Probiotic supplementation for 24 weeks in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: the PROBILIVER randomized clinical trial.

Background And Aim: Considering the increasing prevalence of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and treatment gaps, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of probiotic supplementation on liver function markers, nutritional status, and clinical parameters.

Methods: This double-blind, randomized clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT0346782) included adult outpatients with biopsy-proven NASH.

Evaluation of bowel wall flow by color Doppler ultrasound in the assessment of inflammatory bowel disease activity in pediatric patients.

Objective: To assess inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) activity with Doppler ultrasound in pediatric patients, comparing the accuracy of the ultrasound findings with that of the concentrations of fecal calprotectin (FC).

Materials And Methods: In a consecutive series, we evaluated 53 examinations of 44 pediatric patients seen between 2014 and 2020: 28 with Crohn's disease, 15 with ulcerative colitis, and one with IBD unclassified. The diagnosis of IBD was made in accordance with the Porto criteria.

Oral 24-week probiotics supplementation did not decrease cardiovascular risk markers in patients with biopsy proven NASH: A double-blind placebo-controlled randomized study.

Introduction And Objectives: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the major cause of death in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a clinical condition without any approved pharmacological therapy. Probiotics are often indicated for the disease, but their results are controversial in part due to the poor quality of studies. Thus, we investigated the impact of 24-week probiotics supplementation on cardiovascular risk (CVR) in biopsy-proven non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) patients.

Gut dysbiosis and systemic inflammation promote cardiomyocyte abnormalities in an experimental model of steatohepatitis.

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death in metabolic-associated fatty liver disease, and gut microbiota dysbiosis is associated with both of them.

Aim: To assess the relationship between gut dysbiosis and cardiovascular risk (CVR) in an experimental model of steatohepatitis.

Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized to a control group ( = 10) fed a standard diet and an intervention group ( = 10) fed a high-fat choline-deficient diet for 16 wk.

Effect of Melatonin on the Reduction of Hepatic Steatosis and Intestinal Leptin Expression in Zebrafish Exposed to Fructose.

Melatonin is a hormone related to circadian rhythms and has potential clinical applications. Our objectives were to verify the effect of melatonin on the liver of zebrafish exposed to fructose and evaluate the expression of appetite-related genes (leptin, ghrelin, and melanocortin receptor 4 [MC4R]). Animals were divided into three groups: control (CG,  = 25), fructose (FG,  = 25), and fructose+melatonin (FMG,  = 25).

Cholinergic system and exploratory behavior are changed after weekly-binge ethanol exposure in zebrafish.

Binge drinking is characterized by excessive alcohol consumption in a short period of time and is associated with a poor quality of life. Zebrafish are commonly used to investigate neurochemical, behavioral, and genetic parameters associated with ethanol (EtOH) exposure. However, few studies have used zebrafish as a model to investigate binge EtOH exposure.

Hepatoprotective Effect of Probiotic GG Through the Modulation of Gut Permeability and Inflammasomes in a Model of Alcoholic Liver Disease in Zebrafish.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is among the leading causes of death from liver disease. Among the factors involved in its pathogenesis are inflammation and increased intestinal permeability. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of GG (LGG) on hepatic lipid accumulation, activation of inflammasomes, and gut permeability markers in experimental model of ALD with zebrafish.

Tolerability and Effects of the Use of Energy-Enriched Infant Formula After Congenital Heart Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Undernutrition is a common problem among children with congenital heart disease (CHD) and may lead to poorer surgical outcomes. A higher intake of energy during the postoperative period of CHD surgery seems to be associated with better outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the use of energy-enriched formula (EE-formula) compared with normocaloric formula during 30 days after CHD surgery.

Prevalence of celiac disease in a large cohort of young patients with type 1 diabetes.

Background: Serological screening for celiac disease (CD) allows the identification of individuals genetically predisposed, as type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). However, the diagnosis is confirmed by intestinal biopsy. The aim was to determine the prevalence of immunoglobulin-A anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (IgA-tTG) and CD in a large cohort of young T1DM patients.

Antifibrogenic effect of melatonin in rats with experimental liver cirrhosis induced by carbon tetrachloride.

Background And Aim: Liver diseases are a major public health problem, accounting for a significant number of hospital visits and admissions and an increasing mortality rate. Melatonin (MLT) is a powerful antioxidant molecule that has been shown to be beneficial under various conditions. The objective was to evaluate the effect of MLT on experimental liver cirrhosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl) in rats.

Cholinergic System and Oxidative Stress Changes in the Brain of a Zebrafish Model Chronically Exposed to Ethanol.

Ethanol is a widely used drug, and excess or even moderate consumption of ethanol is associated with changes in several neurotransmitter systems, including the cholinergic system. The incidence of alcoholic dementia and its insults are well supported by multiple studies, although the mechanisms of neurotoxicity are still poorly understood. Considering that zebrafish have a complete central nervous system (CNS) and that several signaling systems have already been identified in zebrafish, this neurotoxicological model has become useful.

Genetic variants underlying vitamin D metabolism and VDR-TGFβ-1-SMAD3 interaction may impact on HCV progression: a study based on dbGaP data from the HALT-C study.

Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in liver disease and vitamin D has been shown to decrease hepatic fibrosis through an anti-TGFβ-1/SMAD3 effect mediated by the vitamin D receptor. Thus, we hypothesized that genetic variants involved in vitamin D metabolism and/or VDR/TGFβ-1/SMAD3 interaction could impact on the progression of chronic HCV. We obtained or imputed genotypes for 40 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in genes implicated in vitamin D metabolism from the HALT-C cohort via dbGaP.

Chronic exposure to ethanol causes steatosis and inflammation in zebrafish liver.

Aim: To evaluate the effects of chronic exposure to ethanol in the liver and the expression of inflammatory genes in zebrafish.

Methods: Zebrafish ( = 104), wild type, adult, male and female, were divided into two groups: Control and ethanol (0.05 v/v).

Paracrine Effects of Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells in Survival and Cytokine Expression after 90% Partial Hepatectomy.

Acute liver failure is a complex and fatal disease. Cell-based therapies are a promising alternative therapeutic approach for liver failure due to relatively simple technique and lower cost. The use of semipermeable microcapsules has become an interesting tool for evaluating paracrine effects in vivo.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Children and Adolescents with Cirrhosis Due to Biliary Atresia.

Background: The nutritional status in patients with cirrhosis is not so easy to assess properly. Considering the relationship between brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and energy homeostasis, the main aim of this study was to evaluate the concentration of BDNF in children and adolescents with cirrhosis due to biliary atresia (BA) and correlate it with their nutritional status.

Methods: Fifty-three children and adolescents with cirrhosis due to BA and 33 healthy controls were enrolled in this study.

Encapsulated Whole Bone Marrow Cells Improve Survival in Wistar Rats after 90% Partial Hepatectomy.

Background and Aims. The use of bone marrow cells has been suggested as an alternative treatment for acute liver failure. In this study, we investigate the effect of encapsulated whole bone marrow cells in a liver failure model.

Hypoxic-ischemic gene expression profile in the isolated variant of biliary atresia.

Background: Biliary atresia (BA) includes a sclerosing cholangiopathy whose nature is not fully deciphered. Aiming to evaluate the role of an arteriopathy as an etiologic factor in BA, we investigated hypoxia and the correlated angiogenic response in livers from affected patients.

Methods: Gene expression of the molecular axis: hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)1a, HIF2a and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA)/VEGFR1, VEGFR2.

Cirrhosis in children and adolescents: An overview.

Several conditions, especially chronic liver diseases, can lead to cirrhosis in children and adolescents. Most cases in clinical practice are caused by similar etiologies. In infants, cirrhosis is most often caused by biliary atresia and genetic-metabolic diseases, while in older children, it tends to result from autoimmune hepatitis, Wilson's disease, alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency and primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Diethylnitrosamine-induced cirrhosis in Wistar rats: an experimental feasibility study.

The experimental models of the development of cirrhosis in rats require a long time. Many studies in animals have demonstrated similarities in histological pattern with human cirrhosis. Just like the relation between cirrhosis and increased lipid peroxidation (LPO), which contributes to the worsening of the disease.

Effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG on hepatic and serum lipid profiles in zebrafish exposed to ethanol.

Zebrafish is a powerful tool in pharmacological research and useful to identify new therapies. Probiotics can offer therapeutic options in alcoholic liver disease. This study was done in two independent experiments: first, we confirmed the intestinal colonization of probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) after ethanol exposure.

Angiopoietin 1 and angiopoietin 2 are associated with medial thickening of hepatic arterial branches in biliary atresia.

Background: Biliary atresia (BA) is an infantile disorder characterized by progressive sclerosing cholangiopathy leading to biliary obstruction. First-line treatment of BA is hepatoportoenterostomy, the prognosis of which is related to age at surgery and to histological variables such as extent of fibrosis and ductular reaction. Hepatic arterial medial thickening (MT) suggests an arteriopathy in BA pathogenesis.

Blood collection for biochemical analysis in adult zebrafish.

The zebrafish has been used as an animal model for studies of several human diseases. It can serve as a powerful preclinical platform for studies of molecular events and therapeutic strategies as well as for evaluating the physiological mechanisms of some pathologies. There are relatively few publications related to adult zebrafish physiology of organs and systems, which may lead researchers to infer that the basic techniques needed to allow the exploration of zebrafish systems are lacking.

The effect of taurine on hepatic steatosis induced by thioacetamide in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is one of the most prevalent forms of chronic liver disease in the Western world. Taurine is a conditionally essential amino acid in humans that may be a promising therapy for treating this disease.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of taurine on hepatic steatosis induced by thioacetamide in Danio rerio.

Shifting susceptibility to hepatitis A among children and adolescents over the past decade.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of anti-hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV) antibodies in serum samples from children and adolescents obtained at two clinical pathology laboratories in the city of Porto Alegre, south of Brazil, and to compare findings to those of a study carried out in the 1990s.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study conducted between 2007 and 2008, 465 serum samples obtained from subjects aged 1-19 years were consecutively tested to determine the prevalence of total anti-HAV antibodies. Samples were provided by a public laboratory (group 1) that serves the Unified Health System exclusively, meant to represent the lowest socioeconomic strata, and by a private laboratory (group 2), meant to represent the higher socioeconomic classes.