Quantification of alcohol intake in patients with steatotic liver disease and excessive alcohol intake.

Background & Aims: Quantifying alcohol intake is crucial for subclassifying participants with steatotic liver disease (SLD) and interpreting clinical trials of alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) and metabolic and alcohol-related liver disease (MetALD). However, the accuracy of self-reported alcohol intake is considered imprecise. We compared the diagnostic and prognostic utility of self-reported alcohol intake with blood-based biomarkers of alcohol intake: phosphatidylethanol (PEth) and carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT).

An in vitro study of oral bioavailability of lupin stabilized nanocarriers for curcumin.

In this study, the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of curcumin encapsulated into different lupin protein isolate-based carriers was evaluated by coupling an in vitro gastrointestinal digestion (INFOGEST) with an in vitro co-culture absorption model, Caco-2/HT29-MTX, consisting of both absorptive and mucus producing cells. A targeted ultrahigh-performance quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) method was applied to monitor the fate of curcumin post digestion and absorption, specifically analyzing the apical, cellular, and basolateral fractions. Lupin protein nanoparticles, obtained by desolvation, protected curcumin from degradation better than oil in water (O/W) emulsions stabilized with lupin protein isolate.

Prevalence, characteristics and outcomes of patients with metabolic and alcohol related/associated liver disease (MetALD): a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: In light of the new nomenclature of steatotic liver disease (SLD), we aimed to enhance the existing knowledge on the epidemiology and clinical outcomes of metabolic and alcohol related/associated liver disease (MetALD).

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed in Medline/PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Cochrane databases to evaluate the prevalence and outcomes of MetALD within the SLD population and to compare the characteristics between MetALD patients and those with metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and alcohol-related liver disease (ALD). Nineteen studies from nine countries that evaluated 4,543,341 adult participants with SLD were included.

Nanomechanical detection to empower robust monitoring of sepsis and microbial adaptive immune system-mediated proinflammatory disease.

The correlation between circulating microbes and sepsis as well as proinflammatory diseases is increasingly gaining recognition. However, the detection of microbes' cell-free DNA (cfDNA), which exist at concentrations of a billion times lower than blood proteins, poses a significant challenge for early disease detection. Here, we present Nano mechanics combined with highly sensitive readout sequences to address the challenges of ultralow counts of disease biomarkers, thus enabling robust quantitative monitoring of chronic medical conditions at different stages of human disease progression.

Steatotic liver disease.

Steatotic liver disease is the overarching term for conditions characterised by abnormal lipid accumulation in the liver (liver or hepatic steatosis). Steatotic liver disease encompasses what was previously termed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is now called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Additionally, steatotic liver disease includes alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) and MetALD, the new classification for the overlap between MASLD and ALD, and rare causes of liver steatosis.

Derivation and validation of the BIMAST score for predicting the presence of fibrosis due to Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease among diabetic patients in the community.

Background & Aims: Current screening pathways, developed from tertiary care cohorts, underestimate the presence of Metabolic-dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the community. We developed, validated, and assessed cost-effectiveness of a new score for screening the presence of fibrosis due to MASLD in primary care.

Methods: Consecutive T2DM patients underwent screening for liver diseases with transient elastography (TE).

Liver fibrosis stage based on the four factors (FIB-4) score or Forns index in adults with chronic hepatitis C.

Background: The presence and severity of liver fibrosis are important prognostic variables when evaluating people with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Although liver biopsy remains the reference standard, non-invasive serological markers, such as the four factors (FIB-4) score and the Forns index, can also be used to stage liver fibrosis.

Objectives: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of the FIB-4 score and Forns index in staging liver fibrosis in people with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) virus, using liver biopsy as the reference standard (primary objective).

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis exhibits sex differences in people with HIV.

Objectives: People with HIV are at increased risk for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Although sex differences are documented in the general population, their role in the context of HIV is less understood.

Methods: This was a multicentre cohort study including people with HIV without viral hepatitis coinfection.

Scientific Guidance on the criteria for the evaluation and on the preparation of applications for the safety assessment of post-consumer mechanical PET recycling processes intended to be used for manufacture of materials and articles in contact with food.

In the context of entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2022/1616, EFSA updated the scientific guidance to assist applicants in the preparation of applications for the authorisation or for the modification of an existing authorisation of a 'post-consumer mechanical PET' recycling process (as defined in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2022/1616) intended to be used for manufacturing materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. This Guidance describes the evaluation criteria and the scientific evaluation approach that EFSA will apply to assess the decontamination capability of recycling processes, as well as the information required to be included in an application dossier. The principle of the scientific evaluation approach is to apply the decontamination efficiency of a recycling process, obtained from a challenge test with surrogate contaminants, to a reference contamination level for post-consumer PET, set at 3 mg/kg PET for a contaminant resulting from possible misuse.

Severe Cholestasis Predicts Recurrent Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis Following Liver Transplantation.

Background Aims: Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) may reoccur following liver transplantation (LT) and the diagnosis established once imaging studies demonstrate the diagnostic cholangiographic appearance. To evaluate whether the development of recurrent PSC (rPSC) is associated with cholestasis soon after LT, we studied whether changes in hepatic biochemistry within the first 12 months were linked with the development of rPSC and graft loss.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of 158 transplant recipients with PSC in Canada, and 549 PSC transplant recipients from the United Kingdom.

Microplastics and nanoplastics: Exposure and toxicological effects require important analysis considerations.

Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) pervade both the environment and the food chain, originating from the degradation of plastic materials from various sources. Their ubiquitous presence raises concerns for ecosystem safety, as well as the health of animals and humans. While evidence suggests their infiltration into mammalian and human tissues and their association with several diseases, the precise toxicological effects remain elusive and require further investigation.

Cost-Effectiveness of the Baveno VI Criteria Compared With Endoscopy for High-Risk Varices in Patients With Child-Pugh A Cirrhosis.

Background & Aims: Although upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (EGD) remains the gold standard for detecting varices in cirrhosis, the Baveno VI criteria proposed a combination of transient elastography and platelet count that could rule out high-risk varices, therefore sparing the need for an endoscopy, with significant potential cost savings. We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis of the Baveno VI criteria compared with EGD in the diagnosis of high-risk varices in cirrhosis.

Methods: We built an analytical decision model to estimate the cost and benefits of using the Baveno VI criteria compared with EGD in patients with Child-Pugh A cirrhosis.

Use of non-invasive diagnostic tools for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis: A qualitative exploration of challenges and barriers.

Background And Aims: Non-invasive tests (NITs) are underutilized for diagnosis and risk stratification in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), despite good accuracy. This study aimed to identify challenges and barriers to the use of NITs in clinical practice.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative exploratory study in Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and United States.