Ultrasound liver elastography beyond liver fibrosis assessment

Several guidelines have indicated that liver stiffness(LS) assessed by means of shear wave elastography(SWE) can safely replace liver biopsy in several clinical scenarios, particularly in patients with chronic viral hepatitis. However, an increase of LS may be due to some other clinical conditions not related to fibrosis,such as liver inflammation, acute hepatitis, obstructive cholestasis, liver congestion, infiltrative liver diseases. This review analyzes the role that SWE can play in cases of liver congestion due to right-sided heart failure, congenital heart diseases or valvular diseases. In patients with heart failure LS seems directly influenced by central venous pressure and can be used as a prognostic marker to predict cardiac events. The potential role of LS in evaluating liver disease beyond the stage of liver fibrosis has been investigated also in the hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome(SOS) and in the Budd-Chiari syndrome. In the hepatic SOS, an increase of LS is observed some days before the clinical manifestations;therefore, it could allow an early diagnosis to timely start an effective treatment.Moreover, it has been reported that patients that were successfully treated showed a LS decrease, that reached pre-transplantation value within two to four weeks. It has been reported that, in patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome, LS values can be used to monitor short and long-term outcome after angioplasty.     

Recurrent nonviral liver disease following liver transplantation

Recurrent disease after liver transplantation is well recognized and remains a potential cause of premature graft loss. The rates of recurrence are difficult to establish because of the lack of consistency in diagnostic criteria and approaches to diagnosis. Owing to the fact that recurrent parenchymal disease may occur in the presence of normal liver tests, those centers that use protocol biopsies will report greater rates of recurrence. It is important to recognize that rates of recurrence vary according to indication and show little correlation with rates of graft loss from recurrent disease. Recurrance rates are greatest for primary sclerosing cholangitis and autoimmune hepatitis, and low reccurrance rates are reported for alcoholic liver disease and recurrent primary biliary cirrhosis. The impact of recurrent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is not yet clear. Patients and clinicians need to be aware of the possibility of recurrent disease in the differential diagnosis of abnormal liver tests, and management stategies may require alteration to reduce the impact of disease recurrence on outcome. Finally, an understanding of which diseases do recur after transplantation and identification of the risk factors may lead to a better understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms of these conditions.     

脂肪性肝病与原发性肝癌

脂肪性肝病是隐原性肝硬化的主要原因之一,其经过肝硬化进展至原发性肝癌的过程已被认可,但是近年来越来越多的研究证实脂肪性肝病本身存在有促肿瘤形成的机制,它可以不经过肝硬化而直接进展成原发性肝癌,两者之间的具体机制还未明确.此文就脂肪性肝病向原发性肝癌进展的可能机制作一综述.     

Auxiliary liver transplantation for acute liver failure

BACKGROUND: In patients with acute liver failure (ALF) who fulfil criteria, liver transplantation is the only effective treatment which can substitute metabolic and excretory function of the liver. Auxiliary liver transplantation was developed because a significant minority of patients with ALF who fulfil transplant criteria can have a complete morphological and functional recovery of their liver. The favourable outcome reported in European series using auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation (APOLT), the greater experience as well as the lessons from split liver and from living related donors have revived interest in this approach. In selected patients aged <40 years without haemodynamic instability, the use of ABO-compatible, non-steatotic grafts harvested from young donors with normal liver function can restore liver function and prevent the occurrence of irreversible brain damage. In the majority of cases the auxiliary graft is a right graft which is placed orthotopically after a right hepatectomy in the recipient. After standard immunosuppression, the recovery of the native liver is assessed by biopsies, hepatobiliary scintigraphy and computed tomography. When, on the basis of histological, scintigraphical and morphological data, there is evidence of sufficient regeneration of the native liver, immunosuppression can be discontinued progressively. Complete regeneration of the native liver can be observed in >50% of patients, who can be withdrawn from immunosuppression. Therefore the advantages of auxiliary transplantation seem to balance favourably with the potential inconvenience of this technique in selected patients.     

