The main cause of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer in the western world is Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Liver transplantation is the only effective treatment once the disease is decompensated. In viremic patients who undergo transplantation, disease recurrence is universal resulting in the development of a new cirrhosis in about one third of the patients after 5 to 10 years of follow-up.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProtein-losing enteropathy is characterized by excessive leaking of serum proteins into the gastrointestinal tract, as a result of disease progression in several diseases. We report the case of a 17-year-old-woman with hypoproteinemia, generalized edema and serosal effusions diagnosed as protein-losing enteropathy due to right ventricular failure secondary to previous surgical damage. All previously described therapies were ineffective in curing or relieving the disease or its symptoms, and the patient was listed for heart transplantation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGastroenterol Hepatol
November 2008
Liver abscesses are a relatively infrequent complication of inflammatory bowel disease. These abscesses are usually multiple and of polymicrobial origin. The development of primary sclerosing cholangitis in inflammatory bowel disease, although provoking alterations in biliary morphology and a higher incidence of infections, does not predispose patients to the development of liver abscesses.
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