Visceral Adipose Tissue Index and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Are Independent Predictors of Outcome in Patients with Cirrhosis Having Endoscopic Treatment for Esophageal Varices.

Background: The relationship between the amount of adipose tissue and advanced-stage liver cirrhosis with esophageal varices (EV) is unknown. We aimed to reveal the prognostic significance of adipose tissues in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Methods: We enrolled 87 patients with EV who received initial endoscopic treatment and underwent scheduled treatments in our hospital.

Portal Vein Thrombosis Associated with Trousseau Syndrome due to Urinary Bladder Squamous Cell Carcinoma in a Liver Cirrhosis Patient.

A 75-year-old woman with liver cirrhosis was admitted for treatment of portal vein thrombosis (PVT). Computed tomography (CT) showed PVT, massive ascites, and multiple abdominal organ embolism. Blood tests revealed a decreased liver function (Child-Pugh grade C).

A rare case of peliosis hepatis in a patient with chronic renal failure and renal cell carcinoma.

Peliosis hepatis (PH) is a rare disease characterized by the presence of sinusoidal dilation and blood-filled cysts throughout the hepatic parenchyma. We report a case of PH in a 49-year-old woman with chronic renal failure (CRF) on hemodialysis and with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Dynamic contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed a 35-mm-diameter, hypervascular tumor in the liver and RCC in the right renal cyst.

Transcriptomic Dissection of Hepatocyte Heterogeneity: Linking Ploidy, Zonation, and Stem/Progenitor Cell Characteristics.

Background & Aims: There is a long-standing debate regarding the biological significance of polyploidy in hepatocytes. Recent studies have provided increasing evidence that hepatocytes with different ploidy statuses behave differently in a context-dependent manner (eg, susceptibility to oncogenesis, regenerative ability after injury, and in vitro proliferative capacity). However, their overall transcriptomic differences in a physiological context is not known.

Colorectal neuroendocrine carcinoma: A case report and review of the literature.

Background: Colorectal neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) is a rare tumor that demonstrates aggressive growth pattern with ingrowth into the tract, metastasis to the other organs, and invasion to the surrounding organs; these clinical characteristics result in poor prognosis. Surgical resection appears as an effective approach; however, because it is difficult to accurately diagnose NEC during the early stage and owing to its aggressive growth pattern, development of a reliable standard chemotherapy regimen and management strategies are essential.

Case Summary: Here, we report the case of patient with NEC showing an aggressive growth pattern that resulted in the rupture of the tumor to the outside the colon after stenting of the internal colonic stenosis.

Generation of human hepatic progenitor cells with regenerative and metabolic capacities from primary hepatocytes.

Hepatocytes are regarded as the only effective cell source for cell transplantation to treat liver diseases; however, their availability is limited due to a donor shortage. Thus, a novel cell source must be developed. We recently reported that mature rodent hepatocytes can be reprogrammed into progenitor-like cells with a repopulative capacity using small molecule inhibitors.

EpCAM- and/or NCAM-Expressing Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Which Behavior of Hepatic Progenitor Cell Marker-Positive Cells Are Followed.

Hepatic progenitor cell (HPC) marker-positive hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) have recently been extensively analyzed, and their prognosis has been reported as poor compared to HPC marker-negative HCCs. However, previous studies have analyzed the existence of HPC marker-positive cancer cells only in primary lesions, as well as the recurrence rate and prognosis of such tumors. Here, we are the first to report the behavior of HPC marker-positive cancer cells during vascular invasion and metastasis of an HCC.

Co-existent ulcerative colitis and Guillain-Barré syndrome: a case report and literature review.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic and recurrent inflammatory disease involving the intestine, and Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) is rapid-onset muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. UC and GBS can be caused by immune system abnormalities and can co-exist. To date, there are 7 reported cases of GBS in patients with UC.

Generation of Chemically Induced Liver Progenitors (CLiPs) from Rat Adult Hepatocytes.

Primary mature hepatocytes (MHs) or their progenitor cells are candidate cell sources for cell transplantation therapy in severe liver diseases. However, stable culture of these cells or generation of equivalent cells from pluripotent stem cells has been limited. Using a cocktail of small molecules that we previously found useful in stable culture of multiple types of stem/progenitor cells, we recently established a novel method to generate bipotent liver progenitor cells, named chemically induced liver progenitors (CLiPs), from adult rat MHs.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration for diagnosing a rare extraluminal duodenal gastrointestinal tumor.

Duodenal gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are extremely rare disease entities, and the extraluminal type is difficult to diagnose. These tumors have been misdiagnosed as pancreatic tumors; hence, pancreaticoduodenectomy has been performed, although partial duodenectomy can be performed if accurately diagnosed. Developing a diagnostic methodology including endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and fine-needle aspiration (FNA) has allowed us to diagnose the tumor directly through the duodenum.