Interleukin-6 is associated with liver lipid homeostasis but not with cell death in experimental hepatic steatosis.

Hepatic steatosis is a risk factor for the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The role of pro-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-6 in hepatic steatosis etiology is controversial. We investigated in vivo and in primary hepatocyte cultures whether IL-6 has a modulator role in liver and mitochondria lipid composition and cell death in a choline-deficient (CD) diet rat model of hepatic steatosis.

[Prognostic factors associated with postoperative complications in liver transplant].

Objectives: the postoperative evolution of patients submitted to orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) is frequently associated with the appearance of different types of complications such as renal failure, graft rejection, infections, and neurological disorders. These complications are the most significant causes of early morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing OLT. The purpose of the present study was the identification of factors related to the different postoperative complications after OLT.

IL-6 and IGF-1 are independent prognostic factors of liver steatosis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in morbidly obese patients.

Background: Lipid accumulation and other histological liver markers characterize patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The identification of non-invasive prognostic factors of liver steatosis and NASH are relevant for the unravelling of the mechanisms of this disease, as well as for the clinical diagnoses of these patients.

Methods: 36 patients with morbid obesity and 12 healthy subjects were consecutively enrolled in this cross-sectional study to determine the serological parameters associated with the degree of hepatic steatosis and NASH.