Does taurolidine have any effect on liver regeneration and oxidation in the experimental hepatectomy model?

Objectives: Taurolidine is a bicyclic molecule produced by the natural amino acid taurine. Antibacterial, antiendotoxic and cytoprotective effects of taurolidine have been shown experimentally. Data on the effects of taurolidine on oxidative stress and hepatic regeneration are limited.

Hepatic apoptotic markers are not predictors for the virological response to interferon-based therapy in chronic hepatitis C patients.

Introduction: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major health problem worldwide. The majority of cases involving HCV infection develop into chronic hepatitis because of a failure to develop an effective immune response. Apoptosis of the hepatocytes plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of HCV infection: the interaction between the Fas antigen on hepatocytes and the Fas ligand on T cells corresponds to the main mechanism for hepatocyte damage.

Shear wave elastography in the evaluation of liver fibrosis in children.

Background: Shear-wave elastography (SWE) is a novel noninvasive method that involves application of local mechanical compression on soft tissue using focused ultrasonography and acquiring strain images that show tissue response. In this study, our goal was to assess the performance of SWE in the staging of liver fibrosis in children with chronic liver disease.

Methods: The study involved measuring SWE values in the right lobe of the liver in a patient group of 76 children with chronic liver disease and a control group of 50 healthy subjects.

Mixed hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatoblastoma: cytohistopathologic findings and differential diagnosis.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for approximately 80% of all the primary malignant tumors of the liver. Hepatoblastoma (HBL) is the most common primary malignant neoplasm of the liver in childhood, and extremely rare in adults. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an adult case with cytopathologic description of a combined HCC and HBL, occurring in a noncirrhotic liver.

Effects of clinoptilolite treatment on oxidative stress after partial hepatectomy in rats.

Background/objective: Clinoptilolite is a natural zeolite crystal. Cytoprotective effects of clinoptilolite have been reported. However, so far there are no data about the effects of clinoptilolite treatment on oxidative stress after partial hepatectomy.

Adult Langerhans cell histiocytosis and sclerosing cholangitis: a case report and review of the literature.

Background/aims: Sclerosing cholangitis is a rare complication of Langerhans cell histiocytosis in children which can result in liver failure. This combination is even rarer in adults.

Case Report: We report a 65-year-old female who developed sclerosing cholangitis 4 years after the diagnosis of Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

Validation of biochemical markers for the prediction of liver fibrosis and necroinflammatory activity in hemodialysis patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Background: Liver biopsy is an imperfect gold standard for assessing the disease severity in hemodialysis patients with chronic hepatitis C. Our purpose was to compare the accuracy of the FibroTest (FT) and ActiTest (AT) with liver biopsy and the AST-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) in determining hepatic fibrosis and necroinflammatory activity in hemodialysis patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Methods: The FT-AT index combining 6 biochemical markers was assessed in 33 hemodialysis patients with HCV.

Long-term effect of interferon therapy in patients with HBeAg positive chronic hepatitis B infection.

Introduction: Several studies have reported that interferon therapy increases elimination rate of HBeAg and anti-HBe seroconversion in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. We aimed to evaluate long-term results of interferon-α treatment in HBeAg positive CHB patients in a country with exclusively D genotype.

Methods: Seventy-one naive CHB patients (M/F 61/10, mean age 29±12 years, range 16-62) treated with 6 months of interferon-α 2b, 10 MU tiw and had a consequent untreated follow-up period of at least 10 years with positive response were identified and their data were reviewed.

Is alanine aminotransferase level a surrogate biomarker of hepatic apoptosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease?

Aim: To evaluate the serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) variabilities in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and correlate it with hepatocyte apoptosis and oxidative stress parameters.

Methods: 24 patients with NAFLD and normal ALT were compared with 26 subjects with NAFLD and elevated ALT. Liver oxidative stress was estimated on the basis of malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase and glutathione.

Serum neopterin levels in children with hepatitis-B-related chronic liver disease and its relationship to disease severity.

Aim: To evaluate serum neopterin levels and their correlations with liver function tests and histological grade in children with hepatitis-B-related chronic liver disease.

Methods: The study population comprised 48 patients with chronic active hepatitis B, 32 patients with hepatitis-B-related active liver cirrhosis and 40 normal controls. Serum neopterin was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Serum gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase distinguishes non-alcoholic fatty liver disease at high risk.

