Update on the Evaluation and Management of Portal Hypertension.

The development of clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) in patients with chronic liver disease is an important predictor of varices, variceal hemorrhage, ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, and death. The nomenclature of compensated advanced chronic liver disease, revised from compensated cirrhosis, recognizes the importance of portal hypertension (PH), rather than the histologic finding of cirrhosis, in clinical outcomes. Recent advances in the field have focused on the development of noninvasive methods, including transient elastography (TE), magnetic resonance elastography, and multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging, for predicting PH.

Altered expression of p63 isoforms and expansion of p63- and club cell secretory protein-positive epithelial cells in the lung as novel features of aging.

Aging is a key contributor for subclinical progression of late-onset lung diseases. Basal, club, and type II alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) are lung epithelial progenitors whose capacities of differentiation are extensively studied. The timely transition of these cells in response to environmental changes helps maintain the intricate organization of lung structure.