Pregnancy in patients with chronic renal disease.

Pregnancy is not invariably contra-indicated in patients with pre-existing renal disease. Clinical data now exist that permit the clinician to distinguish such patients who are likely to experience difficulty during pregnancy from those in whom pregnancy can be undertaken with high expectation of success. Patients suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus, active or inactive, with or without lupus nephritis, should avoid pregnancy. Patients with other forms of chronic renal disease in whom the serum creatinine concentration prior to pregnancy is less than 1.5 mg/dL are not exposed to increased maternal or fetal risk. On the other hand, patients with serum creatinine values exceeding 1.6 mg/dL experience a high incidence of maternal and fetal complications and should avoid pregnancy. The life expectancy of recipients of a renal transplant is uncertain, and these patients should receive counselling as to the advisability of undertaking pregnancy. The maternal risk in such patients is not inordinately high, but the fetal risk is considerable.     

Psychiatric morbidity in patients with alcoholic liver disease.

Seventy one patients with alcoholic liver disease and an equal number with non-alcoholic liver disease were interviewed using the schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia. Forty seven (66%) of the group with alcoholic liver disease had or had had psychiatric illnesses compared with 23 (32%) of the control group (p less than 0.001). Affective disorder, particularly major depression, neurotic disorders, and antisocial personality, were all more common among the patients with alcoholic liver disease than the controls. No patient had schizophrenia or other forms of psychosis. Among the patients with alcoholic liver disease 11 men (24%) and 14 women (54%) had an affective or a neurotic disorder that had antedated their heavy drinking, and 30 (77%) of those who had had such a problem at any time had symptoms at the time of interview. Abstinence from alcohol is essential for patients with severe alcoholic liver disease. In view of the high prevalence of psychiatric disorders in these patients psychiatric assessment is important to increase the patients'' likelihood of complying with such advice.     

慢性乙肝肝硬化患者肝性脑病不同分级与肝脏储备功能的相关性

回顾性研究分析慢性乙肝肝硬化并发不同分级的肝性脑病（HE）患者的临床特点,探究影响HE患者预后的因素。

将380例HE患者根据临床症状进行分级,分为1～4级。分析各级HE患者的性别、年龄、实验室检查情况、终末期肝病模型（MELD）、谷草转氨酶与血小板计数比值（APRI）及白蛋白与总胆红素比值（ALBI）。采用Spearman相关性分析轻、重型HE的影响因素,并使用多因素Logistic回归法分析HE预后的影响因素,最后选用ROC曲线来评估各种独立变量对HE预后的预测价值。

1～4级HE患者组间性别、年龄差异均无统计学意义（均P＞0.05）,而血氨、MELD、APRI和ALB差异均有统计学差异（均P＜0.05）。轻、重型HE患者中性粒细胞计数和淋巴细胞计数的比值（NLR）、血氨、总胆红素（TBil）、谷丙转氨酶（ALT）、谷草转氨酶（AST）、肿瘤坏死因子（TNF-α）、MELD、APRI及ALBI差异有统计学意义（均P＜0.05）。相关性分析显示,NLR、PLR、血氨、TBIL、ALT、AST及TNF-α是重型HE的独立影响因素。血氨及MELD评分与肝脏储备功能的相关性最高。NLR、血氨、TBil、TNF-α、高MELD评分及合并电解质紊乱均为HE预后的独立影响因素。ROC曲线分析显示,NLR的曲线下面积最大,其灵敏度最高、特异度也最大。

MELD、APRI和ALBI可用来评估不同分级HE患者的肝脏储备功能。在轻、重型HE中,血氨及MELD评分影响最大。在评估预后影响因素中,NLR水平可作为HE患者预后不良的危险因素。

     

Circulating microRNAs in patients with chronic hepatitis C and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

