Anti-apoptotic activity of human matrix metalloproteinase-2 attenuates diabetes mellitus.

Background: Chronic progression of diabetes is associated with decreased pancreatic islet mass due to apoptosis of β-cells. Patients with diabetes have increased circulating matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2); however, the physiological significance has remained elusive. This study tested the hypothesis that MMP2 inhibits cell apoptosis, including islet β-cells.

Low dose of alcohol attenuates pro-atherosclerotic activity of thrombin.

Background And Aims: Thrombin, the active enzyme of the coagulation system, plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Vascular repair promoted by stromal cell-derived factor-1 is a protective process in atherosclerosis. Consumption of low amount of alcohol is believed to reduce the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease but the mechanism is unclear.

The Associations between Circulating Bile Acids and the Muscle Volume in Patients with Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).

Objective Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is frequently associated with obesity, dyslipidemia and type-2 diabetes mellitus. Bile acids (BAs) bind to the farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and G protein-coupled receptor 5 (TGR5), which are involved in lipid and glucose metabolism and energy expenditure. The present study aimed to determine associations between the circulating BAs and the skeletal muscle volume (SMV), and lipid and glucose metabolism in patients with NAFLD.

Factors contributing to the development of overt encephalopathy in liver cirrhosis patients.

The aim of this study was to clarify the relationships among psychometric testing results, blood ammonia (NH3) levels, electrolyte abnormalities, and degree of inflammation, and their associations with the development of overt hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in liver cirrhosis (LC) patients. The relationships between covert HE and blood NH3, sodium (Na), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were examined in 40 LC patients. The effects of elevated NH3, hyponatremia, and elevated CRP on the development of overt HE were also investigated.

Amelioration of Diabetes by Protein S.

Protein S is an anticoagulant factor that also regulates inflammation and cell apoptosis. The effect of protein S on diabetes and its complications is unknown. This study compared the development of diabetes between wild-type and transgenic mice overexpressing human protein S and the development of diabetic glomerulosclerosis between mice treated with and without human protein S and between wild-type and protein S transgenic mice.

Sarcopenia and Sarcopenic Obesity Are Prognostic Factors for Overall Survival in Patients with Cirrhosis.

Objective: Although the prognosis is known to be poor in cirrhosis patients associated with sarcopenia, the relationships among skeletal muscle, visceral fat, and the liver have not yet been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, the prognosis and its associations with body composition and the severity of liver disease were examined in patients with cirrhosis.

Methods: The skeletal muscle mass and visceral fat area were measured in 161 patients with cirrhosis, the effects of body composition on the prognosis were analyzed, and any factors that contribute to changes in body composition were assessed.

Usefulness of Levocarnitine and/or Branched-Chain Amino Acids during Invasive Treatment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) are effective treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the extent of treatment depends on hepatic functional reserve. L-Carnitine is a vitamin-like substance and several reports have described the usefulness of L-carnitine supplementation in cases of cirrhosis, with confirmed effectiveness against refractory hepatic encephalopathy.

Change in skeletal muscle mass after administering entecavir in patients with hepatitis B.

Objective: Cachexia, or disease-related loss of muscle mass, is a complication of chronic liver disease that modifies its clinical course. The aim of this study was to determine whether improvement in liver function and cachexia through control of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) increases skeletal muscle mass.

Methods: The blood tests and cross-sectional area (mm(2)) of the psoas major muscle on computed tomography were measured before and after long-term entecavir therapy (median, 39 mo; range, 14-76 mo) in patients with hepatitis B (17 men, 13 women; mean age, 63 ± 13 y).

Elevation of branched-chain amino acid levels in diabetes and NAFL and changes with antidiabetic drug treatment.

Diabetes mellitus (DM), non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL), and obesity are associated with elevated branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) levels, but the mechanism and significance of this has not been elucidated. Eighty-four subjects were enrolled including 43 with DM. Serum BCAA levels were positively correlated with waist-hip ratio and ALT.

Iron overload and glucose abnormalities in chronic hepatitis C virus infection: phlebotomy lowers risk of new-onset diabetes.

Background/aims: Iron overload and hyperglycemia are common findings in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). The aim of this study was to determine the relation of serum ferritin and hepatic hepcidin expression with glucose metabolic parameters and to evaluate whether long term phlebotomy lowers the risk of new-onset diabetes in CHC patients.

Methodology: Hepatic hepcidin mRNA expression was measured in 28 CHC patients and their relation with clinical parameters and histological findings was evaluated.

Nutrition therapy using a multidisciplinary team improves survival rates in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Objectives: Very few reports thus far have clinically elucidated the advantages of a nutrition support team (NST) in the field of liver diseases. The present study retrospectively analyzed whether nutrition therapy for liver cirrhosis (LC), performed by a multidisciplinary team that includes registered dieticians, improves survival rates.

Methods: In study 1, we compared survival rates between two groups of patients with LC to elucidate the effects of nutrition management by registered dieticians.

Branched-chain amino acid supplementation reduces oxidative stress and prolongs survival in rats with advanced liver cirrhosis.

Long-term supplementation with branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) is associated with prolonged survival and decreased frequency of development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with liver cirrhosis. However, the pharmaceutical mechanism underlying this association is still unclear. We investigated whether continuous BCAA supplementation increases survival rate of rats exposed to a fibrogenic agent and influences the iron accumulation, oxidative stress, fibrosis, and gluconeogenesis in the liver.

Regional reduction in gray and white matter volume in brains of cirrhotic patients: voxel-based analysis of MRI.

Chronic hepatic encephalopathy is a characteristically reversible neuropsychiatric disorder that occurs mainly in patients with liver cirrhosis. The brain regions critically involved in the pathophysiology of cirrhosis are not clear. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with voxel-based morphometry (VBM) is a valuable tool for evaluating structural brain changes in many neurodegenerative diseases.

Visceral fat volume predicts new-onset type 2 diabetes in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Ninety seven patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and 72 with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were enrolled. Increased visceral fat area (VFA) was associated with high values of HbA1c. The variables associated with a high risk of new-onset diabetes had a VFA>101 cm(2) in CHC, but not in NAFLD.

Atherosclerosis amelioration by moderate alcohol consumption is associated with increased circulating levels of stromal cell-derived factor-1.

Background: A moderate intake of alcohol is associated with lower cardiovascular mortality, and the role of circulating progenitor cells in the beneficial effect of alcohol on atherosclerosis is unclear. The hypothesis of this study was that alcohol ameliorates atherosclerosis by modulating the circulating levels of stromal cell-derived growth factor (SDF)-1 and vascular progenitor cells.

Methods And Results: Atherosclerosis was induced by infusion of angiotensin II in apolipoprotein-E deficient mice, which were treated with high and low doses of ethanol for 28 days by intraperitoneal injection.