Red blood cell transfusion is associated with further bleeding and fresh-frozen plasma with mortality in nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Background: Blood products are commonly transfused for patients with nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB). While concerns exist about further bleeding and mortality in subsets of patients receiving red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, the impact of non-RBC blood products has not previously been systematically investigated. The aim of the study was to investigate the associations between blood products transfusion, further bleeding, and mortality after acute NVUGIB.

Does Coupling and Positioning in Vibroplasty Matter? A Prospective Cohort Study.

Objective: Vibroplasty has offered a new modality of hearing rehabilitation in patients with mixed, conductive, and sensorineural hearing loss who cannot wear hearing aids. Potentially, the positioning of the floating mass transducer (FMT) in vibroplasty surgery has a critical effect on hearing outputs. In this study, the impact on hearing outputs and coupling efficiency are evaluated by comparing various vibroplasty applications in the middle ear.

The impact of cochlear implantation on speech understanding, subjective hearing performance, and tinnitus perception in patients with unilateral severe to profound hearing loss.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the impact of cochlear implantation on speech understanding in noise, subjective perception of hearing, and tinnitus perception of adult patients with unilateral severe to profound hearing loss and to investigate whether duration of deafness and age at implantation would influence the outcomes. In addition, this article describes the auditory training protocol used for unilaterally deaf patients.

Design: This is a prospective study of subjects undergoing cochlear implantation for unilateral deafness with or without associated tinnitus.

Cochlear implantation in children with congenital and noncongenital unilateral deafness: a case series.

Objectives: Cochlear implantation is rapidly gaining acceptance as the most effective treatment for adult patients with unilateral deafness. The benefits for the pediatric population remain to be investigated. This study aimed to investigate the implications of cochlear implantation in children with congenital and noncongenital unilateral deafness.

Piezosurgery for the repair of middle cranial fossa meningoencephaloceles.

Objectives: To describe the use of a piezosurgery medical device to perform a craniotomy and produce a split calvarial graft for the repair of middle cranial fossa meningoencephaloceles.

Study Design: Retrospective case review.

Setting: Tertiary referral hospital.

The role of preoperative, intratympanic glucocorticoids for hearing preservation in cochlear implantation: a prospective clinical study.

Background: Hearing Preservation is becoming increasingly important in cochlear implantation as there is growing evidence that preserving the residual hearing, especially in the low frequencies in combination with the electric stimulation can significantly improve hearing and speech outcomes in noise. Besides the ongoing development of atraumatic implant electrodes and insertion techniques, the implementation of pharmacologic hair cell protection is thought to increase hearing preservation. This study investigates the effects of preoperative intratympanic glucocorticoid application on hearing preservation rates in cochlear implantation.

Body mass index is a stronger predictor of alanine aminotransaminase levels than alcohol consumption.

Background And Aims: The relative effects of obesity compared to alcohol on liver injury are uncertain. We examined their effects on alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) levels in a population-based cohort.

Methods: Adult residents (2610: 1326 males, 1284 females) from Busselton, Australia, participated in a cross-sectional survey determining alcohol intake as determined by a validated questionnaire, anthropometric measurements and serum analysis.

Interferon-gamma exacerbates liver damage, the hepatic progenitor cell response and fibrosis in a mouse model of chronic liver injury.

Background/aims: Several previous studies have suggested that interferon gamma (IFNgamma) may play a key role during hepatic progenitor cell (HPC) mediated liver regeneration. However to date, no studies have directly tested the ability of IFNgamma to mediate the HPC response in an in vivo model.

Methods/results: Administration of IFNgamma to mice receiving a choline deficient, ethionine (CDE) supplemented diet to induce chronic injury resulted in an augmented HPC response.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) refers to the presence of hepatic steatosis not associated with a significant intake of ethanol. Insulin resistance is central to the pathogenesis of NAFLD; thus obesity, diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome are frequently associated with the disease. Consequently, as these metabolic conditions emerge as major health problems in Western society, it is now recognized that NAFLD is the most common chronic liver condition in the Western world.

Iron overload.

Iron overload disorders represent a heterogenous group of conditions resulting from inherited and acquired causes. With the discovery of new proteins and genetic defects we have gained greater insight into their causation at the molecular level and the complex mechanisms of normal and disordered iron homeostasis. Here we review the normal mechanisms and regulation of gastrointestinal iron absorption and liver iron transport and their dysregulation in iron overload states.

Evolution of untreated hereditary hemochromatosis in the Busselton population: a 17-year study.

Objective: To describe the evolution of biochemical and clinical features during a 17-year period in untreated subjects homozygous for the C282Y mutation in the hemochromatosis gene.

Subjects And Methods: In 1998, 12 subjects from Busselton, Australia, were newly diagnosed as being homozygous for the C282Y mutation. We determined transferrin saturation and ferritin values and retrieved clinical information from the 1981, 1994, and 1998 population surveys for 10 of these subjects.

Screening for hemochromatosis: patients with liver disease, families, and populations.

Hereditary hemochromatosis is a common autosomal- recessive disorder of iron overload usually occurring in individuals who are homozygous for a C282Y mutation in the hemochromatosis (HFE) gene. Current screening methods can detect affected individuals early in disease pathogenesis, enabling early institution of effective treatment that can restore normal life expectancy. Phenotypic screening of adults using transferrin saturation and serum ferritin levels identifies the majority of individuals who develop iron overload.

Differential effects of gadolinium chloride on Kupffer cells in vivo and in vitro.

Gadolinium chloride (GdCl) is commonly used to study the role of Kupffer cells in liver disease in vivo. The in vitro effects of GdCl on cultured Kupffer cells are poorly characterised. The aim of this study was to characterise rat Kupffer cell TNFalpha production, phagocytic function, and ED1 and ED2 antigen expression following the administration of GdCl.