MicroRNAs miR-122, miR-34a, miR-16 and miR-21 are commonly deregulated in liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. This study examined whether circulating levels of these miRNAs correlate with hepatic histological disease severity in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection (CHC) or non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease (NAFLD) and can potentially serve as circulating markers for disease stage assessment. We first used an in vitro model of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection to measure the extracellular levels of these four miRNAs. Whereas miR-21 extracellular levels were unchanged, extracellular levels of miR-122, miR-34a and to a lesser extent miR-16, steadily increased during the course of HCV infection, independently of viral replication and production. Similarly, in CHC patients, serum levels of miR-122, miR-34a and miR-16 were significantly higher than in control individuals, while miR-21 levels were unchanged. There was no correlation between the serum levels of any of these microRNAs and HCV viral loads. In contrast, miR-122 and miR-34a levels positively correlated with disease severity. Identical results were obtained in an independent cohort of CHC patients. We extended the study to patients with NAFLD. As observed in CHC patients, serum levels of miR-122, miR-34a and miR-16 were significantly higher in NAFLD patients than in controls, while miR-21 levels were unchanged. Again, miR-122 and miR-34a levels positively correlated with disease severity from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis. In both CHC and NAFLD patient groups, serum levels of miR-122 and miR-34a correlated with liver enzymes levels, fibrosis stage and inflammation activity. miR-122 levels also correlated with serum lipids in NAFLD patients. CONCLUSION: Serum levels of miR-34a and miR-122 may represent novel, noninvasive biomarkers of diagnosis and histological disease severity in patients with CHC or NAFLD.     

Steatorrhea in patients with liver disease

Intestinal function was studied in 26 patients with seven types of acute and chronic liver disease, documented by liver biopsy. Steatorrhea, defined by a stool fat higher than 6 g. per day, was present in 18 of 23 consecutive patients studied, an incidence of 78.3%. Two patients with infectious hepatitis associated with steatorrhea studied previously were added and the 20 cases were analyzed. The malabsorption found was confined to fat and fat-soluble vitamins; stool excretion varied from 6.1 to 22 g. per day in the seven groups studied. No histological abnormality was seen on jejunal biopsy, serum vitamin B₁₂, D-xylose and Schilling tests were normal, and no radiological findings associated with malabsorption were detected in the small bowel. It is concluded that steatorrhea is a common finding in a wide variety of acute and chronic liver diseases and cannot be attributed to a primary defect of the small bowel.     

Detection of Helicobacter in the liver of patients with chronic cholestatic liver diseases.

Helicobacter species were identified in human liver tissues by PCR. Biopsies were obtained from patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis, primary biliary cirrhosis and noncholestatic liver cirrhosis. One set of Helicobacter genus-specific primers and two different primer sets for Helicobacter pylori were used in the PCR-assays. Using Helicobacter genus-specific primers 80% (8/10) of patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis and 90% (9/10) of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis were positive. Seven of these 17 samples were positive using two different primers for H. pylori and Southern blot hybridization. Among the non-cholestatic liver cirrhosis controls, only one sample was positive in the Helicobacter genus-specific PCR-assay. Significantly higher values of alkaline phosphatases and prothrombin complex was found for the patients positive for Helicobacter genus. In conclusion, gene sequences of Helicobacter species and H. pylori were detected in human liver tissue using PCR and DNA hybridization in patients with a cholestatic liver disease, but rarely in noncholestatic liver cirrhosis.     

Antiglobulin factor in sera from patients with liver disease.

(1) An antiglobulin factor, non-neutralizable by human gamma-globulin, was demonstrated in sera of two patients with liver disease. (2) By absorption and elution techniques, two fractions were differentiated in a serum: one is reactive to rabbit antibody and the other seems cross-reactive to rabbit and human antibodies. (3) In double immunodiffusion test, the antiglobulin factor formed a precipitation band with heat-aggregated human IgG as did rheumatoid arthritis serum. (4) While the antiglobulin activity to rabbit antibody was demonstrated in both the IgM and IgG fractions, the reactivity to human antibody was localized in the IgM fraction. (5) From its selective reactivity to individual anti-D sera (sensitizers), at least a part of the specificity of the antiglobulin factor must be related to anti-Gm (1), and consequently can be regarded as auto-reactive.     

Serum levels of anti-heat shock protein 27 antibodies in patients with chronic liver disease

Heat shock protein 27 (HSP27), an intracellular molecular chaperone, is involved in the pathogenesis of cancer by promoting both tumor cell proliferation and resistance to therapy. HSP27 is also present in the circulation and circulating HSP27 (sHSP27) can elicit an autoimmune response with production of antibodies. Levels of sHSP27 are enhanced in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); it is, however, unknown whether changes in HSP27 antibody levels occur in patients with HCC and can be exploited as a circulating biomarker of HCC. Our aim was to assess the potential association between newly diagnosed HCC and serum anti-HSP27 antibody levels. In this cross-sectional study, anti-HSP27 antibody levels were measured in serum samples from 71 HCC patients, 80 subjects with chronic liver disease, and 38 control subjects by immunoenzymatic assay. Anti-HSP27 antibody levels did not differ significantly among groups. However, in patients with chronic active hepatitis/cirrhosis, anti-HSP27 levels were significantly higher in subjects with a positive history of alcoholism (p = 0.03). Our data do not support the hypothesis that anti-HSP27 antibody levels may help identify patients with HCC among subjects with chronic liver disease. However, our finding that alcohol-related liver disease is associated with higher anti-HSP27 levels is novel and deserves further investigations.     

