Response to potent anti-HBV agents in chronic hepatitis B and combined effect of HBV reverse transcriptase mutations.

Background And Aim: Response to nucleos(t)ide analogue therapy against HBV infection depends on a number of factors. One of them is appearance of drug resistance mutations. The present study aimed to investigate the efficacy of ETV and TDF as anti-HBV agents and to analyze the role of HBV-RT mutations in reducing the efficacy of mentioned drugs.

Obstructive sleep apnea is an important predictor of hepatic fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in a tertiary care center.

Background: The association of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has only been studied in selected subgroups such as the morbidly obese. We aimed to determine the prevalence and effect of OSA on NAFLD and vice versa in unselected patients attending the outpatient department.

Methods: OSA was diagnosed by polysomnography, done in patients having symptoms of OSA, in patients with NAFLD attending the liver clinic.

Staging of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is different from other malignancies because the prognosis in HCC is not only dependent upon the tumor stage but also on the liver function impairment due to accompanying cirrhosis liver. Various other staging systems used in HCC include the European systems [French staging system, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system and the cancer of the liver Italian program (CLIP)] and Asian systems [Okuda staging system, Japan integrated Staging (JIS), Tokyo score and Chinese University Prognostic Index (CUPI)]. Out of all the staging systems used in HCC, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system is probably the best because it takes in to account the tumor status (defined by tumor size and number, presence of vascular invasion and extrahepatic spread), liver function (defined either by the Child-Pugh's class) and general health status of the patient (defined by the ECOG classification and the presence of symptoms).

The Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL) Consensus on Prevention, Diagnosis and Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in India: The Puri Recommendations.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major causes of morbidity, mortality and healthcare expenditure in patients with chronic liver disease. There are no consensus guidelines on diagnosis and management of HCC in India. The Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL) set up a Task-Force on HCC in 2011, with a mandate to develop consensus guidelines for diagnosis and management of HCC, relevant to disease patterns and clinical practices in India.

Portal cavernoma cholangiopathy-clinical characteristics.

Because of the presence of portal cavernoma, paracholedochal and pericholedochal varices, portal cavernoma cholangiopathy (PCC) has become an entity unique to patients with extrahepatic portal venous obstruction (EHPVO). Majority of patients with these abnormalities are asymptomatic and are incidentally detected to have the presence of biliary abnormalities on cholangiography. Minority of patients present with symptoms of chronic cholestasis with or without biliary pain or acute cholangitis related most often to the presence of biliary strictures or stones.

Portal cavernoma cholangiopathy: consensus statement of a working party of the Indian national association for study of the liver.

Portal cavernoma cholangiopathy (PCC) is defined as abnormalities in the extrahepatic biliary system including the cystic duct and gallbladder with or without abnormalities in the 1st and 2nd generation biliary ducts in a patient with portal cavernoma. Presence of a portal cavernoma, typical cholangiographic changes on endoscopic or magnetic resonance cholangiography and the absence of other causes of these biliary changes like bile duct injury, primary sclerosing cholangitis, cholangiocarcinoma etc are mandatory to arrive a diagnosis. Compression by porto-portal collateral veins involving the paracholedochal and epicholedochal venous plexuses and cholecystic veins and ischemic insult due to deficient portal blood supply or prolonged compression by collaterals bring about biliary changes.

Consensus Statement of HCV Task Force of the Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL). Part II: INASL Recommendations for Management of HCV in India.

The estimated prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in India is between 0.5 and 1.5% with hotspots showing much higher prevalence in some areas of northeast India, in some tribal populations and in certain parts of Punjab.

Consensus Statement of HCV Task Force of the Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL). Part I: Status Report of HCV Infection in India.

Globally, around 150 million people are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). India contributes a large proportion of this HCV burden. The prevalence of HCV infection in India is estimated at between 0.

Unc-51 like kinase 1 (ULK1) in silico analysis for biomarker identification: a vital component of autophagy.

Autophagy is a degradation pathway involving lysosomal machinery for degradation of damaged organelles like the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria into their building blocks to maintain homeostasis within the cell. ULK1, a serine/threonine kinase, is conserved across species, from yeasts to mammals, and plays a central role in autophagy pathway. It receives signals from upstream modulators such as TIP60, mTOR and AMPK and relays them to its downstream substrates like Ambra1 and ZIP kinase.

Association of IL28B single nucleotide polymorphism rs8099917 with response to treatment in genotype 3 HCV-infected patients from India.

Background And Aim: IL28B gene polymorphisms have been associated with treatment-response (sustained virological response, SVR) in genotype 1 hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients, but only with early phase of viral decline (rapid virological response, RVR) with genotype 3 HCV-infected patients. Association between IL28B variants and SVR in genotype 3 HCV- infected patients is unclear. Our study aimed to replicate the association of IL28Bsingle nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs8099917 with SVR and to validate its association with RVR in genotype 3 HCV-infected patients.

Probiotic VSL#3 reduces liver disease severity and hospitalization in patients with cirrhosis: a randomized, controlled trial.

