Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Arch Med Sci Atheroscler Dis 2018 28;3:e179-e183. Epub 2018 Dec 28.

Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland.

Introduction: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common causes of abnormal liver enzymes in adult patients consulted by hepatologists. Due to the high prevalence of this disease, most often associated with obesity, it is necessary to assess the risk of NAFLD, monitoring the progression of the disease and the effectiveness of treatment.

Material And Methods: We evaluated the intensity of steatosis, inflammatory activity and fibrosis in 36 patients with NAFLD (fatty liver in abdominal ultrasound examination), using non-invasive tests: SteatoTest, ActiTest and FibroTest. Read More

Autops Case Rep 2018 Oct-Dec;8(4):e2018048. Epub 2018 Oct 9.

University of Campinas (Unicamp), School of Medical Sciences, Department of Gastroenterology (Gastrocentro). Campinas, SP, Brazil.

The differential diagnosis of hepatic focal lesions is challenging because the etiology can be inflammatory, infectious, and even neoplastic. A rare cause of metastatic liver nodules is cardiac angiosarcoma. We report a case of this tumor, which was diagnosed only after autopsy. Read More

World J Nucl Med 2019 Jan-Mar;18(1):66-68

Department of Nuclear Medicine, Elazig Medical Park Hospital, Elazığ, Turkey.

One of the most important benign tumors in neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is plexiform neurofibroma, and there is a risk of developing malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) throughout life approximately 10%. However lesion characterization by anatomical imaging methods are not possible. Because of that most of cases goes to biopsy. Read More

Clin Exp Gastroenterol 2019 1;12:51-66. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Department of Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, Egypt.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. It has been widely established that the early detection of HCC enables more treatment options with improvements in prognosis and survival.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of both circulating miR-215 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen-IgM (SCCA-IgM) as serum biomarkers for HCC by examining their diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and predictive values in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced HCC patients. Read More

World J Gastroenterol 2019 Feb;25(5):608-621

Department of Internal Medicine, Dong-A University College of Medicine, Busan 49201, South Korea.

Background: Intrahepatic sarcomatoid chonalgiocarcinoma (s-CCC) is an extremely rare disease, accounting for less than 1% of hepatobiliary system malignancies, and its pathophysiology is not well known. On the hypothesis that its clinical, serologic, or radiologic diagnosis are not fully understood and its prognosis is poor, we investigated the distinguishing features of s-CCC compared with those of intrahepatic bile duct adenocarcinoma [cholangiocellular carcinoma (CCC)] in patients from a single center.

Aim: To analyze the clinical, serologic, imaging, and histopathologic characteristics of intrahepatic s-CCC patients diagnosed in a single center. Read More

World J Gastroenterol 2019 Feb;25(5):521-538

Department of Nutritional Sciences, School of Life Course Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London SE1 9NH, United Kingdom.

Liver fibrosis is characterised by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix that interrupts normal liver functionality. It is a pathological stage in several untreated chronic liver diseases such as the iron overload syndrome hereditary haemochromatosis, viral hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and diabetes. Interestingly, regardless of the aetiology, iron-loading is frequently observed in chronic liver diseases. Read More

Liver Int 2019 Feb 18. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Division of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, The Netherlands.

Background & Aims: Hepatocellular Adenomas (HCA) are rare, hormone driven, benign liver tumors. HCA >50mm are associated with hemorrhage and malignant transformation. Guidelines recommend cessation of oral contraceptive pills (OCP) for size reduction, however, it is currently unknown how HCA respond to cessation of OCP. Read More

Ageing Res Rev 2019 Feb 14. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; CIG-Interdepartmental Center "Galvani", University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; CSR-Centro di Studio per la Ricerca dell'Invecchiamento, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.