Cimetidine and portal pressure in chronic liver disease.

Portal pressure was determined in 10 patients with chronic liver disease before and after an infusion of cimetidine. The drug had no significant effect on portal hypertension. Suggestions that histamine H2-receptor antagonists, by decreasing portal pressure, may be useful in the management of bleeding from esophageal varices are not supported by these results.     

高原地区慢性肝病肠道微生态结构的变化

目的分析高原地区慢性肝病患者肠道菌群物种多样性及菌群丰度结构变化,探讨肠道微生态失衡与慢性肝病的关联。方法收集高原地区90例慢性肝病(慢性乙型病毒性肝炎30例、乙肝后肝硬化30例、原发性肝癌30例)及25例健康人的粪便,利用高通量基因测序及生物信息学分析技术,探讨慢性肝病患者与健康人之间物种多样性以及不同分类水平上肠道菌群组成是否存在差异。结果慢性肝病患者肠道菌群多样性较健康人显著降低(Z=1.462,P=0.005),Beta多样性分析发现慢性肝病患者与健康人肠道菌群组成上差异存在统计学意义(r=0.122,P=0.020);对慢性肝病组与健康组进行组间肠道菌群差异性分析,发现在门水平上,拟杆菌门在慢性肝病组中富集(Z=1.065,P=0.043),慢性肝病组内比较发现拟杆菌门在慢性乙型病毒性肝炎、乙肝后肝硬化、原发性肝癌患者中的相对丰度呈逐渐减少的趋势,但差异无统计学意义(P>0.050);属水平上,粪杆菌属在慢性肝病组中富集(Z=1.092,P=0.032),而肠球菌属分布减少(Z=1.398,P=0.036),同时慢性肝病患者肠道菌群中一些潜在致病菌如链球菌属、韦荣球菌属较健康人富集,而双歧杆菌属、乳杆菌属等益生菌相对丰度较低,但差异无统计学意义。组内比较发现存在差异菌属链球菌属(H=6.026,P=0.049)、韦荣球菌属(H=10.317,P=0.005),对差异菌属进行两两比较发现相较原发性肝癌组,链球菌属在乙肝后肝硬化组中更加富集,差异有统计学意义(P<0.050),同时发现肝硬化及肝癌组中韦荣球菌属的相对丰度较慢性乙型病毒性肝炎组高,但差异无统计学意义(P>0.050)。相关性分析发现粪杆菌属与ALT、AST、ALP水平呈正相关(r=0.192、0.187、0.276,均P<0.050),韦荣球菌属与TB、ALP水平呈正相关(r=0.257、0.225,均P<0.050)。结论高原地区慢性肝病患者肠道微生物多样性显著降低,且慢性肝病患者与健康人肠道菌群组成上存在差异,在慢性肝病的进展中一些潜在致病菌的丰度逐渐增加,同时益生菌的相对丰度呈逐渐减少的趋势。     

IgM-linked SerpinB3 and SerpinB4 in sera of patients with chronic liver disease

Background

Epidemiological studies indicate that a growing number of cirrhotic patients will develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the next decade. Recent findings have demonstrated that Squamous cell carcinoma antigen 1 (SCCA1) and 2 (SCCA2) isoforms, now classified as serpinB3 and serpinB4, are over-expressed in HCC, but not in normal liver. As reported, high levels of circulating SCCA-IgM immunocomplexes in patients with cirrhosis are significantly associated with HCC development.

Aim

To ascertain whether IgM-linked SCCA isoforms circulate in patients with chronic liver disease, compared to total SCCA-IgM levels.

Methodology and Findings

79 patients with chronic liver disease were studied, including 17 patients with chronic hepatitis, 36 patients with cirrhosis and 26 with HCC. 28 blood donors were used as control. Monoclonal antibodies against serpinB3 and serpinB4 were used as catcher antibodies to set up specific ELISA assays, while total SCCA-IgM immunocomplexes were detected by commercially available ELISA assay. Overall, the results revealed a better diagnostic sensitivity of total SCCA-IgM assay, compared to both serpinB3 and serpinB4 IgM-linked assays. SerpinB4-IgM median values obtained with SCC103 antibody were moderately higher in patients with cirrhosis than in those with HCC, median values: 0.168 (IQR 0.140–0.427) vs. 0.140 (IQR 0.140–0.278), (p = 0.177). A trend toward decreasing serpinB4-IgM/serpinB3-IgM median ratio was observed in patients with advanced liver disease, being 1.08 in patients with HCC, 1.10 in patients with cirrhosis and 1.40 in patients with chronic hepatitis (p = 0.079).

