Association between serum endocan levels and organ failure in hospitalized patients with cirrhosis.

Background & Aims: Acute-on-chronic liver failure is a syndrome characterized by organ failure and high short-term mortality. The lack of reliable biomarkers for the early detection of acute-on-chronic liver failure is a significant challenge. Endothelial dysfunction plays a key role in the development of organ failure.

Correction: The association between vitamin D receptor polymorphism and phases of chronic hepatitis B infection in HBV carriers in Thailand.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

External validation of population pharmacokinetic models of tacrolimus in Thai adult liver transplant recipients.

Objective: Several population pharmacokinetic models of tacrolimus in liver transplant patients were built, and their predictability was evaluated in their settings. However, the extrapolation in the prediction was unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive performance of published tacrolimus models in adult liver transplant recipients using data from the Thai population as an external dataset.

Bacterial DNA Translocation Is Associated With Overt Hepatic Encephalopathy and Mortality in Patients With Cirrhosis.

Introduction: Data on the relationship between bacterial translocation, hepatic encephalopathy (HE), and mortality are scarce. This study aimed to assess the association between bacterial DNA (bactDNA) translocation, inflammatory response, ammonia levels, and severity of HE in patients with cirrhosis, as well as the role of bactDNA translocation in predicting mortality.

Methods: Cirrhotic patients without bacterial infection were prospectively enrolled between June 2022 and January 2023.

Efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of capsid assembly modulator linvencorvir plus standard of care in chronic hepatitis B patients.

Background/aims: Four-week treatment of linvencorvir (RO7049389) was generally safe and well tolerated, and showed anti-viral activity in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. This study evaluated the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of 48-week treatment with linvencorvir plus standard of care (SoC) in CHB patients.

Methods: This was a multicentre, non-randomized, non-controlled, open-label phase 2 study enrolling three cohorts: nucleos(t)ide analogue (NUC)-suppressed patients received linvencorvir plus NUC (Cohort A, n=32); treatment-naïve patients received linvencorvir plus NUC without (Cohort B, n=10) or with (Cohort C, n=30) pegylated interferon-α (Peg-IFN-α).

Prevalence of hepatitis D virus infection among patients with chronic hepatitis B infection in a tertiary care centre in Thailand.

Knowledge about the epidemiology of hepatitis D virus (HDV) is essential for effective screening and management. Our study aimed to update the prevalence of HDV infection among patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection at hepatology clinics in Thailand. We enrolled HBV-infected patients from hepatology clinics at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand, between June 2022 and November 2023.

Modified albumin-bilirubin predicted survival of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated with immunotherapy.

Background: Modified albumin-bilirubin (mALBI) grade has been established as a survival determinant in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who receive locoregional and targeted therapies.

Aim: To investigate whether mALBI could predict survival in unresectable HCC (uHCC) patients who were treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (AB).

Methods: A single-center, retrospective cohort study enrolled uHCC patients who received AB treatment between September 2020 and April 2023 and were followed up until June 2023.

Validation of the albumin-bilirubin score for identifying decompensation risk in patients with compensated cirrhosis.

Background: The albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score is an index of liver function recently developed to assess prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It can detect small changes in liver dysfunction and has been successfully applied to the prediction of survival in patients with non-malignant liver diseases of various etiologies.

Aim: To investigate the ALBI score for identifying decompensation risk at the 3-year follow-up in patients with compensated cirrhosis.

Calcitriol Protects against Acetaminophen-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Mice.

Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose is one of the major causes of acute liver failure. Severe liver inflammation and the production of oxidative stress occur due to toxic APAP metabolites and glutathione depletion. Growing evidence has proved that vitamin D (VD) exerts anti-inflammatory and antioxidative functions.

Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score for the Diagnosis of Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy in Thai Cirrhotic Patients.

The psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES) is the gold standard for diagnosing minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE). Screening for MHE is frequently overlooked in clinical practice due to time constraints. Furthermore, the simplified animal naming test (S-ANT1) is a new simple tool for evaluating MHE in cirrhotic patients.

Immunogenicity, Immune Dynamics, and Subsequent Response to the Booster Dose of Heterologous versus Homologous Prime-Boost Regimens with Adenoviral Vector and mRNA SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine among Liver Transplant Recipients: A Prospective Study.

Background: Heterologous prime-boost vaccination potentially augments the immune response against SARS-CoV-2 in liver transplant (LT) recipients. We investigated immunogenicity induced by different primary prime-boost vaccination protocols and the subsequent response to the booster vaccine among LT recipients. Methods: LT recipients, who received primary immunisation with ChAdOx1/ChAdOx1 or ChAdOx1/BNT162b2, were administered the third dose of mRNA-1273 three months following the primary vaccination.

