V Ratziu

..Exciting new data are expanding our understanding of the mechanisms of steatogenesis in HCV infection and providing potential links between insulin resistance or hyperglycemic states and liver fibrogenesis...

..The encouraging results of the use of PPARgamma agonists and, in particular, rosiglitazone, in human or experimental models of NASH, justifies future large-scale, randomized controlled trials...

..001) in multivariate analyses after taking into account histology, treatment, alcohol consumption, and HIV coinfection. CONCLUSION: The FibroTest measurement of HCV biomarkers has a 5-year prognostic value similar to that of liver biopsy...

..How this emerging entity is accepted and managed by a wider body of gastroenterologists is unknown, despite significant implications for the diagnosis of at-risk subjects and the utilization of healthcare resources...

..Reductions in CK-18 fragment levels also occurred, although they were not statistically significant. At appropriate therapeutic indices, selective caspase inhibitors may be a promising treatment option in patients with NASH...

..The aims were to estimate the prevalence of RFPN and of proven failures, and to identify factors associated with their occurrences...

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..The aim was to develop and validate a new biomarker of non alcoholic steato hepatitis (NASH) the NashTest (NT) in patients with NAFLD...

..One challenge was to use them for estimating the prevalence of fibrosis, identifying independent risk factors and to propose screening strategies in the general population...

..It also highlights methodological challenges for trial design and proposes endpoints for future proof of principle, registrational, and postmarketing trials...

..We tested the hypothesis that high serum glucose and overweight might contribute to this variability...

..Therefore, there is an unmet medical need for the therapy of NASH. This article discusses this therapy, with particular emphasis on pharmacologic therapy...

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..A noninvasive diagnosis of NASH would facilitate screening and monitoring of populations at risk, as well as the conduct of therapeutic trials...

..To date, no studies have assessed the efficacy and safety of high-dose UDCA (HD-UDCA) in patients with NASH...

..Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a liver disease that complicates insulin-resistant states. This trial tested the efficacy and safety of rosiglitazone, an insulin-sensitizing agent, in patients with NASH...

..The aim of this study was to assess the sampling error of liver biopsy and its impact on the diagnosis and staging of NASH...

..The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic utility of non-invasive markers of fibrosis, validated in chronic viral hepatitis and alcoholic liver disease (FibroTest, FT), in patients with NAFLD...

..In non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, histological lesions display a significant sampling variability that is ignored when interpreting histological progression during natural history or therapeutic interventions...

..The consequences of the association between diabetes and HCV infection are an increased liver fibrosis stage and faster fibrosis progression rate. This article reviews recent human and experimental data on the HCV-diabetes association...

..Increased awareness of and better diagnostic strategies for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in overweight patients are urgently needed...

..60 to 1.00 (34% [115] of all patients). INTERPRETATION: A combination of basic serum markers could be used to substantially reduce the number of liver biopsies done in patients with chronic HCV infection...

..ActiTest (AT) is a biomarker of liver necro-inflammatory histological activity validated in patients with chronic hepatitis C (HCV)...

..The present report is a review of the evidence-based data published so far...

..Although the number of randomized trials is [figure: see text] small, cumulative data suggest that IFN therapy can reduce the incidence of and the mortality from hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with cirrhosis...

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..This index is more accurate than an index of historical features, the addition of which to the existing index was not helpful...

..It is impossible to perform liver biopsy in such a large number of hyperlipidaemic patients to identify patients with advanced liver fibrosis or with steatohepatitis (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, NASH)...

..Hence, fatigue is the most frequent extrahepatic manifestation in patients infected with HCV. Fatigue is independently associated with female gender, age over 50 years, cirrhosis, depression and purpura...

..In contrast severe extrahepatic manifestations are rare, with 1% for systemic vasculitis...

..There is a major need for noninvasive markers of liver fibrosis. None are clearly useful today for the diagnosis of early stages of fibrosis...

..FibroTest has been validated for the diagnosis of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C...

..CONCLUSION: An index including five biochemical markers accurately predicts significant fibrosis in patients with HIV/HCV co-infection, and may substantially reduce the necessity for liver biopsy...

..Because these abnormalities may not only be reversible but also associated with a poor prognosis, further studies are needed to identify those dyslipidemic patients who are at risk for the development of severe hepatic tissue damage...

..In hepatitis C there is controversy over the linearity of the rate of progression and the significance of gender, mode of infection and viral factors...

..32 +/- 0.03 at 72 weeks; P=0.05). No significant differences were observed for hyaluronic acid.Hence, this fibrosis index could be used as a surrogate marker of the antifibrotic effect of treatments in patients with chronic hepatitis C...

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..62 to 0.25) (P < 0.0001). FibroTest-ActiTest provides a quantitative estimate of liver fibrosis and necroinflammatory activity in patients with chronic hepatitis B and may be an alternative to reduce the need for liver biopsy...

..Biopsy length and fragmentation are known as risk factors of false positive or false negative of biopsy but their quantitative impact on area under the receiver operating characteristic curve variability has not been assessed...

..The possible causes of false-negative and false-positive results are also better identified. These tests, which are now available in 50 countries, can facilitate the screening and management of the most frequent liver diseases...

