Hepatitis B: Current Status of Therapy and Future Therapies.

Despite the availability of a protective vaccine for over 3 decades, the number of persons with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains high. These persons are at risk for cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Current treatment is effective at inhibiting viral replication and reducing complications of chronic HBV infection, but is not curative.

Geoepidemiology, clinical manifestations and outcome of primary biliary cholangitis in Greece.

Background & Aims: Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a disease with rising prevalence and considerable geographical variation. To describe the prevalence, spatial and time distribution, baseline characteristics, response to treatment, outcome and the validity of GLOBE score in a large cohort of Greek PBC patients as an independent validation of this score has not been done so far.

Methods: The last 16years, 482 PBC patients (86.

Vitamin D: a new player in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease?

Vitamin D through its active form 1a-25-dihydroxyvtamin D [1,25(OH)2D] is a secosteroid hormone that plays a key role in mineral metabolism. Recent years have witnessed a significant scientific interest on vitamin D and expanded its actions to include immune modulation, cell differentiation and proliferation and inflammation regulation. As our understanding of the many functions of vitamin D has grown, the presence of vitamin D deficiency has become one of the most prevalent micronutrient deficiencies worldwide.