The association between vitamin D receptor polymorphism and phases of chronic hepatitis B infection in HBV carriers in Thailand.

Vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphism partly regulates the immune system and is associated with hepatic flare in chronic Hepatitis B virus infection (HBV). Our study identified the association between two distinct phases, VDR polymorphisms and HBV inactive carrier (IC) and chronic hepatitis (CH). Chronic HBV patients were enrolled from February to August 2020.

Assessment and validation of the TREAT-B score to assess the treatment eligibility of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

Background And Aims: Access to Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA testing to determine treatment eligibility is limited in low-income countries. Therefore, this study aimed to assess and validate the TREAT-B score proposed as the treatment threshold in an Asian cohort in determining the HBV treatment eligibility.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on consecutive patients with treatment-naïve chronic HBV mono-infection who visited the liver clinic at Chulalongkorn University Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand, from 2016 to 2020.

Autoimmune Hepatitis Triggered by COVID-19 Vaccine: The First Case From Inactivated Vaccine.

We report a case of a 52-year-old woman without previous underlying liver disease, presenting with progressive jaundice and diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis after 2 doses of an inactivated coronavirus disease 2019 (CoronaVac) vaccine. All serology and histology were compatible with autoimmune hepatitis. Symptoms were improved and liver function tests were normalized after treatment with steroids and azathioprine.

Hepatic Necrosis Mimicking Infiltrative Masses in Acute Budd-Chiari Syndrome With Hereditary Protein C Deficiency.

We report the case of a patient with an unusual acute Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS). The patient presented with high-grade fever and right upper quadrant pain. Infiltrative lesions at the right hepatic lobe and segment IVB with intrahepatic inferior vena cava and right hepatic vein thrombus appeared on abdominal imaging.

Validation and prognostic value of EZ-ALBI score in patients with intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma treated with trans-arterial chemoembolization.

Background: Heterogeneity of liver function and tumor burden in intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) results in different outcomes after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Easy albumin-bilirubin (EZ-ALBI), a simplified albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score, has recently been proposed as a new prognostic score for HCC. This study aimed to validate the EZ-ALBI score and evaluate the impact of dynamic changes in patients with intermediate-stage HCC undergoing TACE.

Non-invasive tests for liver fibrosis assessment in patients with chronic liver diseases: a prospective study.

There is an urgent need of non-invasive tests (NITs) for monitoring treatment response and disease progression in chronic liver disease. Liver stiffness (LS) evaluated by transient elastography (TE), shear wave elastography (SWE), and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) and serum markers e.g.

Eliminating viral hepatitis in children after liver transplants: How to reach the goal by 2030.

Viral hepatitis infections are a great burden in children who have received liver transplant. Hepatotropic viruses can cause liver inflammation that can develop into liver graft fibrosis and cirrhosis over the long term. Immunological reactions due to viral hepatitis infections are associated with or can mimic graft rejection, rendering the condition difficult to manage.

Stability of hepatitis B virus pregenomic RNA in plasma specimens under various temperatures and storage conditions.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) has gained increasing attention owing to its role in replication of covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) in HBV. This marker has the potential to be used in clinical programs aimed to manage HBV infections. However, several reports on HBV pgRNA levels in clinical cases have conflicting results.

Effect of vitamin D supplementation in patients with chronic hepatitis C after direct-acting antiviral treatment: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Replacement of vitamin D (VD) among patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) before viral eradication has demonstrated a protective effect on serum markers associated with hepatic fibrogenesis. We therefore hypothesized that VD may facilitate further fibrosis amelioration following curative treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAA).

Methods: This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted between February 2018 and August 2018.

Changes in hepatic fibrosis and vitamin D levels after viral hepatitis C eradication using direct-acting antiviral therapy.

Background: Vitamin D (VD) is important in hepatic fibrogenesis in animal models and human studies. VD deficiency is associated with liver fibrosis progression. Metabolic dysfunction of the liver, as an intermediate organ for VD metabolism, contributes partly to this deficiency.

Acute liver failure and death predictors in patients with dengue-induced severe hepatitis.

Background: Liver injury in patients with dengue infection is common. Most patients have mild and transient hepatitis. Acute liver failure (ALF) in dengue infection is rare but results in an extremely poor prognosis.

Association between Vitamin D Receptor Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms and Colorectal Cancer in the Thai Population: A Case-Control Study.

Vitamin D and its cognate intracellular nuclear receptor, namely, vitamin D receptor (VDR), are involved in the regulation of a variety of body metabolic processes, immune function, and oncogenesis. A large number of studies demonstrated the association of low vitamin D levels and variations in five common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), I, I, I, I, and I, with the risk of several cancers, including colorectal cancers. However, these associations vary among different populations.