The Natural History and Management of Hepatic Hemangioma.

Background: Knowledge of the natural history and management of hepatic hemangiomas is lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the natural history of hemangiomas and to elucidate the factors that determine tumor growth and optimal management.

Methods: A total of 211 adult patients were enrolled, with follow-up for more than three years.

Late-Onset Intracranial Hemorrhage Presenting as Refractory Hyponatremia: A Case Report.

Here, we report a case of refractory hyponatremia and delayed intracranial hemorrhage following a head injury. A 70-year-old male patient was admitted with complaints of left chest pain and light-headedness after a fall. Hyponatremia recurred despite the correction with intravenous saline.

Effects of Using a Video-Sharing Application on Multidisciplinary Staff During Pre-discharge Home Assessment Visits for Elderly Hospitalized Patients.

Background: Pre-discharge home assessment visits for elderly hospitalized patients are conducted by the hospital staff to ensure a smooth transition to home care and are effective in preventing falls and reducing the rehospitalization rates. However, the effect of an application that enables the viewing of videos of the patient's home activities during the pre-discharge visit on the multidisciplinary professionals who provide services to the patient has not yet been fully clarified.

Methods: Multidisciplinary professionals at 23 facilities located in western Tottori Prefecture who used a video-sharing application (Patto-Mie Net) were invited to be interview participants.

Anorexia in a hemodialysis patient due to pneumatosis intestinalis: A case report.

We report a case of pneumatosis intestinalis (PI) in a hemodialysis patient who presented with anorexia and nausea. Anorexia with postprandial nausea can be caused by gastrointestinal diseases, with one of the rare causes being PI. PI may occur in hemodialysis patients, but it is rarely reported.

Newly Invented Micellized Vitamin K2 Recovered Prolonged Prothrombin Time under Obstructive Jaundice in Rats with Bile Duct Ligation.

In cholestatic liver diseases, coagulopathy is induced by malabsorption of vitamin K. Supplementation of vitamin K has previously been shown to prevent coagulopathy. In this study, we tested the efficacy of a newly invented micellized vitamin K2 (m-vitK2) in treating coagulopathy, using a rat bile duct ligation (BDL) model.

Association of tumor size and internal echo pattern with coagulopathy associated with hepatic hemangioma.

Little is known concerning causal factors associated with the size and echogenicity of hepatic hemangiomas. The aim of the present study was to investigate the associations between tumor size and echo pattern and coagulation factors, and to elucidate the growth pattern of hemangiomas. In 214 consecutive patients with hepatic hemangiomas, ultrasonography was performed to determine total tumor number, size, echogenicity and location, and serum laboratory tests for liver function and coagulation factors were carried out.

Preablation three-dimensional ultrasonography can predict therapeutic effect and local tumor progression after radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: To assess the agreement between ablative margin (AM) predicted by preablation three-dimensional ultrasonography (3D-US) and AM measured on postablation computed tomography (CT)/magnetic resonance (MR) images.

Methods: Sixty patients with 73 hepatocellular carcinoma nodules were enrolled. 3D-US data were collected immediately after puncture by the electrode before ablation.

Serum miR-379 expression is related to the development and progression of hypercholesterolemia in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Introduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has a wide spectrum, eventually leading to cirrhosis and hepatic carcinogenesis. We previously reported that a series of microRNAs (miRNAs) mapped in the 14q32.2 maternally imprinted gene region (Dlk1-Dio3 mat) are related to NAFLD development and progression in a mouse model.

Complications after Radiofrequency Ablation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Multicenter Study Involving 9,411 Japanese Patients.

Introduction: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considered a safe and minimally invasive procedure. We previously reported that the mortality and complication rates for RFA were 0.038% (5/13,283 patients) and 3.

Ipragliflozin Ameliorates Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Apoptosis through Preventing Ectopic Lipid Deposition in Renal Tubules.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are major health burdens closely related to metabolic syndrome. A link between CKD and NASH has been assumed; however, the underlying mechanism is still unknown. Ectopic lipid deposition (ELD) in the hepatocyte results in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, which plays an important role in the development of steatohepatitis.

Gene Expression Analysis of the Activating Factor 3/Nuclear Protein 1 Axis in a Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis Mouse Model.

