Reducing liver function tests for statin monitoring: an observational comparison of two clinical commissioning groups.

Background: Current liver function testing for statin monitoring is largely unnecessary and costly. Statins do not cause liver disease. Both reduction in test frequency and use of a single alanine transaminase (ALT) rather than a full seven analyte liver function test (LFT) array would reduce cost and may benefit patients.

HB Hillingdon [alpha46(CE4)Phe-->Val (alpha1 Or alpha2)]: a new alpha chain hemoglobin variant.

Routine antenatal hemoglobinopathy screening detected a new alpha chain variant that eluted with Hb A(2) on cation exchange high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in a lady of Sri Lankan origin who had normal hematological indices. The mutation was identified by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) as alpha46(CE4)Phe-->Val, inferring that the variant was due to a single base change at codon 46 (TTC>GTC) of the alpha1- or alpha2-globin genes.

Epidemiology of hepatitis B virus in Bangladeshi general population.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is encountered sporadically the year round in Bangladesh. It results in a wide range of liver diseases, with asymptomatic acute hepatitis at one end to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at the other end of the spectrum.

Methods: All 1018 individuals of different age groups and sex with varied religious, educational and social backgrounds were tested for HBsAg by ELISA.