Trends in hospitalizations for chronic liver disease-related liver failure in the United States, 2005-2014.

Background & Aims: Current estimates of the population-based disease burden of liver failure or end-stage liver disease (ESLD) are lacking. We investigated recent trends in hospitalizations and in-hospital mortality among patients with ESLD in the United States (US).

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed utilizing the National Inpatient Sample from 2005 to 2014.

Elevated urinary bisphenol A levels are associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among adults in the United States.

Background And Aims: The relationship between bisphenol A (BPA) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is undefined. We studied the impact of BPA on NAFLD.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2014 among adults in the United States (US).

Electrodiagnostic data-driven clustering identifies a prognostically different subgroup of patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the correlations between electrodiagnostic (EDX) features in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) and to investigate whether EDX data-driven clustering can identify a distinct subgroup regarding clinical phenotype and treatment response.

Methods: We reviewed clinical and EDX data of 56 patients with definite CIDP fulfilling the 2010 European Federation of Neurological Societies and Peripheral Nerve Society criteria at two teaching hospitals. A hierarchical agglomerative clustering algorithm with complete linkage was used to partition the patients into subgroups with similar EDX features.

Race/ethnicity-based temporal changes in prevalence of NAFLD-related advanced fibrosis in the United States, 2005-2016.

Background And Aim: Advanced fibrosis associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been reported to have a higher risk of hepatic and non-hepatic mortality. We aim to study the recent trends in the prevalence of NAFLD-related advanced fibrosis in a large population sample.

Methods: Cross-sectional data from 28,739 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2005 to 2016 were utilized.

Effect of Endogenous Parathyroid Hormone on Bone Geometry and Skeletal Microarchitecture.

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) has anabolic or catabolic effects on bones; however, the skeletal effect of endogenous PTH on cortical and trabecular bones is not yet clear. Therefore, we aimed to examine the effects of an excess and a deficiency of endogenous PTH on the lumbar spine trabecular bone score (TBS) and bone geometry using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. We retrospectively included 70 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), 26 patients with idiopathic or postoperative hypoparathyroidism (HypoPT), and 96 normal controls matched by age, sex, and body mass index.

Metabolic characteristics of subjects with spine-femur bone mineral density discordances: the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES 2008-2011).

The diagnosis of osteoporosis is determined based on the lowest bone mineral density (BMD) T-score at the lumbar spine (LS) and hip. However, there are occasional marked discordances between the T-score of LS and femur neck (FN). We aimed to examine the prevalence and characteristics of individuals with spine-femur BMD discordance using a nationwide survey.

Mortality and causes of death in patients with atrial fibrillation: A nationwide population-based study.

Background: Patients with atrial fibrillation are known to have a high risk of mortality. There is a paucity of population-based studies about the impact of atrial fibrillation on the mortality risk stratified by age, sex, and detailed causes of death.

Methods: A total of 15,411 patients with atrial fibrillation from the Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort were enrolled, and causes of death were identified according to codes of the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases.

Seizure-like activities in patients with head-up tilt test-induced syncope.

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and the characteristics of seizure-like activities during head-up tilt test (HUT)-induced syncope, in patients with suspected vasovagal syncope (VVS). We also evaluated the differences in hemodynamic parameters between patients with and without seizure-like activities.A total of 71 patients with suspected VVS, who showed syncope during HUT between October 2010 and May 2013, were analyzed.

Hypertension Risk with Abacavir Use among HIV-Infected Individuals: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Purpose: A high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is reported for HIV-infected individuals. While a link between abacavir and CVD risk is suggested, an association between abacavir and hypertension remains unclear. This study evaluated hypertension risk with abacavir use in comparison to non-abacavir antiretroviral treatment (ART).

Efficacy and Safety of Besifovir Dipivoxil Maleate Compared With Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate in Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection.

Background & Aims: Besifovir dipivoxil maleate (BSV) has activity against hepatitis B virus (HBV). We performed a phase 3 study to compare the antiviral efficacy and safety of BSV vs tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) in patients with chronic HBV infection in Korea.

Methods: We conducted a double-blind, non-inferiority trial of 197 patients with chronic HBV infection at 22 sites in South Korea, from November 2013 through February 2016.

Disparate Trends in Mortality of Etiology-Specific Chronic Liver Diseases Among Hispanic Subpopulations.

Background & Aims: Little is known about trends in mortality among Hispanic subpopulations and etiologies of chronic liver disease (CLD). We investigated trends in mortality of CLD among the 3 largest Hispanic subgroups based on origin (Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans) in the United States (US) from 2007 to 2016.

Methods: We collected data from the US Census and national mortality database, calculated age-standardized mortalities for CLD among Hispanic subgroups, and compared these with non-Hispanic whites.

Non-invasive response prediction in prophylactic carvedilol therapy for cirrhotic patients with esophageal varices.

