Urinary ethyl glucuronide as a novel screening tool in patients pre‐ and post–liver transplantation improves detection of alcohol consumption

Katharina Staufer, Hilke Andresen, Eik Vettorazzi, Niels Tobias, Bjoern Nashan, Martina Sterneck – 1 August 2011 – Optimal selection of liver transplant candidates and early detection of alcohol relapse after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is necessary to improve long‐term outcomes. In this study, urinary ethyl glucuronide (uEtG) was prospectively evaluated as a novel screening tool for alcohol detection in the transplant setting. Overall, 141 liver transplant candidates and recipients, visiting the outpatient clinic for a total of 308 times, were included.

The Australia antigen and role of the late Philadelphia general hospital in reducing post‐transfusion hepatitis and sequelae

John R. Senior, W. Thomas London, Alton I. Sutnick – 1 August 2011 – Baruch Blumberg, who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the Australia antigen, died on April 5, 2011. Arguably, that discovery has been the most important advance in the field of Hepatology. It led to the virtual elimination of transfusion related hepatitis B in most parts of the world and was essential to the identification of hepatitis A, C, D and E viruses. Credit for this is due Dr. Blumberg and teams in Philadelphia and Tokyo. In lieu of an Associate Editor commentary, Drs.

Critical illness evokes elevated circulating bile acids related to altered hepatic transporter and nuclear receptor expression

Yoo‐Mee Vanwijngaerden, Joost Wauters, Lies Langouche, Sarah Vander Perre, Christopher Liddle, Sally Coulter, Sara Vanderborght, Tania Roskams, Alexander Wilmer, Greet Van den Berghe, Dieter Mesotten – 28 July 2011 – Hyperbilirubinemia is common during critical illness and is associated with adverse outcome. Whether hyperbilirubinemia reflects intensive care unit (ICU) cholestasis is unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze hyperbilirubinemia in conjunction with serum bile acids (BAs) and the key steps in BA synthesis, transport, and regulation by nuclear receptors (NRs).

The H4 histamine receptor agonist, clobenpropit, suppresses human cholangiocarcinoma progression by disruption of epithelial mesenchymal transition and tumor metastasis

Fanyin Meng, Yuyan Han, Dustin Staloch, Taylor Francis, Allison Stokes, Heather Francis – 25 July 2011 – Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a biliary cancer arising from damaged bile ducts. Epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) occurs as epithelial cells begin to resemble mesenchymal cells leading to increased invasion potential as the extracellular matrix (ECM) degrades. Histamine exerts its effects by way of four receptors (H1‐H4 HRs). Clobenpropit, a potent H4HR agonist, inhibits mammary adenocarcinoma growth.

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