An appraisal of recent data highlighting aspects inspired by the new Geroscience perspective are here discussed. The main findings are summarized as follows: i) liver has to be considered an immunological organ, and new studies suggest a role for the recently described cells named telocytes; ii) the liver-gut axis represents a crucial connection with environment and life style habits and may influence liver diseases onset; iii) the physiological aging of liver shows relatively modest alterations. Nevertheless, several molecular changes appear to be relevant: a) an increase of microRNA-31-5p; -141-3p; -200c-3p expressions after 60 years of age; b) a remodeling of genome-wide DNA methylation profile evident until 60 years of age and then plateauing; c) changes in transcriptome including the metabolic zones of hepatocyte lobules; d) liver undergoes an accelerated aging in presence of chronic inflammation/liver diseases in a sort of continuum, largely as a consequence of unhealthy life styles and exposure to environmental noxious agents. Read More

J Vasc Interv Radiol 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Avenue, M-361, San Francisco, CA 94143.

Purpose: To evaluate efficacy and safety of transjugular liver biopsy (TJLB) via the left hepatic vein in patients with left lobe-only liver transplants (LLOTs).

Materials And Methods: Retrospective review revealed 43 TJLBs performed in 26 patients with LLOTs (mean age 51.3 y; range, 18-73 y) between January 2009 and June 2016 at a single institution. Read More

Gastroenterol Hepatol 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China. Electronic address:

Introduction: Inexpensive blood tests have been well established as alternatives to liver biopsies to evaluate liver fibrosis in CHB patients. Here, we aim to compare their diagnostic accuracy in assessing liver fibrosis and necroinflammation.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective study was performed to evaluate the predictive value of non-invasive models in chronic hepatitis B patients with liver fibrosis by the area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). Read More

J Surg Res 2019 Feb 13;238:127-136. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Cancer Surgery and Metabolism Research Group, University of Sydney, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, St Leonards, NSW, Australia; Upper GI Surgical Unit, Royal North Shore Hospital and North Shore Private Hospital, St Leonards, NSW, Australia; Discipline of Surgery, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cause of cancer death worldwide. Resection offers the best chance of long-term survival, but a consistent adverse prognostic factor is the presence of microvascular invasion (MVI). In this study, surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS), a high throughput method of analyzing complex samples, was used to explore differentially expressed proteins between HCC and adjacent nontumour liver tissue (ANLT). Read More

Int J Legal Med 2019 Feb 15. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Faculty of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University & Guangdong Province Translational Forensic Medicine Engineering Technology Research Center, Zhongshan 2nd Road 74, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, 510080, China.

Diatom test has been a significant tool for the diagnosis of drowning. The reliability of the diatom test is still in strong dispute in the field of forensic science because of the false-positive results. This study was designed to quantitatively compare the numbers of the diatoms in false-positive cases and true drowning cases. Read More

Int J Surg Pathol 2019 Feb 15:1066896919828111. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

1 Department of Urology, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Diseases Center Komagome Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.

Carcinosarcoma of the upper urinary tract is very rare. In this article, we report a case of upper urinary tract carcinosarcoma with rhabdomyoblastic differentiation showing distinct transition between the epithelial and mesenchymal components confirmed by morphology and immunohistochemistry. An 81-year-old female underwent radical nephroureterectomy under the diagnosis of left ureteral urothelial carcinoma (UC). Read More

Clin J Gastroenterol 2019 Feb 14. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Department of Human Pathology, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medicine, Kanazawa, Japan.

Giant cell hepatitis in adults is considered a rapidly progressive and life-threatening disease, but there are few descriptions of a prolonged disease course. A 36-year-old Japanese man was referred to our hospital for further evaluation of abnormal liver function test results. Although asymptomatic, he had undergone follow-up for 9 years with these abnormalities. Read More

Hepatol Commun 2019 Feb 17;3(2):227-245. Epub 2018 Dec 17.

Institute of Molecular Biosciences University of Graz Graz Austria.

Murine hepatic carboxylesterase 2c () and the presumed human ortholog carboxylesterase 2 () have been implicated in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in mice and obese humans. These studies demonstrated that hydrolyzes triglycerides (TGs) in hepatocytes. Interestingly, / is most abundantly expressed in the intestine, indicating a role of / in intestinal TG metabolism. Read More

Radiol Case Rep 2019 Apr 2;14(4):463-467. Epub 2019 Feb 2.

Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Tor Vergata, Rome 00133, Italy.

We report a case of a 72-year-old male admitted in our Unit with anemia and a 10 cm liver neoplasm. Computed tomography scan showed 2 lesions respectively in the II, III and, VIII segment of the liver. Surgical resection of the larger liver mass was performed and the tumor appeared as a solid-cystic mass and a diagnosis of malignant mesenchymal tumor not otherwise specified, was made. Read More

J Clin Exp Hepatol 2019 Jan-Feb;9(1):34-42. Epub 2018 Feb 16.

Section of Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.

Background/aims: Whether the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infects normal hepatic stem/progenitor cells (NSCs) and if so, whether such infections play a role in the pathogenesis of HBV-induced chronic liver disease (CLD) and/or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains to be determined. The objectives of this study were to determine whether HBV infects NSCs and whether such infections alter NSC activity in a manner likely to contribute to the development of CLD and/or HCC.

Methods: Liver biopsies from five hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive patients were co-stained for HBcAg and HBx and the stem cell markers EpCAM, Oct-4 and Nanog. Read More

Gan To Kagaku Ryoho 2019 Jan;46(1):178-180

Dept. of Surgery, Tokyo Metropolitan Bokutoh Hospital.

A 72-year-old man with general fatigue was referred, and CT and MRI revealed a pancreatic mass with necrosis that was suspected of invading the stomach, splenic artery, celiac artery, liver, and portal vein. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed an extrinsic mass with ulcer formation in the posterior wall of the upper gastric corpus and irregular mucosa in the lower esophagus incidentally. Biopsy showed squamous cell carcinoma from both lesions, leading to the diagnosis of pancreatic adenosquamous carcinoma and early esophageal cancer. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2019 Feb 13;12(2). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of General Medicine, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.

A 27-year-old man presented with high-grade intermittent fever for 4 months, generalised fatigue for 2 months, intermittent gum bleeds for 1 month and loss of weight of 15 kg. He appeared cachectic with generalised wasting, had pallor and features of reticuloendothelial system proliferation. His liver span was 17 cm. Read More

Biomedicines 2019 Feb 5;7(1). Epub 2019 Feb 5.

Department of Neurology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan.

Transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis is caused by systemic deposition of wild-type or variant amyloidogenic TTR (ATTRwt and ATTRv, respectively). ATTRwt amyloidosis has traditionally been termed senile systemic amyloidosis, while ATTRv amyloidosis has been called familial amyloid polyneuropathy. Although ATTRwt amyloidosis has classically been regarded as one of the causes of cardiomyopathy occurring in the elderly population, recent developments in diagnostic techniques have significantly expanded the concept of this disease. Read More

Dig Dis 2019 Feb 14:1-6. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Department of Integrated Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte/University Hospital Onofre Lopes, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.

Background: Focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) is a frequent benign liver lesion. Its course is considered benign, and there is no recommendation for its treatment. Nevertheless, the literature presents a high incidence of surgery. Read More

J Pharm Biomed Anal 2019 Feb 4;167:100-113. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

Neurology Department (3 ward), Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China. Electronic address:

Dyslipidemia is known as a common clinical disease that affects the health of millions of people around the world. The treatment of dyslipidemia with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is generally based on the accurate identification of disease syndromes. TCM syndromes are judged by traditional four-diagnosis method, which is subjective and fuzzy. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2019 Feb;98(7):e14368

Rationale: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer and third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Nasopharyngeal metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma is very rare. This is the first report of posttransplantation nasopharyngeal metastasis. Read More

Drug Saf 2019 Feb 14. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.

