Hepatic SPARC Expression Is Associated with Inflammasome Activation during the Progression of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Both Mice and Morbidly Obese Patients.

The severity of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) ranges from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis, and it is not yet clearly understood which patients will progress to liver fibrosis or cirrhosis. SPARC (Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine) has been involved in NAFLD pathogenesis in mice and humans. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of SPARC in inflammasome activation, and to evaluate the relationship between the hepatic expression of inflammasome genes and the biochemical and histological characteristics of NAFLD in obese patients.

30-Day Morbidity and Mortality of Bariatric Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Multinational Cohort Study of 7704 Patients from 42 Countries.

Background: There are data on the safety of cancer surgery and the efficacy of preventive strategies on the prevention of postoperative symptomatic COVID-19 in these patients. But there is little such data for any elective surgery. The main objectives of this study were to examine the safety of bariatric surgery (BS) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to determine the efficacy of perioperative COVID-19 protective strategies on postoperative symptomatic COVID-19 rates.