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease/steatohepatitis (NAFLD/NASH) is a chronic liver disease related to metabolic syndrome that can progress to liver cirrhosis. The involvement of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response in NAFLD progression and the roles played by activating factor 3 (ATF3) and the downstream nuclear protein 1 (NUPR1) are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to determine the gene expression profiles around the ATF3/NUPR1 axis in relation to the development of NAFLD using novel mouse models.

Protective Effects of Ipragliflozin, a Sodium-glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitor, on a Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis Mouse Model.

Background: The options for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are limited. We examined the effects of ipragliflozin, a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor, on the fatty liver Shionogi (FLS)- mice, a non-alcoholic steatohepatitis mouse model.

Methods: FLS- male mice were treated with vehicle ( = 10) and ipragliflozin ( = 8).

Small Bowel Obstruction Due to Mochi (Rice Cake): A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

A 66-year-old man presented at our emergency department with severe intermittent abdominal pain. His history revealed that he had eaten several mochi (rice cakes) without sufficiently chewing them before swallowing. Following computed tomography that showed a high value, he was diagnosed with an obstruction caused by mochi.

Renal shear wave elastography for the assessment of nephron hypertrophy: a cross-sectional study in chronic kidney disease.

Purpose: To investigate the association of renal elasticity to microscopic findings of nephron hypertrophy and nephrosclerosis.

Methods: Patients who underwent renal biopsy were enrolled. Renal elasticity was measured by acoustic radiation force impulse, and nephron size (glomerular volume, non-sclerotic glomerular density, and mean profile tubular area) and nephrosclerosis (globally sclerotic glomeruli and interstitial fibrosis) were estimated.

Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein predicts the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Aim: As it is not practical to perform regular screening for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in all patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), there is a need to identify NAFLD patients who are at high risk for HCC. Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein (WFA -M2BP) has been shown to be a surrogate marker for predicting HCC as well as a liver fibrosis marker in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C. The aim of this study was to investigate whether WFA -M2BP predicts HCC development in NAFLD patients.

Two patterns of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography with Sonazoid in spontaneous rupture of hepatocellular carcinoma: a report of four cases.

Spontaneous rupture is a life-threatening complication of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Detecting active bleeding is critical. Color Doppler and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) with Levovist are reported to be useful for detecting active bleeding.

Risk Assessment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in General Population by Liver Stiffness in Combination with Controlled Attenuation Parameter using Transient Elastography: A Cross Sectional Study.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients without hepatitis B (HBV) and -C virus (HCV) infection are increasing in Japan. Method for detecting high-risk liver diseases of HCC in general population has still not been established. Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and Controlled Attenuation Parameter (CAP) using transient elastography (TE; FibroScan System) are useful for detecting liver fibrosis and steatosis.

Serum Procalcitonin in Patients with Acute Liver Failure.

Background: Procalcitonin (PCT) is a known diagnostic marker of bacterial infection. There are no previous reports of PCT concerning acute liver failure (ALF). We evaluated the clinical value of serum PCT levels in patients with ALF.

Falsely Elevated Serum Vitamin B Levels Were Associated with the Severity and Prognosis of Chronic Viral Liver Disease.

Background: Vitamin B is stored primarily in the liver, and highly elevated serum vitamin B levels occur in acute hepatitis and severe alcoholic liver disease. We evaluated the relationship between vitamin B levels and liver disease severity and long term prognosis in patients with chronic viral hepatitis and cirrhosis.

Methods: We enrolled 90 patients (57 men, 33 women) with chronic viral hepatitis and cirrhosis who admitted to our hospital as a prospective cohort study.

Utility of virtual touch quantification in the diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

This study aimed to compare the tissue stiffness of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) with that of pancreatic parenchyma using virtual touch quantification (VTQ). SWV was measured in 34 PDAC lesions and in pancreatic parenchyma of both controls and patients. SWVs in PDAC lesions were significantly higher than in pancreatic parenchyma in both healthy controls and in patients with PDAC.

Antifibrotic effects of ambrisentan, an endothelin-A receptor antagonist, in a non-alcoholic steatohepatitis mouse model.

Aim: To examine the effects of the endothelin type A receptor antagonist ambrisentan on hepatic steatosis and fibrosis in a steatohepatitis mouse model.

Methods: Fatty liver shionogi (FLS) FLS-ob/ob mice (male, 12 wk old) received ambrisentan (2.5 mg/kg orally per day; n = 8) or water as a control (n = 5) for 4 wk.