Fast score is associated with patient-reported outcomes in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

Backgrounds: People with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) frequently report fatigue. This symptom is associated with hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. FibroScan-aspartate aminotransferase (FAST) score is a noninvasive measurement tool that can be used to assess the severity of MASLD.

Aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index outperforms Fibrosis-4 in 2843 Korean patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

Aim: The definition of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has recently been proposed. We aim to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of noninvasive fibrosis markers in predicting liver fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), and MASLD.

Methods: This retrospective study involved 2843 patients diagnosed with steatotic liver disease at six tertiary hospitals in South Korea.

Risk of Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury in Computed Tomography: A 16 Institutional Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objectives: Concern about contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) may delay the timely administration of contrast media for computed tomography (CT). The precise causative effect of iodinated contrast media on CI-AKI and its relevant risk factors remains an area of ongoing investigation. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the risk of CI-AKI following contrast-enhanced CT and its predisposing risk factors.

Alteration of Gene Expression After Entecavir and Pegylated Interferon Therapy in HBV-Infected Chimeric Mouse Liver.

Cross-sectional analyses using liver tissue from chronic hepatitis B patients make it difficult to exclude the influence of host immune responses. In this study, we performed next-generation sequencing using the livers of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected uPA/SCID mice with humanized livers before and after antiviral therapy (AVT) with entecavir and pegylated interferon, and then performed a comparative transcriptome analysis of gene expression alteration. After HBV infection, the expression of genes involved in multiple pathways was significantly altered in the HBV-infected livers.

Spontaneous Ischemic Cholecystitis in a Patient with Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT).

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by abnormal blood vessel formation, leading to recurrent epistaxis, cutaneous and mucosal telangiectases, and visceral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). Hepatic involvement may result in complications such as high-output heart failure, portal hypertension, and biliary ischemia. We report an uncommon case of ischemic cholecystitis in a patient with HHT.

[Noninvasive Imaging Test to Assess Liver Fibrosis: Vibration-controlled Transient Elastography].

Liver fibrosis refers to the formation of scar tissue in the liver when inflammation persists over a long period. Assessing liver fibrosis is crucial for predicting the prognosis of chronic liver disease and managing patients with these conditions. Although a liver biopsy remains the gold standard for assessing liver fibrosis, it is limited by its invasive nature.

[Serological Markers to Assess Liver Fibrosis and Their Roles].

Chronic liver disease is a significant public health issue worldwide, with the degree of liver fibrosis and its progression significantly influencing the treatment and prognosis. A liver biopsy is the standard diagnostic method, but it is invasive and presents various issues. Therefore, numerous non-invasive diagnostic methods have been developed.

Pemafibrate for treating MASLD complicated by hypertriglyceridaemia: a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial study protocol.

Introduction: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, now known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), is a phenotype of the metabolic syndrome in the liver and is clearly associated with metabolic abnormalities such as hyperglycaemia and dyslipidaemia. Although the prevalence of MASLD is increasing worldwide, there is currently no consensus on the efficacy and safety of the drugs used to treat MASLD/metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Pemafibrate, a selective peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha modulator, was designed to have higher peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alfa (PPARα) agonist activity and selectivity than existing PPARα agonists, and in development trials, without increasing creatinine levels, lipid parameters and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were significantly improved.

Extracorporeal liver support systems in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The utilization of extracorporeal liver support systems is increasingly prevalent for the management of acute-on-chronic liver failure in clinical settings. Yet, the efficacy of these interventions in terms of tangible clinical benefits for patients remains a matter of debate, underscoring the need for meta-analysis.

Methods: An updated meta-analysis was performed to elucidate the relationship between the application of extracorporeal liver support versus standard pharmacological treatment and the prognostic endpoints of patient survival, specifically assessing 1-month and 3-month mortality rates, as well as the incidence of complications such as hepatic encephalopathy, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, and hepatorenal syndrome.