Drug-induced steatosis (DIS) and drug-induced steatohepatitis (DISH) are two of several types of drug-induced liver injury (DILI). They can be caused by various drugs and may present as acute, potentially lethal disorders or as chronic slowly progressive liver injury. Despite the fact that they are distinct disorders, the slow progressive forms of DIS and DISH are often confused with or misdiagnosed as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which are much more common and, by definition, not caused by drugs. Read More

J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Radiology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

Background And Aim: Accurate assessment of structural and functional characteristics of the liver could improve the diagnosis and the clinical management of patients with chronic liver diseases. However, the structure-function relationship in the progression of chronic liver disease remains elusive. The aim of this study is the combined measurement of liver function by the C-methacetin Liver MAximum capacity (LiMAx) test and tissue-structure related stiffness by 2D time-harmonic elastography (THE) for the assessment of liver disease progression. Read More

J Gastroenterol 2019 Feb 12. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54 Shogoin-Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrently develops in cirrhotic liver containing a number of regenerative nodules (RNs). However, the biological tumorigenic potential of RNs is still unclear. To uncover the molecular bases of tumorigenesis in liver cirrhosis, we investigated the genetic aberrations in RNs of cirrhotic tissues using next-generation sequencing. Read More

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med 2018 26;5(6):000878. Epub 2018 Jun 26.

Department of Internal Medicine, Middle East Institute of Health, Faculty of Medical Science, Lebanese University, Hadath, Lebanon.

Primary hepatic lymphoma (PHL) is a rare variant of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Diffuse hepatic involvement is uncommon and therefore presentation as progressive hepatitis or acute fulminant hepatic failure is rare. Acute onset of signs and symptoms can mimic a variety of infectious and inflammatory disorders, thus delaying the diagnosis. Read More

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med 2018 26;5(6):000868. Epub 2018 Jun 26.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital General Universitario Reina Sofía, Murcia, Spain.

We describe the incidental finding of an aneurysm of the left branch of the portal vein in a patient without liver pathology. The diagnosis was confirmed by Doppler ultrasound.

Learning Points: Portal vein aneurysms are rare but have been described in patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Read More

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med 2018 26;5(6):000861. Epub 2018 Jun 26.

Pneumology Department, Farhat Hached University Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia.

Gingival metastasis of lung cancer is uncommon. We report the case of an 82-year-old male smoker admitted to the pulmonology department with right pleural effusion. A chest computed tomography (CT) scan showed an invasive right hilar tumour, adherent to the superior vena cava, pulmonary artery, main right bronchus, mediastinal pleura and pericardium with lymphangitic carcinomatosis of the right lung. Read More

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med 2018 28;5(11):000971. Epub 2018 Nov 28.

Division of Rheumatology, Emek Medical Center, Itzhak Rabin Blvd., Afula, Israel.

A 36-year-old woman with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) presented with necrotic skin lesions and pulmonary infiltrates. There was eosinophilic vasculitis on skin biopsy, and substantial tissue eosinophilia in her bone marrow. She had unexplained worsening thrombocytopenia, which prompted a thrombophilia work-up. Read More

Rev Esp Enferm Dig 2019 Feb 11;111. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Liver Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, china.

Alagille syndrome (ALGS) is an autosomal-dominant multisystem disorder caused by mutations in Jagged 1 (JAG1) or NOTCH2. The penetrance is low but highly variable. It is almost exclusively diagnosed in children with cholestasis and, more rarely, in their adult relatives. Read More

J Endocr Soc 2019 Feb 31;3(2):397-402. Epub 2018 Dec 31.

Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism, Children's of Alabama, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.

Vitamin D-deficiency rickets, not responding to large treatment doses of oral vitamin D, suggest rare receptor mutations, malabsorption, or hepatobiliary dysfunction. We present a set of twins of Hispanic origin who presented with refractory vitamin D-deficiency rickets and failure to thrive (FTT) at 6 months of age. On follow-up, mild elevations in serum alanine transaminases and normal aspartate aminotransferase were noted. Read More

BMC Gastroenterol 2019 Feb 11;19(1):27. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Center for Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Virginia, USA.

