Search results for "Liver"

Visceral adiposity index and exercise in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: authors’ reply

2012

We thank Prof. Filik for his interest in our recent article. 2 He points to the fact that the interpretation of our results could be affected by lack of data on physical activity and diet. In response to this issue, we are aware that both physical activity and diet are able to affect not only anthropometric and metabolic parameters of visceral adiposity index (VAI) but also the severity of liver disease. Unfortunately, data on both physical activity and diet in our patients with biopsy-proven non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are not available, even if we are confident that their variations should not significantly affect our results. In fact, in our study, we evaluated histological…

Treatment of chronic hepatitis C

1991

alpha-Interferon given subcutaneously at doses between 1-3 million units leads to responses in about 50% of patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C. A 24-week treatment is frequently (approx. 50%) followed by relapses reducing the percentage of lasting responders to approx. 20%. The patients who relapse are sensitive to retreatment with interferon-alpha. A better understanding of HCV replication and of the interferon action in this viral disease might help to further improve treatment schedules. Side effects of interferon were frequently mild and readily reversible after cessation of treatment. At present interferon treatment should not be recommended in asymptomatic patients or individ…

Iberogast-Induced Severe Hepatotoxicity Leading to Liver Transplantation

2016

Hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance are associated with severe fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis caused by HBV or HCV infection

2011

Background and aims: Steatosis and insulin resistance (IR) are the major disease modifying in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Only few studies evaluated these features in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). We aimed to assess the prevalence and the factors related to steatosis and IR in CHB patients, compared with CHC subjects, and to evaluate the potential association between these features and fibrosis severity. Material and methods: One hundred and seventy consecutive patients with CHB (28 HBeAg positive, 142 HBeAg negative), were evaluated using liver biopsy and metabolic measurements and matched for sex, age and body mass index with 170 genotype 1 CHC patients. IR was def…

Transmembrane 6 Superfamily Member 2 Gene Variant Disentangles Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis From Cardiovascular Disease

2015

Excess hepatic storage of triglycerides is considered a benign condition, but nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) may progress to fibrosis and promote atherosclerosis. Carriers of the TM6SF2 E167K variant have fatty liver as a result of reduced secretion of very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs). As a result, they have lower circulating lipids and reduced risk of myocardial infarction. In this study, we aimed to assess whether TM6SF2 E167K affects liver damage and cardiovascular outcomes in subjects at risk of NASH. Liver damage was evaluated in 1,201 patients who underwent liver biopsy for suspected NASH; 427 were evaluated for carotid atherosclerosis. Cardiovascular outcomes were assessed …

Predictors of mortality and early detection strategies for hepatopulmonary syndrome in liver transplant patients☆

2016

Introduction: Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a serious, progressive disease. Its pathophysiology resides in a hypoxic intrapulmonary shunt and severe clinical deterioration. Liver transplantation (LT) is the only effective treatment in appropriately selected patients. Objective: To acknowledge the importance of early diagnosis of HPS. Patients and methods: Observational, descriptive, retrospective trial including 8 patients with HPS that received LT between April 2006 and August 2014. The clinical data prior to transplantation and follow-up after the procedure were reviewed. A multivariate analysis (stepwise forward logistic regression analysis) was used to identify the variable that cou…

LI-RADS ancillary features favoring benignity: is there a role in LR-5 observations?

2021

The Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System algorithm allows category downgrade in the presence of ancillary features (AFs) favoring benignity, even in observations categorized as LR-5. This study aims to assess the role of AFs favoring benignity in LR-5 observations and their impact on category downgrade. This study included high-risk patients with at least one LR-5 observation imaged with gadoxetate disodium MRI. Three readers with different experience levels independently evaluated the presence of AFs favoring malignancy (not hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in particular and HCC in particular) and AFs favoring benignity. Category downgrade was considered possible in the presence of ≥ 1 AF…

Lysosomal trafficking in rat cardiac myocytes.

1990

By immunolabeling of cryosections, we have characterized in rat cardiac myocytes the cation-independent mannose-6-phosphate receptor (MPR), a lysosomal membrane glycoprotein, lgp120, and a lysosomal enzyme, MEP (homologous to cathepsin L). Most of the MPR label was located in large membrane-filled structures (MPR structures) in large clusters of mitochondria adjacent to but distinct from the Golgi complex. Lpg120 and MEP showed typical lysosomal localization throughout the cell, often associated with regions that appeared to contain autophagosome-like structures. In addition, MEP and lgp120 co-localized within MPR structures. MEP and MPR were localized inside the lumen of MPR structures. M…

Bile Duct Warmer in Hepatic Cryosurgery—A Pig Liver Model

1998

Freezing of the common bile duct resulted in injury, stenosis, or perforation of the bile duct in a dog model. Biliary cutaneous fistulas and bile leaks are reported as complications of hepatic cryosurgery in man. In an ex vivo pig liver model we compared freezing close to the bile duct with and without warming the bile duct with warmed saline solution via an inserted catheter ("bile duct warmer"). The recorded temperatures at the outer wall of the bile duct were -50 degrees C after 10 min of freezing without and 5. 8 degrees C with the use of the warmer (P0.001, two-way ANOVA). The bile duct warmer system may be a simple and inexpensive device in reducing perioperative morbidity after hepa…

<i>PCSK9</i> rs11591147 R46L Loss-of-Function Variant Protects Against Liver Damage in Individuals with NAFLD

2020

Background and Aims: The proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) plays a key role in cholesterol homeostasis, and its inhibition represents an effective therapy to lower LDL-C levels. In this study, we examined the impact of PCSK9 rs11591147 loss-of-function (LOF) variant on liver damage in a multicenter collection of patients at risk of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), in clinical samples and experimental models. Methods: We considered 1,874 consecutive individuals at risk of NASH as determined by histology. The SNP rs11591147, encoding for the p.R46L variant of PCSK9, was genotyped by TaqMan assays. We also evaluated 1) PCSK9 mRNA hepatic expression in human liver, and 2…