Enteral nutrition improves health-related quality of life in Crohn's disease patients with long disease duration.

Background/aims: Although enteral nutrition therapy has been highlighted as maintenance therapy for Crohn's disease, few reports have investigated the impact of enteral nutrition on the health-related quality of life of Crohn's disease patients.

Methodology: We cross-sectionally evaluated the effect of multiple clinical factors including enteral nutrition on the health-related quality of life of Crohn's disease patients focusing on patient disease duration using the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire.

Results: Of all 126 patients examined, 95 patients were receiving enteral nutrition.

Clinical factors that impair health-related quality of life in ulcerative colitis patients vary with the disease duration.

Background And Aim: The health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) can be impaired because of the chronic symptoms. Although UC patients suffer from such symptoms over the long term, there have been few reports on the changes of HRQOL with disease duration. The aim of this study was to clarify these changes.

Gene expression profiling in biliary epithelial cells of primary biliary cirrhosis using laser capture microdissection and cDNA microarray.

Unlabelled: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic, cholestatic liver disease characterized by progressive destruction of interlobular bile ducts that leads to biliary cirrhosis. To elucidate the etiology of PBC, the gene expression profile in biliary epithelial cells (BECs) was analyzed. Liver specimens of 5 PBC, 3 chronic hepatitis C (CHC), and 3 normal subjects were obtained.

Regression of hepatocellular carcinoma during vitamin K administration.

An 85-year-old man with HCV infection and diabetes mellitus was diagnosed as having hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, 13 cm in diameter) based on high serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), AFP-L3, and des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin levels as well as typical enhancement pattern on contrast-enhanced CT. The patient did not receive any interventional treatments because of advanced age and the advanced stage of HCC. He chose to take vitamin K, which was reported to suppress the growth of HCC in vitro.

Prediction of the ablated area by the spread of microbubbles during radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background/aim: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is effective for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To prevent the ablation of adjacent organs and vessels, the spread of microbubbles generated by heating during RFA was observed by ultrasonography (US) and used to predict the ablated area; however, several reports documented that discrepancies existed between the spread of microbubbles and the ablated area.

Patients And Methods: The spread of microbubbles during RFA was observed by US in 24 patients with HCC and the areas were compared with the defect of enhancement in contrast enhanced (CE)-US, using Levovist in the same plane.

Pachydermoperiostosis associated with juvenile polyps of the stomach and gastric adenocarcinoma.

Pachydermoperiostosis (PDP) is a rare syndrome, and the presence of digital clubbing, radiographic periostosis, and coarse facial features are the main diagnostic criteria. Here, we report patient with the primary form of PDP in whom juvenile polyps and gastric cancer developed within 9 years of follow-up. A 27-year-old Japanese man, diagnosed as having the primary form of PDP at 14 years of age, was referred to our department for assessment of chronic anemia.

A crucial role of hepatocyte nuclear factor-4 expression in the differentiation of human ductular hepatocytes.

Ductular structures are suggested to be bipotential progenitor cells that may differentiate into hepatocytes or biliary epithelial cells (BEC). To better understand the differentiation process, we studied the expression of hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF) in ductular structures. Matured hepatocytes in normal liver expressed HNF-1, HNF-4alpha, HNF-3beta, and C/EBPalpha in the nucleus.

Stromal cell-derived factor-1 from biliary epithelial cells recruits CXCR4-positive cells: implications for inflammatory liver diseases.

Although stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) plays an important role in hematopoiesis in the fetal liver, the role after birth remains to be clarified. We investigated the role of SDF-1 and its receptor, CXCR4, in 75 patients; this included controls and patients with viral hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and autoimmune hepatitis. Interestingly, SDF-1 appeared up-regulated in biliary epithelial cells (BEC) of inflammatory liver disease.

Clinicopathological features of acute-onset autoimmune hepatitis.

The clinicopathological features of nine acute-onset autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) patients were compared with those of 29 classical AIH patients. The clinical features of acute-onset AIH showed significantly higher serum ALT levels, lower serum IgG levels and AIH score than those of classical AIH, although the type of auto-antibodies, age and gender were not different between the two groups. Pathological features showed that the stages of acute-onset AIH varied from stage 1 to stage 4 and were less advanced compared with those of classical AIH.

In situ expression of Granzyme B and Fas-ligand in the liver of viral hepatitis.

Background/aims: The molecular mechanism involved in hepatocellular injury in viral hepatitis remains to be clarified.

Methods: We investigated the in situ expression of effector molecules of cytotoxic T lymphocytes such as Fas-ligand (Fas-L), perforin and Granzyme B (Gr-B) immunohistochemically in liver tissues from 20 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and C (CHC). The degree of cell infiltration was analysed semi-quantitatively and compared with the histological activity index (HAI).