Publications by authors named "D L Shawcross"
In this position statement, we explore the intricate relationship between alcohol intake and metabolic dysfunction in the context of the 2023 nomenclature update for steatotic liver disease (SLD). Recent and lifetime alcohol use should be accurately assessed in all patients with SLD to facilitate classification of alcohol use in grams of alcohol per week. Alcohol biomarkers (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Alcohol use is the third leading risk factor of death and disability in the UK and costs the NHS £3.5 billion per year. Despite the high prevalence and healthcare burden of Alcohol-related Liver Disease (ArLD), there has been minimal research addressing prevention, morbidity and mortality.
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- The study investigates how the gut and oral microbiomes are affected in patients with varying severities of cirrhosis, focusing on the presence of harmful bacteria and resistance genes.
- It involves analysis of samples from multiple groups: healthy controls, stable cirrhosis, decompensated cirrhosis, acute-on-chronic liver failure patients, and those with severe infections but no cirrhosis.
- Results show increased overlap of oral and gut microbiomes and greater amounts of virulence factors and antibiotic resistance genes as cirrhosis severity increases, suggesting a shift towards more harmful bacteria and a loss of beneficial ones.
Article Synopsis
- Alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) has high mortality rates, with up to 40% of patients dying within 6 months, partly due to increased susceptibility to infections that worsen their condition.
- A study analyzed the immune responses of 36 healthy individuals, 48 patients with alcohol use disorder, and 224 AH patients, finding that abstaining from alcohol boosts antibody responses, while AH patients had reduced antiviral and antibacterial antibodies linked to worse outcomes.
- The research indicates that a lower level of antiviral antibodies in AH patients can predict liver disease complications and mortality, suggesting that serum viral epitope signatures could be valuable for assessing patient prognosis.