Background/aims: Hepatocyte apoptosis is an important and invasive predictor of liver injury and fibrosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Increased gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) level is frequently observed in NAFLD. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) stimulates fibrogenesis and is correlated with GGT.

Leptin in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a prevalent condition associated with obesity and insulin resistance (IR). Leptin plays a key role in the control of energy balance, and insulin sensitivity. In this study, we aimed to examine whether serum leptin levels correlate with insulin resistance, oxidative stress parameters and the severity of histological changes in NAFLD.

Clinicopathologic features of dual chronic hepatitis B and C infection: a comparison with single hepatitis B, C and delta infections.

Unlabelled: There is controversial data in the literature about the characteristics or features of dual hepatitis B and C infection. Several studies have reported that the dual infection has a more severe histological picture; faster progression leading to cirrhosis and a higher risk for hepatocellular carcinoma compared with the single infections. These findings have not yet been supported.

Acute renal failure in a patient with severe hemolysis.

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a clonal disorder of bone marrow. It is characterized by blood cells lacking membrane proteins that are normally attached by the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. The cellular defect arises in a hematopoetic stem cell and is due to somatic mutation of the Phosphatidylinositol-glycan protein-A gene (PIG-A gene), encoding a protein needed for the biosynthesis of the anchor GPI.

Liver steatosis in hepatitis C positive hemodialysis patients and factors affecting IFN-2a treatment.

Objective: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is endemic among hemodialysis (HD) patients. It is well known that HCV causes approximately 50% of hepatosteatosis in patients with normal renal function and that this rate is higher in patients infected with genotype 3. The aim of this study was to investigate the rate of steatosis, the regression in steatosis with interferon (IFN) treatment and factors affecting IFN treatment in hemodialysis patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC).

Efficacy of interferon alpha-2b and lamivudine combination treatment in comparison to interferon alpha-2b alone in chronic delta hepatitis: a randomized trial.

Background And Aim: Delta hepatitis is characterized by rapidly progressive liver disease with adverse prognosis in most patients. Patients benefit from high doses and prolonged courses of interferon (IFN) therapy; however, lamivudine as a single agent has been disappointing. Data relating to the efficacy of IFN and lamivudine in combination is limited.

Serum iron levels and hepatic iron overload in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and chronic viral hepatitis.

Our objective was to determine the effect of serum iron levels and hepatic iron overload on hepatocellular damage in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and to compare this with chronic viral hepatitis. Twenty-five patients who had elevated transaminase levels on at least two occasions, without any evidence of viral and autoimmune hepatitis and diabetes, without a history of significant alcohol use, and with a liver biopsy consistent with NASH were enrolled in the study. Twenty-five patients with chronic viral hepatitis (13 patients with chronic hepatitis C and 12 with chronic hepatitis B) who were not under any antiviral treatment were taken as controls.

Case report of two haematopoietic stem cell transplanted patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease resembling acute viral hepatitis.

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) of the liver usually presents as an indolent cholestatic syndrome associated with abnormalities in the skin, oral mucosa, and lacrimal glands observed beyond day 100 after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Because of its cholestatic nature, chronic liver GVHD is not generally considered in the differential diagnosis of markedly elevated serum transaminases and jaundice. However, sudden rise in serum transaminase levels after day 70 posttranplant should always raise the question of chronic liver GVHD.

Prevalence of hepatic granulomas in chronic hepatitis B.

An increasing frequency of hepatic granulomas, up to 10%, in chronic hepatitis C patients is reported, and their presence is considered to be a predictor of treatment success. However, there is only one prevalence study on granuloma in chronic hepatitis B, and its significance for treatment outcome is unknown. We aimed to determine the prevalence of hepatic granulomas in a larger group of chronic hepatitis B patients and to compare their presence with the response to interferon therapy.

Melatonin reduces dimethylnitrosamine-induced liver fibrosis in rats.

Increased deposition of the extracellular matrix components, particularly collagen, is a central phenomenon in liver fibrosis. Stellate cells, the central mediators in the pathogenesis of fibrosis are activated by free radicals, and synthesize collagen. Melatonin is a potent physiological scavenger of hydroxyl radicals.

Management of marked liver enzyme increase during clozapine treatment: a case report and review of the literature.

Objective: Clozapine-induced hepatotoxicity is not infrequent and usually transient. It mostly causes asymptomatic elevation of liver transaminases. "Elevation in liver enzymes to what extent should preclude further treatment?" or "Is only a dose-reduction sufficient?" are questions yet to be answered.