Background & Aims: Non-selective beta-blockers (NSBBs) are the mainstay of primary prophylaxis of esophageal variceal bleeding in patients with liver cirrhosis. We investigated whether non-invasive markers of portal hypertension correlate with hemodynamic responses to NSBBs in cirrhotic patients with esophageal varices.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, 106 cirrhotic patients with high-risk esophageal varices in the derivation cohort received carvedilol prophylaxis, and completed paired measurements of hepatic venous pressure gradient, liver stiffness (LS), and spleen stiffness (SS) at the beginning and end of dose titration.

Predictors of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and significant fibrosis in non-obese nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Aims: We compared (a) demographic and clinical characteristics and (b) determinants of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and significant fibrosis in non-obese and obese nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 664 Asian subjects (mean age 53.1 years; men 50.

Efficacy and tolerability of novel triple combination therapy in drug-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes from the TRIPLE-AXEL trial: protocol for an open-label randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Patients with type 2 diabetes are at risk of microvascular and macrovascular complications. Intensive glycaemic control, especially in patients with short duration of diabetes, is the mainstay of management of type 2 diabetes to lower the risk of complications. However, despite the improvement in the understanding of the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes and development of novel glucose-lowering agents, long-term durable glycaemic control remains a difficult goal to achieve.

Diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced dynamic CT for small hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma and assessment of dynamic enhancement patterns: Results of two-year follow-up using cone-beam CT hepatic arteriography.

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of CT for small, hypervascular hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) and assess the enhancement patterns on CT.

Materials And Methods: Ninety-nine patients who underwent cone-beam CT hepatic arteriography (CBCT-HA) during initial chemoembolization for HCC suspected on CT were enrolled in this study. A total of 297 hypervascular HCCs (142 ≥ 1 cm, 155 < 1 cm) were confirmed as HCCs based on two-year follow-up CT and CBCT-HA images.

Staged Thyroidectomy: A Single Institution Perspective.

Background: The increasing use of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) in thyroid surgery has revealed the need to develop new strategies for cases in which a loss of signal (LOS) occurs on the first side of a planned total thyroidectomy.

Objectives: This study reviews the experience of the authors in using IONM for planned total thyroidectomy after LOS on the first thyroid lobe. The aims were to estimate the incidence of LOS on the first side of resection and to compare intraoperative strategies applied after this event.

Reversible reddish skin color change in a patient with compressive radial neuropathy.

Background: The motor and sensory symptoms caused by compressive radial neuropathy are well-known, but the involvement of the autonomic nervous system or the dermatologic symptoms are less well known. We report an unusual case of compressive radial neuropathy with reversible reddish skin color change.

Case Presentation: A 42-year-old man was referred for left wrist drop, finger drop and a tingling sensation over the lateral dorsum of the left hand.

Disparities in mortality for chronic liver disease among Asian subpopulations in the United States from 2007 to 2016.

The Asian American population is characterized by remarkable diversity. Studying Asians as an aggregate group may obscure clinically meaningful heterogeneity. We performed a population-based study using data from the US National Vital Statistics System.

Changing Trends in Etiology-Based and Ethnicity-Based Annual Mortality Rates of Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the United States.

With recent improvements in the treatment of end-stage liver disease (ESLD), a better understanding of the burden of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is needed in the United States. A population-based study using the US Census and national mortality database was performed. We identified the age-standardized etiology-specific mortality rates for cirrhosis and HCC among US adults ages 20 years or older from 2007 to 2016.

Pathological Modification of TDP-43 in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis with SOD1 Mutations.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal, adult-onset, progressive neurodegenerative disorder with no known cure. Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1) was the first identified protein associated with familial ALS (fALS). Recently, TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) has been found to be a principal component of ubiquitinated cytoplasmic inclusions in neurons and glia in ALS.

Psychometric properties of the Korean version of the medical outcomes study HIV health survey: results from a multicenter survey in Korea.

Background: Precise assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) with a reliable and valid measure is a prerequisite to the enhancement of HRQOL. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Medical Outcomes Study HIV Health Survey (K-MOS-HIV).

Methods: The reliability and validity of the K-MOS-HIV were examined in a multicenter survey involving 201 outpatients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/ acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) from four teaching hospitals throughout Korea.

Niacin and Selenium Attenuate Brain Injury After Cardiac Arrest in Rats by Up-Regulating DJ-1-Akt Signaling.

Objectives: To determine neuroprotective effects and mechanism of the combination therapy of niacin and selenium in cardiac arrest rats.

Design: Prospective laboratory study.

Setting: University laboratory.

DA-9701 on gastric motility in patients with Parkinson's disease: A randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: To evaluate the effect of DA-9701, a novel prokinetic drug, on gastric motility evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: Forty PD patients were randomly allocated to receive either domperidone or DA-9701. Their gastric functions were evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging before and after 4-week treatment period.

Non-Motor Symptom Burdens Are Not Associated with Iron Accumulation in Early Parkinson's Disease: a Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping Study.

Background: Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) has been used to measure iron accumulation in the deep nuclei of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). This study examined the relationship between non-motor symptoms (NMSs) and iron accumulation in the deep nuclei of patients with PD.

Methods: The QSM data were acquired from 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 29 patients with early PD and 19 normal controls.