Developing multicenter consortia in liver disease in Latin America: Challenges and opportunities

Manuel Mendizabal, Marcelo O. Silva – 7 June 2017 – The development of consortia has been useful for exploring challenging scenarios and uncharted territories in liver disease treatments. Several consortia already developed in the United States and Europe have become key factors in patient care decision‐making processes and medical education, and they have also impacted policy makers' decisions. In Latin America, the situation is different.

Comparison of laboratory tests, ultrasound, or magnetic resonance elastography to detect fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A meta‐analysis

Guangqin Xiao, Sixian Zhu, Xiao Xiao, Lunan Yan, Jiayin Yang, Gang Wu – 6 June 2017 – Many noninvasive methods for diagnosing liver fibrosis (LF) have been proposed. To determine the best method for diagnosing LF in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), we conducted a systemic review and meta‐analysis to compare the performance of aspartate aminotransferase to platelets ratio index (APRI), fibrosis‐4 index (FIB‐4), BARD score, NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS), FibroScan, shear wave elastography (SWE), and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) for diagnosing LF in NAFLD.

Significance of oliguria in critically ill patients with chronic liver disease

Roland Amathieu, Ali Al‐Khafaji, Florentina E. Sileanu, Emily Foldes, Rebecca DeSensi, Ibtesam Hilmi, John A. Kellum – 6 June 2017 – Clinical guidelines recommend using Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria for the diagnosis and classification of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). Concerns have been raised about the use of urine output (UO) criteria in CLD. We examined the significance of oliguria meeting the urine output criteria for AKI (AKI‐UO) and examined its association with clinical outcomes in CLD patients.

Small heterodimer partner deletion prevents hepatic steatosis and when combined with farnesoid X receptor loss protects against type 2 diabetes in mice

Oludemilade Akinrotimi, Ryan Riessen, Philip VanDuyne, Jung Eun Park, Yoon Kwang Lee, Lee‐Jun Wong, Ann M. Zavacki, Kristina Schoonjans, Sayeepriyadarshini Anakk – 6 June 2017 – Nuclear receptors farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and small heterodimer partner (SHP) are important regulators of bile acid, lipid, and glucose homeostasis. Here, we show that global Fxr–/–Shp–/– double knockout (DKO) mice are refractory to weight gain, glucose intolerance, and hepatic steatosis when challenged with high‐fat diet.

Improved posttransplant mortality after share 35 for liver transplantation

Allison J. Kwong, Aparna Goel, Ajitha Mannalithara, W. Ray Kim – 6 June 2017 – The Share 35 policy was implemented in June 2013 to improve equity in access to liver transplantation (LT) between patients with fulminant liver failure and those with cirrhosis and severe hepatic decompensation. The aim of this study was to assess post‐LT outcomes after Share 35. Relevant donor, procurement, and recipient data were extracted from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing database.

Fecal microbiota transplant from a rational stool donor improves hepatic encephalopathy: A randomized clinical trial

Jasmohan S. Bajaj, Zain Kassam, Andrew Fagan, Edith A. Gavis, Eric Liu, I. Jane Cox, Raffi Kheradman, Douglas Heuman, Jessica Wang, Thomas Gurry, Roger Williams, Masoumeh Sikaroodi, Michael Fuchs, Eric Alm, Binu John, Leroy R. Thacker, Antonio Riva, Mark Smith, Simon D. Taylor‐Robinson, Patrick M Gillevet – 6 June 2017 – Recurrent hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a leading cause of readmission despite standard of care (SOC) associated with microbial dysbiosis. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) may improve dysbiosis; however, it has not been studied in HE.

A phosphokinome‐based screen uncovers new drug synergies for cancer driven by liver‐specific gain of nononcogenic receptor tyrosine kinases

Yannan Fan, Maria Arechederra, Sylvie Richelme, Fabrice Daian, Chiara Novello, Julien Calderaro, Luca Di Tommaso, Guillaume Morcrette, Sandra Rebouissou, Matteo Donadon, Emanuela Morenghi, Jessica Zucman‐Rossi, Massimo Roncalli, Rosanna Dono, Flavio Maina – 6 June 2017 – Genetic mutations leading to oncogenic variants of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are frequent events during tumorigenesis; however, the cellular vulnerability to nononcogenic RTK fluctuations has not been characterized.

Nonalcoholic steatofibrosis independently predicts mortality in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Zobair M. Younossi, Maria Stepanova, Nila Rafiq, Linda Henry, Rohit Loomba, Hala Makhlouf, Zachary Goodman – 6 June 2017 – Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the progressive form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The minimal pathologic criteria for NASH include hepatic steatosis, ballooning degeneration, and lobular inflammation. The resolution of NASH, which relies on the loss of ballooning degeneration, is subject to sampling and observer variability in pathologic interpretation.

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