Background: Hepatic expression of Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) is associated with Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and development of Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Hepatic SHH detection increases with the diagnosis of NASH. This pilot study was designed to confirm that staining for SHH is useful in NASH diagnosis and determine whether quantification of staining by computer assisted morphometry (CAM) can be used to assess severity of ballooning degeneration. Read More

J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

1 Department of General Surgery, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China.

Background: Solid pseudopapillary neoplasms (SPNs) of the pancreas are rare pancreatic tumors. This study summarizes the clinicopathological characteristics and treatment outcomes of SPN patients through a 10-year single-center case series.

Materials And Methods: Medical records of patients diagnosed with SPNs and who underwent surgery between August 2007 and July 2017 at Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, were retrospectively analyzed. Read More

Oxf Med Case Reports 2019 Jan 31;2019(2):omy136. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Rheumatology Department, Royal Berkshire Hospital, UK.

Here we report a case of a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus presenting with pseudo-pseudo Meigs' syndrome (PPMS): a triad of pleural effusion, ascites and raised CA-125. There have only been nine other cases reported in the literature. To our knowledge, this is the first to have an oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy and liver biopsy as part of the diagnostic work up. Read More

Int J Gynecol Cancer 2019 Feb 9. Epub 2019 Feb 9.

Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University in Saint Louis, St Louis, Missouri, USA

Objective: The detection of distant metastatic disease in cervical cancer patients at diagnosis is critical in accurate prognostication and directing treatment strategies. This study describes the frequency and sites of distant metastatic disease at diagnosis in patients with cervical cancer as detected by positron emission tomography with F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET).

Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed cervical cancer underwent pre-treatment whole-body FDG-PET starting in 1997 at an academic institution. Read More

Diagn Pathol 2019 Feb 9;14(1):16. Epub 2019 Feb 9.

Brain Cancer Program, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, 1550 Orleans Street, 1M16, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.

Background: Gliomas with 1p/19q-codeletion as well as mutation of isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) 1 are typically characterized as oligodendrogliomas with comparatively good response to treatment with radiation and chemotherapy.

Case Presentation: We present the case of a 28-year-old man with an IDH1 and TP53 mutant high grade glioma with abnormalities in chromosomes 1 and 19 suggestive of anaplastic oligodendroglioma that rapidly progressed to widespread metastatic disease. Biopsy of a liver lesion confirmed metastasis of the patient's known brain primary and chemotherapy with temozolomide was initiated. Read More

J Gastrointest Surg 2019 Feb 7. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Transplant and Hepatobiliopancreatic Surgery Unit, Department of General and Digestive Surgery, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón - IiSGM, Madrid, Spain.

Introduction: The term "Small-for-Flow" reflects the pathogenetic relevance of hepatic hemodynamics for the "Small-For-Size" syndrome and posthepatectomy liver failure. We aimed to characterize a large-animal model for studying the "Small-for-Flow" syndrome.

Methods: We performed subtotal (90%) hepatectomies in 10 female MiniPigs using a simplified transection technique with a tourniquet. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2019 Feb;98(6):e14399

Xiang Yang No 1 Peoples Hospital, Hubei Xiangyang, China.

Cholestasis in drug-induced liver injury (DILI) can be assessed by biochemical and pathologic methods, but the agreement between the 2 methods remains unclear.The aim of this study was to identify the accurate method for assessment of cholestasis in DILI.The DILI standard established and revised by the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) (R values were calculated by liver function at different time points), cholestatic liver disease guideline (European Association for the Study of the Liver, EASL), and liver pathology were used to assess, compare, and analyze the cholestasis in 133 patients with DILI. Read More

Ultraschall Med 2019 Feb 7. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Department of Radiology, Interdisciplinary Ultrasound Center, Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany.

Int J Infect Dis 2019 Feb 4. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. Electronic address:

We wish to report a case of granulomatous hepatitis due to Nocardia. A 63year old immunocompetent patient presented with persistent fever, weight loss and malaise. Radiology suggested enlarged liver with dense diffuse to multiple tiny micronodular areas of parenchymal involvement, possibly granulomatous. Read More

SAGE Open Med Case Rep 2019 16;7:2050313X18823592. Epub 2019 Jan 16.

