Cytokines like interleukins (ILs) play important roles in inflammation and innate immune. Yang and Zhang carried out an interesting study related to ILs and hepatic diseases. They described the role of ILs in the pathogenesis and resolution of hepatic disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWeight gain poses a rising concern post-liver transplantation (LT), and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease might impair graft health. The timing is crucial when considering bariatric surgery (BS) in a population with liver disease or transplantation. BS can be considered for post-LT weight gain, although the evidence is limited and the long-term outcome still uncertain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStreptococcus pneumoniae infections cause community-acquired pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease such as sepsis and acute meningitis. In the adult population, the risk of severe infections, which can be lethal, is particularly high among people aged above 65 years and subgroups with comorbidities. Pneumococcal vaccines underwent progressive improvement and a new conjugated vaccine targeting 20 serotypes (PCV20) is now available.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) found in a non cirrhotic liver represents a minority of HCC cases and remains poorly studied. Due to its specific characteristics and evolution, this tumour requires a different management compared to HCC in a cirrhotic liver.
Case Report: The authors describe the case of a 68-year-old man diagnosed with a large giant and only mildly symptomatic HCC in a non-cirrhotic liver.
Background And Aims: Polycystic liver disease (PLD) can lead to extensive hepatomegaly. Symptom relief is the primary goal of the treatment. The role of the recently developed disease-specific questionnaires for identification of the thresholds and the assessment of therapy needs further investigation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground & Aims: HEV genotype (gt) 3 infections are prevalent in high-income countries and display a wide spectrum of clinical presentations. Host - but not viral - factors are reported to be associated with worse clinical outcomes.
Methods: Demographic, clinical, and biochemical data laboratory-confirmed HEV infections (by PCR and/or a combination of IgM and IgG serology) at the Belgian National Reference Centre between January 2010 and June 2018 were collected using standardised case report forms.
An enhanced cascade of care should include a younger population, helping to achieve the goal of the World Health Organization with a focus on elimination in the pediatric population. Furthermore, enhanced screening and awareness efforts and continued education of health care providers will improve the outcomes of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the pediatric population. The present work discusses and comments on the topic "cascade of care in HCV chronic pediatric patients".
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Early liver transplantation for severe alcohol-related hepatitis is an emerging treatment option. We aimed to assess the risk of alcohol relapse 2 years after early liver transplantation for alcohol-related hepatitis compared with liver transplantation for alcohol-related cirrhosis after at least 6 months of abstinence.
Methods: We conducted a multicentre, non-randomised, non-inferiority, controlled study in 19 French and Belgian hospitals.
Introduction: Strong correlation has been demonstrated between tumor dose and response and between healthy liver dose and side effects. Individualized dosimetry is increasingly recommended in the current clinical routine. However, hepatic and tumor segmentations could be complex in some cases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Recent studies indicate that a group of patients with cirrhosis receiving a liver transplantation for hepatocellular cancer (HCC) beyond the Milan Criteria (MC) can achieve a similar outcome compared to patients within these criteria. This study aims to investigate the value of the Asan critera (AC), up-to-7 criteria (UT7), French alpha-foetoprotein (AFP) model and Metroticket 2.0 (MT2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPositron emission tomography computed tomography (PET-CT) using 18-Fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG) is an imaging modality that reflects cellular glucose metabolism. Most cancers show an uptake of FDG and benign tumors do not usually behave in such a way. The authors report herein the case of a 38-year-old female patient with a past medical history of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and pheochromocytoma, in whom a liver lesion had been detected with PET-CT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major global health issue and successful treatment has been associated with a reduction of risk of all-cause mortality. Advancements have been made in HCV treatment through the use of interferon-free regimens. Most trials have been conducted in HCV genotype (GT) 1 and data for interferon-free regimens in GT4 patients are limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground & Aims: Whether alcohol intake increases the risk of complications in patients with HCV-related cirrhosis remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of alcohol intake and viral eradication on the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), decompensation of cirrhosis and death.
Methods: Data on alcohol intake and viral eradication were prospectively collected in 192 patients with compensated HCV-related cirrhosis.
Background & Aims: Severe alcoholic hepatitis (AH) is a life-threatening disease for which adequate oral nutritional support is recommended. We performed a randomized controlled trial to determine whether the combination of corticosteroid and intensive enteral nutrition therapy is more effective than corticosteroid therapy alone in patients with severe AH.
Methods: We enrolled 136 heavy consumers of alcohol (age, 18-75 y) with recent onset of jaundice and biopsy-proven severe AH in our study, performed at 18 hospitals in Belgium and 2 in France, from February 2010 through February 2013.
Background: Hepatitis C virus genotype 4 (HCV-4) is the most prevalent genotype in Central Africa.
Aim: To compare epidemiology, clinical characteristics and any differences in access to HCV therapy in two populations of HCV-4 patients residing in Belgium.
Methods: This multicenter study selected 473 HCV-4 patients from seven hospital databases and compared them according to ethnic origin, i.
Aim: To evaluate the prognostic value of pretreatment FDG positron emission tomography computed tomography (PET-CT) in patients with hepatocarcinoma treated by liver transplantation (LT).
Methods: The authors retrospectively analyzed the data of 27 patients (mean age 58 ± 9 years) who underwent FDG PET-CT before LT for hepatocarcinoma. Mean follow-up was 26 ± 18 mo.
The association of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is known as an overlap syndrome (OS). OS can also be described in the setting of concomitant presence of AIH and PSC. These diseases can in some cases be associated with ulcerative colitis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Nationwide studies comparing patients with hepatitis B and C virus (HBV and HCV) infections are mandatory for assessing changes in epidemiology.
Aim: The aim of this study was to compare epidemiological data and initial management of newly diagnosed patients with persistent HBV (HBsAg positive) or HCV (detectable HCV RNA) infection in Belgium.
Patients And Methods: Data were extracted from two Belgian observational databases.