Ultrasonographic diagnosis of degree of chronic type C liver disease.

Background/aims: We propose a method, named US score, for semi-quantitative determination of the stage of chronic type C liver disease by ultrasonography.

Methodology: The subjects were 454 patients with chronic type C liver disease. Of the patients with chronic hepatitis C, 208 underwent US-guided or laparoscopic liver biopsy.

Detection of serum hepatitis B virus DNA by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (TaqMan PCR) during lamivudine treatment: comparison with three other assays.

Monitoring of hepatitis B virus (HBV) levels in serum plays an important role in the management of chronic hepatitis B in patients receiving lamivudine. We evaluated the usefulness of real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (TaqMan PCR) for the measurement of HBV DNA. The subjects were 22 patients with chronic hepatitis B treated with lamivudine for 4-12 months.

An autopsy case of POEMS syndrome with a high level of IL-6 and VEGF in the serum and ascitic fluid.

A 45-year-old woman was hospitalized because of systemic edema and peripheral nerve impairment. The patient had complications of organomegaly, endocrinopathy, and monoclonal gammmopathy, and was diagnosed with POEMS syndrome based on these characteristic signs and symptoms. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in the serum and ascitic fluid were high.