University Hospital for Infectious Diseases 'Dr. Fran Mihaljević', Zagreb, Croatia.

Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome, a rare complication of pelvic inflammatory disease, is an inflammation of the liver capsule (thus called perihepatitis) and the surrounding peritoneum. It occurs extremely rarely in men and is typically characterized by a sudden onset of severe pain in the right upper abdominal quadrant. Ultrasound examination of the liver does not reveal any morphologic changes, and liver function tests are usually normal. Read More

Rinsho Ketsueki 2019 ;60(1):12-16

Department of Hematology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka City University.

In allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), ascites may develop owing to several causes, including sinusoidal obstruction syndrome, infections, malignancies, and malnutrition. However, it is often difficult to determine its precise cause. Here, a 59-year-old male developed chylous ascites three months post allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for relapsed acute myeloid leukemia. Read More

Hematol Oncol 2019 Feb 6. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Division of Hematology, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy.

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is related with an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL). In indolent subtypes, regression of NHL was reported after HCV eradication with antiviral therapy (AT). In 2008, in Lombardy, a region of Northern Italy, the "Rete Ematologica Lombarda" (REL - Hematology Network of Lombardy - Lymphoma Workgroup) started a prospective multicentre observational cohort study on NHL associated with HCV infection, named "Registro Lombardo dei Linfomi HCV-positivi" ("Lombardy Registry of HCV-associated non-Hodgkin lymphomas"). Read More

Ultrasound Q 2019 Feb 4. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

Ultrasound Department, Rui Jin Hospital Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

The aim of our study was to investigate the efficiency and feasibility of shear-wave elastography (sound touch elastography [STE], sound touch quantification [STQ]) compared with transient elastography (FibroScan) assessment in noninvasively and quantitatively identifying the degree of liver fibrosis. A total of 158 patients with chronic hepatitis B were included, and all accepted STE, STQ, and FibroScan assessments. Young's modulus (kPa) of STE, STQ, and FibroScan were evaluated, and the diagnostic performance of the 3 techniques on liver fibrosis stage was compared. Read More

Hepatology 2019 Feb 5. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

Department of Genetic Engineering, Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, 100850, P.R.China.

The unfolded protein response (UPR) signal in tumor cells activates UPR signaling in neighboring macrophages, which leads to tumor-promoting inflammation by upregulating UPR target genes and proinflammatory cytokines. However, the molecular basis of this endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress transmission remains largely unclear. Here, we identified the secreted form of GP73, a Golgi-associated protein functional critical for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) growth and metastasis, is indispensable for ER stress transmission. Read More

Int J STD AIDS 2019 Feb 5:956462419826723. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

2 Department of Gastroenterology, Tokuda Acibadem Hospital, Sofia, Bulgaria.

We report a case of darunavir-induced cholestatic hepatitis in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patient in the third year of his combined antiretroviral therapy. During the patient's monthly follow-up with regard to his HIV infection, elevated transaminase levels were detected. The patient was subsequently hospitalised at the AIDS and gastroenterology departments. Read More

Appl Immunohistochem Mol Morphol 2019 Feb 1. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Department of Pathology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Key Laboratory of Head and Neck Molecular Diagnostic Pathology.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has the potential to progress to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Upregulation of sonic hedgehog (Shh) has been documented in development of NASH through sustained cell stress. At the same time, transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), which is a central element in fibrogenic reactions in various diseases and sites, has been reported to be associated with hepatic inflammation and fibrotic reaction. Read More

Oncol Rep 2019 Feb 1. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Medicine of The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, D‑55131 Mainz, Germany.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common human malignancies, the incidence of which is growing worldwide. The prognosis of HCC is very poor and it is often accompanied by a high rate of recurrence. Conventional chemotherapeutic approaches are largely inefficient. Read More