In order to evaluate the possible relevance of the increased serum levels of thyroxine binding globulin (TBG) in elderly patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), TBG and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels were measured in 3 groups: (i) 14 healthy subjects (mean age: 74 +/- 2 years); (ii) 15 patients with cirrhosis of the liver (mean age: 70 +/- 1 years); (iii) 17 patients with cirrhosis and HCC (mean age: 71 +/- 1 years). Both TBG and AFP levels were significantly higher (p < 0.01) in the patients with HCC, as compared to the healthy subjects or to the cirrhotic ones without HCC. The increased plasma TBG levels in cirrhotic patients with HCC is probably due to a derepression of the TBG gene in hepatocytes undergoing neoplastic transformation. The results suggest that TBG together with AFP may be of diagnostic value for the presence of HCC in aging patients with liver cirrhosis.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0167-4943(96)86951-2 | DOI Listing |
Dig Dis Sci
January 2025
Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, 138 Sheng Li Road, Tainan, 70401, Taiwan.
Aim: Sarcopenic obesity (SO) is associated with adverse outcomes in diseased patients. This study aimed to examine the prevalence and risks associated with SO, with a focus on the impact of SO on cardiovascular risk in patients with MASLD.
Materials And Methods: In this cross-sectional study, patients with MASLD were prospectively enrolled.
Metab Brain Dis
January 2025
Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark.
Background & Aims: Hepatic encephalopathy (HE), one of the most serious prognostic factors for mortality in alcohol-related cirrhosis (ALD cirrhosis), is not recorded in Danish healthcare registries. However, treatment of HE with lactulose, the universal first-line treatment, can be identified through data on filled prescriptions. This study aimed to investigate if lactulose can be used as a surrogate marker of HE.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Dermatol Res
January 2025
Dermatology and Venereology Department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
Morphea is a chronic inflammatory fibrosing disorder. Since fibrosis is the hallmark of both scars and morphea, our attention was raised for the possible use of Fractional Ablative CO lasers and microneedling as treatment modalities for morphea. To compare the efficacy and safety of Fractional Ablative CO lasers and microneedling in the treatment of morphea.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Biol Rep
January 2025
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Gastroenterology, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey.
Background: Chemokines and their receptors, which regulate lymphoid organ development and immune cell trafficking, are integral to the mechanisms underlying viral control, hepatic inflammation, and liver damage in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection. This study explores the potential relationship between serum chemokine levels/polymorphisms and hepatitis C infection in affected individuals, with a particular focus on their utility as biomarkers across different stages of fibrosis.
Methods And Results: Serum levels of the chemokines CXCL11, CXCL12, and CXCL16 were measured in patients with mild/moderate and advanced fibrosis due to CHC, as well as in healthy controls, using the ELISA method.
Eur J Clin Nutr
January 2025
Division of Gastroenterology (Liver Unit), Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
The accurate assessment of body composition in cirrhosis is challenging as fluid accumulation affects most techniques. The whole-body counter is a state-of-the-art method that measures total body potassium (TBK) unbiased by fluid, from which body cell mass (BCM) is derived. This pilot study in 20 patients with cirrhosis evaluated bedside tools including the liver frailty index (LFI), bioimpedance analysis-based phase angle, calf circumference (CC), and BMI (body mass index)/edema-adjusted CC, and explored their association with TBK and BCM.
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