Behavior therapy for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: The need for a multidisciplinary approach

Stefano Bellentani, Riccardo Dalle Grave, Alessandro Suppini, Giulio Marchesini, Fatty Liver Italian Network (FLIN) – 26 January 2008 – Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is systematically associated with insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome, where behavior therapy remains the primary treatment, simultaneously addressing all the clinical and biochemical defects.

The causes of primary biliary cirrhosis: Convenient and inconvenient truths

M. Eric Gershwin, Ian R. Mackay – 26 January 2008 – The most difficult issue in autoimmunity remains etiology. Although data exist on effector mechanisms in many autoimmune diseases, the underlying cause or causes are still generically ascribed to genetics and environmental influences. Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is considered a model autoimmune disease because of its signature antimitochondrial autoantibody (AMA), the homogeneity of clinical characteristics, and the specificity of biliary epithelial cell (BEC) pathology.

Association of gankyrin protein expression with early clinical stages and insulin‐like growth factor‐binding protein 5 expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma

Atsushi Umemura, Yoshito Itoh, Katsuhiko Itoh, Kanji Yamaguchi, Tomoki Nakajima, Hiroaki Higashitsuji, Hitoshi Onoue, Manabu Fukumoto, Takeshi Okanoue, Jun Fujita – 26 January 2008 – Gankyrin (also known as PSMD10) is a liver oncoprotein that interacts with multiple proteins including MDM2 and accelerates degradation of the tumor suppressors p53 and Rb. We produced a monoclonal anti‐gankyrin antibody and immunohistochemically assessed the clinicopathological significance of gankyrin overexpression in 43 specimens of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Interacting alleles of the coinhibitory immunoreceptor genes cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte antigen 4 and programmed cell‐death 1 influence risk and features of primary biliary cirrhosis

Brian D. Juran, Elizabeth J. Atkinson, Erik M. Schlicht, Brooke L. Fridley, Gloria M. Petersen, Konstantinos N. Lazaridis – 26 January 2008 – Autoimmune diseases such as primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) result from failure in the immune mechanisms that establish and maintain self‐tolerance. Evidence suggests that these processes are shared among the spectrum of autoimmune syndromes and are likely genetically determined.

Transient elastography is unreliable for detection of cirrhosis in patients with acute liver damage

Abdurrahman Sagir, Andreas Erhardt, Marcus Schmitt, Dieter Häussinger – 26 January 2008 – Transient elastography [FibroScan (FS)] is a rapid, noninvasive, and reproducible method for measuring liver stiffness, which correlates with the degree of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis. Whether FS is useful in the detection of preexisting liver fibrosis/cirrhosis in patients presenting with acute liver damage is unclear. Patients with acute liver damage of different etiologies were analyzed.

Telbivudine versus lamivudine in Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B: Results at 1 year of a randomized, double‐blind trial

Jinlin Hou, You‐Kuan Yin, Daozhen Xu, Deming Tan, Junqi Niu, Xiaqiu Zhou, Yuming Wang, Limin Zhu, Yongwen He, Hong Ren, Mobin Wan, Chengwei Chen, Shanming Wu, Yagang Chen, Jiazhang Xu, Qinhuan Wang, Lai Wei, George Chao, Barbara Fielman Constance, George Harb, Nathaniel A. Brown, Jidong Jia – 26 January 2008 – Chronic hepatitis B and its life‐threatening sequelae are highly prevalent in China. There is a need for effective new therapies to suppress hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication and ameliorate liver disease.

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