnostic performance. Aim: To investigate the clinical relevance of concordant and discordant results of two HCV RNA assays during triple therapy with boceprevir and telaprevir in patients with advanced liver fibrosis/cirrhosis. Methods: We collected on-treatment samples of 1…
Virulent synergistic effect between Enterococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli assayed by using the Caenorhabditis elegans model.
2008
5 pages; International audience; BACKGROUND: The role of enterococci in the pathogenesis of polymicrobial infections is still debated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of virulent enterococci in the presence or absence of Escherichia coli strains in the in vivo Caenorhabditis elegans model. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This study demonstrated that there was a synergistic effect on virulence when an association of enterococci and E. coli (LT50 = 1.6 days+/-0.1 according to the tested strains and death of nematodes in 4 days+/-0.5) was tested in comparison with enterococci alone (LT50 = 4.6 days+/-0.1 and death in 10.4 days+/-0.6) or E. coli alone (LT50 = 2.1+/-0.9 and deaths 6.6+/…