Accuracy of type IV collagen 7S versus Enhanced Liver Fibrosis score for diagnosing fibrosis in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

Background: Various noninvasive tests can be used to identify high-risk groups of patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease/steatohepatitis (MASLD). In this study, we compared the diagnostic performance of serum type 4 collagen 7S (COL4-7S) and the Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) score for detecting fibrosis in patients with MASLD.

Methods: Among 1368 patients with MASLD who underwent liver biopsy, 794 with values for both serum COL4-7S and the ELF score were enrolled in this multicenter study.

Head-to-head comparison among FAST, MAST, and multiparametric MRI-based new score in diagnosing at-risk MASH.

Objectives: New scores were developed to identify at-risk metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) using multiparametric MRI (mpMRI).

Materials And Methods: A prospective study was conducted on 176 patients with suspected or diagnosed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) paired with an MR scan, vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE), and liver biopsy. Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) using magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), proton density fat fraction (PDFF), and mpMRI-based corrected T1 (cT1) were combined to develop a one-step strategy, named MPcT (MRE + PDFF + cT1, combined score), and a two-step strategy-MRE-based LSM followed by PDFF with cT1 (M-PcT, paired score) for diagnosing at-risk MASH.

Diversity of ligninolytic ascomycete fungi associated with the bleached leaf litter in subtropical and temperate forests.

Little is known regarding the diversity patterns of Xylariaceae and Hypoxylaceae (Ascomycota) fungi taking part in the lignin decomposition of leaf litter from different tree species and under different climatic regions. The alpha and beta diversity of Xylariaceae and Hypoxylaceae fungi was investigated on bleached leaf litter from nine subtropical and cool temperate tree species in Japan. A total of 248 fungal isolates, obtained from 480 leaves from the nine tree species, were classified into 43 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) with a 97% similarity threshold and were assigned to nine genera of Xylariaceae and Hypoxylaceae.

Pemafibrate for treating MASLD complicated by hypertriglyceridaemia: a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial study protocol.

Introduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, now known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), is a phenotype of the metabolic syndrome in the liver and is clearly associated with metabolic abnormalities such as hyperglycaemia and dyslipidaemia. Although the prevalence of MASLD is increasing worldwide, there is currently no consensus on the efficacy and safety of the drugs used to treat MASLD/metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Pemafibrate, a selective peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha modulator, was designed to have higher peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alfa (PPARα) agonist activity and selectivity than existing PPARα agonists, and in development trials, without increasing creatinine levels, lipid parameters and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were significantly improved.

Serum Cytokeratin 18 Fragment Is an Indicator for Treating Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease.

Background And Aims: Although numerous noninvasive diagnostic methods have been developed to predict liver fibrosis in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), they lack markers for predicting lobular inflammation, hepatocellular ballooning, or changes related to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). We examined serum cytokeratin 18 fragment (CK18F) as a noninvasive marker for predicting treatment response and "at-risk MASH" and "MASH resolution" in patients with MASLD.

Methods: One-hundred-and-ten patients with MASLD who underwent repeated biopsy were enrolled (age, 4 [0.