Readability of Healthcare Literature for Hepatitis B and C.

Background: Patients increasingly use the Internet for educational material concerning health and diseases. This information can be utilized to teach the population of hepatitis B and C if properly written at the necessary grade level of the intended patient population.

Aim: We explored the readability of online resources concerning hepatitis B and C.

Approach to the management of portal hypertensive gastropathy and gastric antral vascular ectasia.

Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) and portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) are important causes of chronic gastrointestinal bleeding. These gastric mucosal lesions are mostly diagnosed on upper endoscopy and can be distinguished based on their appearance or location in the stomach. In some situations, especially in patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension, a diffuse pattern and involvement of gastric mucosa are seen with both GAVE and severe PHG.

Ascites and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis: recommendations from two United States centers.

Cirrhosis affects millions of people throughout the world. Two of the most serious complications of liver cirrhosis are ascites and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). The development of ascites is related to the severity of portal hypertension and is an indicator of increased mortality.

The treatment of cholangiocarcinoma: a hepatologist's perspective.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a rare but lethal adenocarcinoma with cholangiocyte differentiation that arises within the biliary tree at variable locations. Curative options are available in the form of surgical resection and/or liver transplantation (LT) in early stage CCA; however, these are offered to a small fraction of patients as they are usually asymptomatic and remain undiagnosed. Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a well-known risk factor of CCA, and cirrhosis, viral hepatitis, and metabolic syndrome are recently identified as risk factors of CCA.

Pre- and post-balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration clinical evaluation, management, and imaging: indications, management protocols, and follow-up.

Patients with gastric variceal bleeding require a multidisciplinary team approach, which includes hepatologists, endoscopists, diagnostic radiologists, and interventional radiologists. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is the first-line diagnosis and management tool for bleeding gastric varices (GVs) as it is with all upper gastrointestinal bleeding scenarios. Traditionally, in the United States, when endoscopy fails to control gastric variceal bleeding, a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is performed along the classic teachings of decompressing the portal circulation.

Hepatic encephalopathy.

Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis affect hundreds of millions of patients all over the world. The majority of patients with cirrhosis will eventually develop complications related to portal hypertension. One of these recurrent and difficult to treat complications is hepatic encephalopathy.

Balloon-occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration (BRTO): Follow-Up and Postprocedural Imaging.

The majority of patients undergoing balloon retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) are decompensated cirrhotic for either bleeding gastric varices (GV) or hepatic encephalopathy. These patients will require close follow-up and assessments pre- and post-BRTO including clinical, laboratory, endoscopic, and imaging evaluations. It is essential that clinicians are aware of the potential benefits and complications that may result from BRTO.

Balloon-occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration (BRTO): Preprocedural Evaluation and Imaging.

Patients undergoing balloon retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) are mostly decompensated cirrhotic with either bleeding gastric varices (GV) or hepatic encephalopathy. It is crucial that clinicians are up-to-date with the assessments needed prior to BRTO to anticipate and prevent complications, and to deliver critical quality care. These patients will require preprocedural assessments and management, including endoscopic, clinical, laboratory, and imaging evaluation.

Medical and endoscopic management of gastric varices.

In the past 20 years, our understanding of the pathophysiology and management options among patients with gastric varices (GV) has changed significantly. GV are the most common cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with portal hypertension after esophageal varices (EV) and generally have more severe bleeding than EV. In the United States, the majority of GV patients have underlying portal hypertension rather than splenic vein thrombosis.

A randomized controlled trial of pretransplant antiviral therapy to prevent recurrence of hepatitis C after liver transplantation.

Unlabelled: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection recurs in liver recipients who are viremic at transplantation. We conducted a randomized, controlled trial to test the efficacy and safety of pretransplant pegylated interferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin (Peg-IFN-α2b/RBV) for prevention of post-transplant HCV recurrence. Enrollees had HCV and were listed for liver transplantation, with either potential living donors or Model for End-Stage Liver Disease upgrade for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Does external beam radiation therapy improve survival following transarterial chemoembolization for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma?

Background: Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) improves survival in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Partial liver radiotherapy with modern techniques has been shown to be safe. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the survival value of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) with concurrent chemotherapy combined with TACE.

