ALCOHOL-ASSOCIATED LIVER DISEASE: NATURAL HISTORY, MANAGEMENT AND NOVEL TARGETED THERAPIES.

Alcohol consumption is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality worldwide and the primary cause of advanced liver disease. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic, frequently relapsing condition characterized by persistent alcohol consumption despite its negative consequences. Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) encompasses a series of stages, from fatty liver (steatosis) to inflammation (steatohepatitis), fibrosis, and, ultimately, liver cirrhosis and its complications.

Usefulness of Antigen Carbohydrate 125 and N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide for Assessing Congestion in Chronic Heart Failure: Insights from the CARDIOREN Registry.

Introduction: A comprehensive assessment of congestion, including circulating biomarkers, is recommended in patients with acute heart failure. The circulating biomarkers natriuretic peptides (NPs) and carbohydrate antigen-125 (CA125) could be useful for congestion assessment in ambulatory chronic heart failure (CHF), but there is only limited information about their applicability in this context. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the association of plasma CA125 and NP levels with clinical and ultrasound congestion parameters in CHF.

A Qualitative Tool to Guide in the Interpretation of the Numerical Rating Scale for Pruritus Intensity in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis.

Atopic dermatitis is a cutaneous inflammatory disease characterized by intense pruritus, which is often underestimated despite its direct impact on patients' health-related quality of life and the high burden it poses. The authors' goal was to design a qualitative tool to guide patients and healthcare professionals in their assessment and interpretation of pruritus intensity using a numerical rating scale. The draft of this tool, henceforth "guideline", was developed based on a systematic literature review and focus groups comprising patients and a scientific committee.

Alcohol-related liver disease phenotype impacts survival after an acute variceal bleeding episode.

Background & Aims: Alcohol-related hepatitis (AH) encompasses a high mortality. AH might be a concomitant event in patients with acute variceal bleeding (AVB). The current study aimed to assess the prevalence of AH in patients with AVB and to compare the clinical outcomes of AH patients to other alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) phenotypes and viral cirrhosis.

Non-invasive tests for clinically significant portal hypertension after HCV cure.

Background & Aims: Non-invasive tests (NITs) for clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH; hepatic venous pressure gradient [HVPG] ≥10 mmHg) have predominantly been studied in patients with active HCV infection. Investigations after HCV cure are limited and have yielded conflicting results. We conducted a pooled analysis to determine the diagnostic/prognostic utility of liver stiffness measurement (LSM)/platelet count (PLT) in this setting.

Clinical, histological and molecular profiling of different stages of alcohol-related liver disease.

Objective: Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) ranges from never-decompensated ALD (ndALD) to the life-threatening decompensated phenotype, known as alcohol-related hepatitis (AH). A multidimensional study of the clinical, histological and molecular features of these subtypes is lacking.

Design: Two large cohorts of patients were recruited in an international, observational multicentre study: a retrospective cohort of patients with ndALD (n=110) and a prospective cohort of patients with AH (n=225).

Serum miR-181b-5p predicts ascites onset in patients with compensated cirrhosis.

Background & Aims: Treatment with non-selective beta-blockers (NSBBs) reduces the risk of ascites, which is the most common decompensating event in cirrhosis. This study aimed to assess the ability of a serum microRNA (miRNA) signature to predict ascites formation and the hemodynamic response to NSBBs in compensated cirrhosis.

Methods: Serum levels of miR-452-5p, miR-429, miR-885-5p, miR-181b-5p, and miR-122-5p were analyzed in patients with compensated cirrhosis (N = 105).

Safety and effectiveness of peroral endoscopic myotomy in patients on antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy: an international multicenter case-control study.

Background And Aims: The risk of bleeding and thromboembolic events in patients undergoing peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) who are receiving antithrombotic therapy is unknown. Our primary aim was to assess the safety of POEM in this patient subset. Secondary outcomes were rates of clinical success, GERD, and procedure-related outcomes.

Depression as a Risk Factor for Impulse Control Disorders in Parkinson Disease.

Objective: To longitudinally evaluate the role of depression in the development of impulse control disorders (ICDs) in Parkinson disease (PD) patients.

Methods: Using data from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative, we included PD patients without ICDs at baseline according to the Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders in Parkinson's Disease (QUIP). Patients were prospectively evaluated first quarterly and then biannually.

β blockers to prevent decompensation of cirrhosis in patients with clinically significant portal hypertension (PREDESCI): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial.

Background: Clinical decompensation of cirrhosis is associated with poor prognosis. Clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH), defined by a hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) ≥10 mm Hg, is the strongest predictor of decompensation. This study aimed at assessing whether lowering HVPG with β blockers could decrease the risk of decompensation or death in compensated cirrhosis with CSPH.

Pharmacokinetics of a new Autogel formulation of the somatostatin analogue lanreotide after a single subcutaneous dose in healthy volunteers.

The pharmacokinetics/tolerability of lanreotide Autogel have been evaluated. Healthy volunteers (n = 24) first received immediate-release lanreotide as a single subcutaneous (s.c.

Unmasking influenza virus infection in patients attended to in the emergency department.

Background: Infection by the influenza virus may pass undetected in many adult patients attended to in the emergency department because its diagnosis usually relies on clinical manifestations, which can be distorted by symptoms of a preexisting disease, superposed complications or nontypical manifestations of influenza virus infection (confusing symptoms).

Patients And Methods: We performed this observational, prospective study with an antigen detection test by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) to estimate the presence of influenza virus infection in such patients. No confirmatory test was performed to validate a positive or negative IFA result.

Comparison of macrorestriction analysis of genomic DNA by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and ribotyping with conventional methods for differentiation of Escherichia coli 0124 isolates.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the usefulness of different phenotypic and genotypic markers for epidemiological typing of enteroinvasive Escherichia coli 0124 (EIEC 0124). METHODS: Seven sporadic EIEC 0124 isolates and 22 isolates from two different outbreaks were characterized. Chromosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) macrorestriction analysis with XbaI resolved by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and ribotyping with each of the three restriction endonucleases BglII EcoRI, and ClaI were compared with biotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and plasmid profiles.