Prognostic Communication, Symptom Burden, Psychological Distress, and Quality of Life Among Patients With Decompensated Cirrhosis.

Background & Aims: Timely prognostic communication is a critical component of care for patients with decompensated cirrhosis (DC). However, few studies have examined the association of prognostic communication with symptoms, mood, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in this population.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study of 218 outpatients with DC, we assessed their self-reported health status (terminally ill vs not terminally ill), their prognostic communication with their hepatologists (Prognosis and Treatment Preferences Questionnaire), symptom burden (Revised Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale), psychological distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), and HRQOL (Short-Form Liver Disease Quality of Life scale).

Author Correction: Single-cell transcriptomics stratifies organoid models of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

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Clinical Characteristics of Steatotic Liver Disease Categories in a Large Cohort of Japanese Health Checkup Participants.

Background And Aims: The clinical characteristics and risk factors involved in the development of liver fibrosis in the subtypes of steatotic liver disease (SLD) remain unknown. We examined the clinical characteristics of SLD subtypes using a large Japanese cohort.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis (total n = 108,446).

Serum Cytokeratin 18 Fragment Is an Indicator for Treating Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease.

Background And Aims: Although numerous noninvasive diagnostic methods have been developed to predict liver fibrosis in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), they lack markers for predicting lobular inflammation, hepatocellular ballooning, or changes related to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). We examined serum cytokeratin 18 fragment (CK18F) as a noninvasive marker for predicting treatment response and "at-risk MASH" and "MASH resolution" in patients with MASLD.

Methods: One-hundred-and-ten patients with MASLD who underwent repeated biopsy were enrolled (age, 4 [0.

YAP mediates HIV-related liver fibrosis.

Background & Aims: HIV accelerates liver fibrosis attributable to multiple etiologies, including HCV, HBV, and steatotic liver disease. Evidence also suggests that HIV infection itself is associated with liver fibrogenesis. Recent studies have implicated Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) and the upstream lysophosphatidic acid (LPA)/PI3K/AKT pathway as critical regulators of hepatic fibrogenesis, and suggest a connection to HIV-related liver fibrosis.

Effect of dyslipidemia on HBsAg clearance in nucleos(t)ide analogues-experienced chronic hepatitis B patients treated with peginterferon alfa.

Background: While previous reports have shown that hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection affects lipid metabolism and vice versa, the impact of dyslipidemia on the functional cure of HBV infection following peginterferon alfa (PegIFNα) therapy remains unknown. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the effect of dyslipidemia on hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) clearance and develop a nomogram model for predicting patients for whom PegIFNα therapy is indicated.

Methods: A total of 160 nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs)- experienced chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients treated with PegIFNα (180 µg/week) were enrolled in this study.

Retrospective Cohort Study of Associated Factors for Intestinal Complications in Pediatric Liver Transplantation.

Background: Intestinal complications (IC) represent serious adverse events after liver transplantation (LT), however limited research has been conducted in pediatric cohorts. This study aims to describe IC after pediatric LT and to identify associated factors.

Methods: Retrospective review of 153 patients having undergone LT, aged 0-18 years, treated in the Swiss Pediatric Liver Center in Geneva.

Integrative multiomic analysis identifies distinct molecular subtypes of NAFLD in a Chinese population.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become a common health care burden worldwide. The high heterogeneity of NAFLD remains elusive and impairs outcomes of clinical diagnosis and pharmacotherapy. Several NAFLD classifications have been proposed on the basis of clinical, genetic, alcoholic, or serum metabolic analyses.

Effects of ipragliflozin on skeletal muscle adiposity in patients with diabetes and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

Objective Myosteatosis affects the pathogenesis of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and may be a potential therapeutic target. This study aimed to examine the effects of ipragliflozin on myosteatosis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) and MASLD. Methods Patients were treated with ipragliflozin (IPR group) or a control (CTR group) for 72 weeks in a randomized trial.