Eosinophilic Cholangitis with Poor Prognosis after Corticosteroid- and Ursodeoxycholic Acid-Related Remission of Peripheral and Peribiliary Eosinophilia.

A 79-year-old man presented with high fever, marked eosinophilia, altered biochemical liver function tests (LFT) with predominance of biliary enzymes, and severe wall thickening of the gallbladder. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) suggested cholecystitis, without signs of biliary strictures. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy and exploratory liver excision revealed eosinophilic cholangitis and cholecystitis, complicated with hepatitis and portal phlebitis.

Successful treatment of a previously healthy woman with Pseudomonas aeruginosa community-acquired pneumonia with plasmapheresis.

A previously healthy 39-year-old woman with severe chest pain presented at our hospital. She was diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia by chest X-ray and computed tomography. Despite adequate antimicrobial treatment, she had to undergo intubation for respiratory distress and was treated with mechanical ventilation 42 hours after admission.

Greater age and hepatocellular aging are independent risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma arising from non-B non-C non-alcoholic chronic liver disease.

We previously reported that hepatocellular aging can be assessed by measuring the nuclear size of hepatocytes. We attempted to elucidate whether this method is useful to identify the high risk group of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the patients with non-B non-C non-alcoholic liver injury. Fourteen patients with HCC and 78 without HCC, both of whom presented with non-B non-C non-alcoholic chronic liver injury and underwent liver biopsy, were selected.

Nuclear size measurement is a simple method for the assessment of hepatocellular aging in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: Comparison with telomere-specific quantitative FISH and p21 immunohistochemistry.

Telomere-specific quantitative fluorescent in situ hybridization (Q-FISH) accurately evaluates hepatocellular aging on histological sections, but it requires appropriate tissue processing. To establish a more simple method for the assessment of hepatocellular aging, the usefulness of nuclear size measurement was clarified using biopsy liver samples from 64 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a model for oxidative stress-associated hepatocellular aging, and 11 control individuals. Relative telomere intensity (RTI) was measured on Q-FISH, and the relative nuclear size (RNS) was calculated as the average nuclear size of the hepatocytes divided by that of lymphocytes.

Intrahepatic splenosis with severe iron deposition presenting with atypical magnetic resonance images.

An intrahepatic mass was incidentally found in a 41-year-old man with a history of a traffic accident injury which resulted in removal of a ruptured spleen. Hepatic splenosis was considered in the differential diagnosis but magnetic resonance imaging showed hypointensity on T2-weighted images, atypical for normal spleen. Histologically, the mass showed sinusoidal structures and lymphoid follicular aggregates.

Evidence of oxidative stress as a cofactor in the development of insulin resistance in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Aim: The mechanisms by which metabolic disorders develop in patients with chronic hepatitis C are unknown. Our study aimed to test whether oxidative stress contributes to these mechanisms.

Methods: The index of homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and serum and hepatic levels of thioredoxin (Trx), which are markers of oxidative stress, were evaluated in 203 biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis C patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 or 2 infection.

Effect of iron reduction by phlebotomy in Japanese patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: A pilot study.

Increased hepatic iron deposition may play a role in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). This study aimed to test whether iron removal by phlebotomy improves serum transaminase activities in patients with NASH. Eleven patients (six males and five females) with biopsy-proven NASH underwent phlebotomy biweekly until they reached near-iron deficiency (NID) (serum ferritin concentration lower than or equal to 30ng/ml).

Influence of Helicobacter pylori infection on iron accumulation in hepatitis C.

Goal: Iron may play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C. Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection was recently associated with iron-deficiency anemia. We examined the influence of Hp infection on hepatic iron accumulation in hepatitis C.

Elevation of serum thioredoxin levels in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Thioredoxin (TRX) is induced by many oxidative stresses. Serum TRX levels were significantly elevated in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) patients, as compared to simple fatty liver (FL) patients or healthy controls. Serum TRX levels in NASH patients were significantly correlated with serum ferritin levels, but not with other variables.

Insulin resistance/beta-cell function and serum ferritin level in non-diabetic patients with hepatitis C virus infection.

Background/aims: Since impaired glucose tolerance and iron overload are frequently demonstrated in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related liver diseases, in this study we investigated insulin resistance, pancreatic beta-cell function, i.e., insulin secretion, and serum ferritin levels in patients with HCV infection, especially non-diabetic patients.

Serum thioredoxin levels as a predictor of steatohepatitis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background/aims: Thioredoxin (TRX) is a stress-inducible thiol-containing protein. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of serum TRX in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) or simple steatosis.

Methods: Serum TRX levels were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit in 25 patients with NASH, 15 patients with simple steatosis, and 17 healthy volunteers.

Effects of nitric oxide on the redox status of liver microsomes-electron spin resonance monitoring using nitroxide probes.

Nitroxide radicals (nitroxides) are reduced to the corresponding hydroxylamines and lose their electron spin resonance (ESR) signals, but these hydroxylamines are easily reoxidized to nitroxides and regain the ESR signals. In the present study the effects of nitric oxide (NO) on the reduction/oxidation (redox) status of hepatic microsomes were investigated by ESR spectroscopy using nitroxide probes. Rat hepatic microsomes were treated with an NO donor, NOR3 or NOC7, and then labeled with a water-soluble nitroxide, 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-hydroxy-1-piperidinyloxy (Tempol), or a lipid-soluble nitroxide, 5-doxyl stearic acid (5-DSA).

Effects of glycyrrhizin on glucocorticoid signaling pathway in hepatocytes.

The cytoprotective effects of glycyrrhizin (GL) are similar to glucocorticoids. We investigated the effects of GL on the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and on the enzyme activity of tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT), an hepatocyte-specific marker of glucocorticoid action, in rat hepatocytes. Pretreatment with GL significantly decreased the affinity of GRs for dexamethasone (DEX) and increased the period of time required for TAT activity to reach a peak after the addition of DEX.