Sorafenib therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma prior to liver transplant is associated with increased complications after transplant.

This study compared post-transplant outcomes of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who took sorafenib prior to orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) with those patients who were not treated with sorafenib. Thirty-three patients with HCC who were listed for liver transplantation were studied: 10 patients were treated with sorafenib prior to transplantation in an attempt to prevent progression of HCC while awaiting transplant. The remaining 23 patients were considered controls.

Mortality after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in patients with cirrhosis: a case series.

Background: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement can improve the nutritional status and the ability of a patient with cirrhosis to recover from surgery such as orthotopic liver transplantation. However, cirrhosis has been considered a significant contraindication to PEG tube placement.

Objective: Our aim in this study was to describe the mortality and complications in a series of cirrhotic patients who underwent PEG at our institution.

Hepatocellular ballooning in NASH.

Background & Aims: Hepatocellular ballooning is a key finding in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). It is conventionally defined by hemotoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining showing enlarged cells with rarefied cytoplasm and recently by changes in the cytoskeleton. Fat droplets are emerging as important organelles in cell metabolism.

NASH and cryptogenic cirrhosis: a histological analysis.

Introduction: Epidemiological studies indicate that nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common cause of cirrhosis described as 'cryptogenic'. To address this from a histological perspective and to examine the significance of residual histological findings as an indication of prior NASH, we looked back at biopsies in patients who presented with cirrhosis without sufficient histological features to diagnose NASH but who had prior histologically confirmed non-cirrhotic NASH.

Methods: Seven patients were identified with biopsy pairs showing non-specific (cryptogenic) cirrhosis in the latest specimen and a prior biopsy showing non-cirrhotic NASH.

Endoscopic cyanoacrylate versus transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt for gastric variceal bleeding: a single-center U.S. analysis.

Background And Objectives: Gastric variceal hemorrhage treatment remains a difficult issue for clinicians. There is controversy regarding whether first-line treatment should be endoscopic therapy with cyanoacrylate glue or placement of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). We compared these methods on the basis of rebleeding, survival, and complications.

Systematic review of risk factors for fibrosis progression in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

Background/aims: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a growing public health problem. Evaluation of risk factors for fibrosis in NASH will help to target resources to reduce development of cirrhosis. This study had two aims; the first to compile longitudinal histological data to characterize the natural history of fibrosis progression in NASH, and second, to identify predictive factors for progression to advanced fibrosis (stage 3 or greater) in NASH.

Thiazolidinediones for the treatment in NASH: sustained benefit after drug discontinuation?

Background: Although of unproven benefit for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), thiazolidinediones (TZDs) have emerged as a promising therapy. Little evidence exists, however, regarding sustained effects of TZDs in NASH after drug discontinuation. A recent clinical study suggests that relapse of NASH pathophysiology is inevitable and that lifelong therapy may be needed to maintain histologic response.

Therapy of NAFLD: insulin sensitizing agents.

Insulin resistance is an integral part of the underlying pathophysiology in most patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Insulin-sensitizing agents are therefore likely to be of key importance in the treatment of this disorder, especially in the histologically more severe form known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Here we have reviewed the current literature on the two major insulin-sensitizing agents that have been studied in patients with NAFLD: the thiazolidinediones (or PPAR-gamma agonists) and metformin, the only available biguanide.

Therapy of NAFLD: antioxidants and cytoprotective agents.

Lipid peroxidation and secondary cellular injury are the dominant mechanism in the transition from relatively stable hepatic steatosis to potentially progressive steatohepatitis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Oxidation of excessive fatty acids generates free radicals (reactive oxygen species) that damage organelles and stimulate signaling pathways leading to fibrosis and cellular injury. Both antioxidant agents (by breaking the chain reaction of lipid peroxidation) and cytoprotective agents (by stabilizing cellular and organelle phospholipid membranes) may be effective agents in treating an active steatohepatitis through amelioration of the driving force and attenuation of the secondary effects.

Obesity and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Epidemiological studies have shown that obesity is a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma. Similar studies further indicate that diabetes is also a major risk factor. Both obesity and diabetes are frequently associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and case reports have shown progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.