Background & Aims: Little is known about whether probiotics can affect outcomes of patients with cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy (HE). We assessed the efficacy of a probiotic preparation in preventing the recurrence of HE (primary outcome) and reducing the number of hospitalizations and severity of liver disease in patients with cirrhosis.

Methods: We performed a double-blind trial at a tertiary care hospital in India.

Chronic Liver Failure-Sequential Organ Failure Assessment is better than the Asia-Pacific Association for the Study of Liver criteria for defining acute-on-chronic liver failure and predicting outcome.

Aim: To compare the utility of the Chronic Liver Failure-Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (CLIF-SOFA) and Asia-Pacific Association for the Study of Liver (APASL) definitions of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) in predicting short-term prognosis of patients with ACLF.

Methods: Consecutive patients of cirrhosis with acute decompensation were prospectively included. They were grouped into ACLF and no ACLF groups as per CLIF-SOFA and APASL criteria.

Simple organ failure count versus CANONIC grading system for predicting mortality in acute-on-chronic liver failure.

Background And Aim: This study assessed the utility of a simple organ failure count (SOFC) in predicting the in-hospital mortality in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) compared with Chronic Liver Failure Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure in Cirrhosis (CANONIC) ACLF grading system.

Methods: Consecutive patients of ACLF were included prospectively from 2012 to 2013. The diagnosis was based on Asian-Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) criteria except for the inclusion of non-hepatic insults as acute events.

Persistence of cognitive impairment after resolution of overt hepatic encephalopathy.

Objectives: Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) represents a spectrum of neurocognitive impairment seen in cirrhotic patients and is considered to be fully reversible with treatment; however, recent evidence suggests otherwise. This longitudinal study was carried out to evaluate the persistence of cognitive impairment in cirrhotics with prior overt HE (OHE) episode despite treatment.

Methods: Of the 213 patients screened, 107 patients who met the eligibility criteria were enrolled and 102 patients completed the study (52 patients without prior OHE episode and 50 patients with prior OHE).

Levels of hepatitis B virus replicative intermediate in serum samples of chronic hepatitis B patients.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) cccDNA levels is an absolute marker of HBV replication in the liver of HBV infected patients. This study aimed to quantify the HBV cccDNA levels in sera and liver tissue samples of treatment naïve patients with chronic hepatitis B. Eighty one chronic hepatitis B (CHB) treatment naïve patients were enrolled from January 2009 to June 2011.

Patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have an increased risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is now considered a hepatic component of metabolic syndrome (MS). This condition puts patients with NAFLD at an increased risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of atherosclerosis and risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with NAFLDand to study its relationship with MS.

Epidemiology and risk factors of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

The nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is defined as the presence of hepatic steatosis, determined by either imaging or histology, in the absence of secondary causes of hepatic fat accumulation. Nonalcoholic fatty liver is defined as the presence of hepatic steatosis with no evidence of hepatocellular injury in the form of ballooning of the hepatocytes or fibrosis. NASH is defined as the presence of hepatic steatosis and inflammation with hepatocyte injury (ballooning) with or without fibrosis.

Obesity and NAFLD: the role of bacteria and microbiota.

There are trillions of microorganisms in the human intestine collectively called gut microbiota. Obesity may be affected by the gut microbiota through energy harvesting and fat storage by the bacteria. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth is also responsible for endotoxemia, systemic inflammation, and its consequences including obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Expression of astrocytic genes coding for proteins implicated in neural excitation and brain edema is altered after acute liver failure.

In vitro and in vivo studies have suggested that reduced astrocytic uptake of neuronally released glutamate, alterations in expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and aquaporin-4 (AQP-4) contribute to brain edema in acute liver failure (ALF). However, there is no evidence to date to suggest that these alterations occur in patients with ALF. We analyzed the mRNA expression of excitatory amino acid transporters (EAAT-1, EAAT-2), GFAP, and AQP-4 in the cerebral cortex obtained at autopsy from eight patients with ALF and from seven patients with no evidence of hepatic or neurological disorders by real-time PCR, and protein expression was assessed using immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry.

Role of radiofrequency ablation in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: An Indian experience.

Aims: To evaluate the role of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) as an ablative technique in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Settings And Design: A tertiary care center, prospective study.

Materials And Methods: The subjects comprised 31 patients (30 males, one female; age range 32-75 years) with HCC (41 lesions) who were treated with image-guided RFA.

Angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factor gene transcript level quantitation by quantitative real time PCR in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Tumor angiogenesis, a major requirement for tumor growth and metastasis, is regulated by pro- and anti-angiogenic factors. The aim of this study was to quantify the expression of angiogenic (VEGF, HIF-1α, Angiopiotein-2) and anti-angiogenic (endostatin, angiostatin and Thrombospondin-1) factors and to discern their clinical relevance. A total 90 patients (67 HCC, 9 cirrhosis and 14 chronic hepatitis) were enrolled in the study.