..The aim of this prospective study was to identify diagnosis and clinical and biological factors associated with significant (bridging) fibrosis and minimal lesions of the liver in patients with persistent unexplained elevated ALT levels...

..CONCLUSIONS: The aminotransferases and an index including five biochemical markers are accurate noninvasive markers of HBV-related activity and fibrosis, respectively...

..4%, P < 0.001). In conclusion, we confirm the dose and duration effect of IFN in chronic hepatitis C, and the efficacy of IFN-alpha in the treatment of acute hepatitis and in cirrhotic patients...

..Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and viral hepatitis are associated with hepatic oxidative stress, which is partially dependent on the amount of hepatic fat...

..We examined the efficacy of a screening strategy with a noninvasive fibrosis biomarker (FibroTest) in patients with diabetes...

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..Therefore, further evaluation of the appropriateness of liver biopsy in the practical algorithm of such diseases is needed...

..If metabolic risk factors persist or deteriorate during follow-up and/or non-invasive markers suggest disease progression, a control liver biopsy should be considered...

..In conclusion, an index of five biochemical markers accurately predicts significant hepatitis C-related fibrosis and is superior to traditional markers...

..Treatment of HCV should be systematically discussed in patients coinfected with HIV and HCV...

..In conclusion, this study shows that CTGF is strongly expressed during liver fibrogenesis, and hepatic stellate cells seem to be the major cellular sources of CTGF in the liver...

..Neither biomarkers nor biopsy are sufficient alone to take definitive decision in a given patient and all the clinical and biological data must be taken into account...

..The aim was to identify factors associated with LSM accuracy using FT as a non-invasive endpoint and vice versa...

..We hypothesized that publications with a first author having a higher Hirsch' index value (h-I), which quantifies and predicts an individual's scientific research output, should have a longer half-life...

..We aimed to review evidence-based published data of biomarkers that have been validated as non-invasive alternatives to biopsy as end points for HBV and HCV infection trials...

..Cosmetic filler injections are now a very common procedure for aesthetic purposes. Today no contra-indication is given anymore to any patient for an intradermal filling...

..The aim of this study was to assess the relationships between the AUC and the prevalence of each fibrosis stage and to elaborate simple methods of standardization...

..These antiviral treatments reduce liver fibrosis progression and can reverse cirrhosis. Unfortunately, even in developed countries, death due to hepatitis C is increasing because of inadequate detection and treatment...

..The possible causes of false negatives and positives are also better identified. These tests, which are now available in 12 countries, can facilitate the screening and management of the most frequent liver diseases...

..No study has compared the liver fibrosis progression rates among chronic liver diseases and the risk factors in order to better organize screening strategies...

..In conclusion, sustained disappearance of the virus is associated with reduction of steatosis in genotype 3 as well as a correction of baseline low serum cholesterol...

..Factors associated with the survival of truth of clinical conclusions in the medical literature are unknown. The authors hypothesized that conclusions derived from studies using better methodology should have a longer half-life...

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..Data concerning these hepatic lesions and outcome after surgery are resumed in this review...

..This suggests that improving insulin sensitivity might not be sufficient in NASH and that additional targets of therapy for liver injury should be explored...

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..The aim was to assess the prevalence of these symptoms prior to any treatment, and on prolonged follow-up in treated and untreated patients...

..FT-AT should be useful in the noninvasive follow-up of lamivudine treatment...

..The recent validation of non-invasive biomarkers should facilitate the study of fibrosis progression in large populations...

..In patients with chronic liver diseases, SPIO-enhanced MR imaging exhibits non-tumor hypersignal intensities indicative of liver fibrosis by decreasing the signal from the non-fibrotic areas where Kupffer cells are present...

..Hepatocytes are susceptible to FAS-mediated apoptosis. The impact of polymorphisms in the FAS gene on histopathological features of HCV infection was therefore investigated...

..These results suggest that lymphocytes may play a role in the pathogenesis of alcohol-induced liver fibrosis...

..The fibrotic potential of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is as severe as that of chronic hepatitis C virus...

..High-dose omeprazole reduces the rate of recurrent bleeding after endoscopic treatment of peptic ulcer bleeding. However, the effectiveness of high-dose vs. standard-dose omeprazole in peptic ulcer bleeding has never been shown...

..We compared the 4-year prognostic value of combining FT-AT and viral load for a better definition of the inactive carrier status...

..The aim was to improve the accuracy of the percentage of CDT by taking into account the presence of fibrosis and steatosis, estimated using biomarkers FibroTest and SteatoTest...

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..Lamivudine, and presumably other nucleoside analogues, can reverse cirrhosis of the liver...

..CONCLUSIONS: In heavy drinkers, FT is a simple and noninvasive quantitative estimate of liver fibrosis. The use of FT may decrease the need for liver biopsy examination...

..CONCLUSIONS: In heavy drinkers, AshTest is a simple and non-invasive quantitative estimate of alcoholic hepatitis. The use of AshTest may reduce the need for liver biopsy, and therefore allow an earlier treatment of alcoholic hepatitis...