Conclusions

IgM-linked SCCA isoforms in serum of patients with chronic liver diseases were quantified for the first time. Although the number of patients was limited, this preliminary study reveals that the relative balance of the two serpin isoforms is altered in HCC and it is characterized by a lower serpinB4-IgM/serpinB3-IgM ratio, determined by lower serpinB4 levels.     

Immune response to HBsAg and the spectrum of liver lesions in HBsAg-positive patients with chronic renal disease.

Evidence of chronic hepatitis was found on histological examination in nine out of 15 patients positive for hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg) who had either chronic renal failure or a functioning renal transplant. Cirrhosis had already developed in three of the patients, who deteriorated rapidly and died. Liver biopsies from the remaining 12 patients showed the features of chronic aggressive hepatitis in two, chronic persistent hepatitis in four, and minor histological lesions in six. The persistence of HBsAg in patients with renal failure or in those receiving immunosuppressive drugs after a transplant must indicate some impairment of the normal immune response to hepatitis-B viral antigens. Nevertheless, cellular or humoral immunity to HBsAg was detected in all eight patients with chronic hepatitis tested compared with only one out of five with minimal liver lesions, which suggests that the severity of the liver damage may be directly related to the degree of immunocompetence.     

Prevalence and determinants of diabetes mellitus among Iranian patients with chronic liver disease

BACKGROUND: Alterations in carbohydrate metabolism are frequently observed in cirrhosis. We conducted this study to define the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in Iranian patients with chronic liver disease (CLD), and explore the factors associated with DM in these patients. METHODS: One hundred and eighty-five patients with CLD were enrolled into the study. Fasting plasma glucose and two-hour plasma glucose were measured in patients' sera. DM and IGT were diagnosed according to the latest American Diabetes Association criteria. RESULTS: The subjects included 42 inactive HBV carriers with a mean age of 42.2 +/- 12.0 years, 102 patients with HBV or HCV chronic hepatitis with a mean age of 41.2 +/- 10.9 years, and 41 cirrhotic patients with a mean age of 52.1 +/- 11.4 years. DM and IGT were diagnosed in 40 (21.6%) and 21 (11.4%) patients, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that age (P = 0.000), CLD status (P = 0.000), history of hypertension (P = 0.007), family history of DM (P = 0.000), and body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.009) were associated with DM. Using Multivariate analysis, age (OR = 4.7, 95%CI: 1.8-12.2), family history of DM (OR = 6.6, 95%CI: 2.6-17.6), chronic hepatitis (OR = 11.6, 95%CI: 2.9-45.4), and cirrhosis (OR = 6.5, 95%CI: 2.4-17.4) remained as the factors independently associated with DM. When patients with cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis were analyzed separately, higher Child-Pugh's score in cirrhotic patients (OR = 9.6, 95%CI: 1.0-88.4) and older age (OR = 7.2, 95%CI: 1.0-49.1), higher fibrosis score (OR = 59.5, 95%CI: 2.9-1211.3/ OR = 11.9, 95%CI: 1.0-132.2), and higher BMI (OR = 30.3, 95%CI: 3.0-306.7) in patients with chronic hepatitis were found to be associated with higher prevalence of DM. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that patients with cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis are at the increased risk of DM occurrence. Older age, severe liver disease, and obesity were associated with DM in these patients.     

Severity of alcohol dependence in patients with alcoholic liver disease.

To determine the severity of dependence on alcohol in patients with alcoholic liver disease the severity of alcohol dependence questionnaire was administered to 193 patients with various types of alcoholic liver disease established histologically, in whom a detailed history of lifetime alcohol consumption was also obtained. Only 34 patients (18%) were classified as being severely dependent compared with 56% of patients without overt liver disease who were attending a neighbouring alcohol treatment unit. There was a significant correlation between the severity of dependence and mean daily alcohol consumption (r = 0.45 and 0.39 for men and women, respectively) but not duration of drinking. Dependence scores tended to be lower in patients with cirrhosis than in those with precirrhotic liver disease, but this difference reached significance only in women. These findings confirm that patients who develop chronic alcoholic liver disease are usually only mildly dependent on alcohol and support the hypothesis that patients who escape florid symptoms of alcohol dependence are at greater risk of developing liver damage because they are able to sustain a continual consumption of alcohol over many years.