非酒精性脂肪性肝病与肝硬化

非酒精性脂肪性肝病（Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, NAFLD）发病与胰岛素抵抗（Insulin resistance, IR） 和遗传易感性密切相关,病理学改变与酒精性肝病（Alcoholic liver disease, ALD）相似,但无过量饮酒史^[1]。在此要强调NAFL与NASH的不同,NAFL是指病理活检显示肝脏脂肪变性,但是不具有肝纤维化或气球样变性的肝细胞损伤。NASH指在肝脏脂肪变基础上出现气球样肝细胞损伤伴或不伴肝纤维化^[2],NASH发生肝纤维化、肝硬化、肝细胞癌风险明显增高,而NAFL则很低^[2],NASH是NAFL发生肝硬化的必经阶段^[3]。     

中国肝癌肝移植的现状与展望

肝癌行肝移植治疗的指征、效果和相关问题一直存在争论,国际上已经有数个通用的肝癌肝移植标准,如Milan标准、Pittsburgh标准、UCSF标准等等,中国的移植学家们也在纷纷探讨适合中国的肝癌肝移植标准.本文收集并分析近年来国内外的文献,结合本移植中心460例肝移植的病例,对肝癌的分期标准、晚期肝癌行肝移植的指征进行了探讨,笔者认为影响我国肝癌肝移植的主要因素有:供肝的来源、术后乙肝及肿瘤的复发及相关社会因素等.     

Chronic liver diseases as liver tumor precursors

Liver cancer is a major global health problem and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 75% of all liver carcinoma. HCC occurs more often in men than in women and mostly in people 50 to 60 years old. The disease is more common in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia than in North and South America and Europe. Nevertheless its incidence increased over the past 4 decades in some Western countries. Worldwide, liver carcinoma is the 5th most common cancer and 3rd most common cause of cancer mortality (behind only lung and colorectal cancer) with approximately 680,000 annual deaths. Unlike most of the other malignancies, HCC almost entirely develops in the context of inflammation and organ injury and is related to cirrhosis in about 85% of the cases. Among underlying etiologies of liver cirrhosis, most frequent are viral infection and toxic substances, mostly alcohol. The main HCC risk factor in Eastern Asia and Africa is hepatitis B virus infection. Hepatitis C virus infection is the main risk factor in Western countries. Hereditary hemochromatosis is not a very frequent cause of liver cirrhosis, but these patients are at higher risk for HCC compared with other etiologies of cirrhosis. Aflatoxins, cancer-causing substances made by a type of plant mold, can play a role in some countries in Asia and Africa, and can have a synergistic effect with hepatitis B infection.     

Fatty liver in liver transplantation and surgery

Steatosis of the liver is common in Western countries, affecting about 25% of donors for liver transplantation and 20% of patients undergoing liver resection. Transplantation of livers with severe steatosis (> 60%) is associated with a high risk of primary nonfunction, and these livers should not be used for organ donation. In contrast, transplantation with livers containing mild steatosis (< 30%) yields results similar to those of transplantation performed with nonfatty livers. The outcome of livers with moderate steatosis (30 to 60%) are varying, and the use of these organs depends on the existence of additional risk factors. Similarly, liver resection in patients with steatosis is associated with a risk of postoperative mortality when compared with patients with nonfatty livers (14% versus 2%). Although hepatic steatosis is an important risk factor for surgery, little is known about the mechanisms of injury. In animal experiments, steatosis is associated with decreased ATP production and a disturbance of sinusoidal flow. Further contributing factors may include Kupffer cell dysfunction and leukocyte adhesion. Fatty hepatocytes have reduced tolerance against ischemic injury with a predominant necrotic form of cell death. In addition, the ability of hepatocytes to regenerate after major tissue loss is impaired in the steatotic liver. Very few protective strategies are known. Ischemic preconditioning and intermittent clamping protect the human liver against prolonged periods of ischemia. These techniques appear to be particularly protective in the steatotic liver. New insights into the mechanisms of liver failure in steatotic organs are needed to decrease the risk of surgery and increase the pool of organ donors.     

药物性肝损伤合并肝脓肿

1病例捅要患者王某,男,39岁,汉族,已婚,河北省唐山市人,职业为建筑工程承包商。于2010年6月无明显诱因自觉乏力、纳差、食量减半、恶心、厌油、呕吐（非喷射样,呕吐物为胃内容物）,无发热、腹痛、腹泻、尿黄等。于当地医院查ALTl81U／L、AST109U／L、GGT386U／L,HBsAg阴性,抗HAV阴性,抗HCV阴性。腹部B超提示肝脏实质密度增高。     

非酒精性脂肪性肝病与肝移植

随着生活水平的提高,非酒精性脂肪性肝病(nonalcoholic fatty liver disease,NAFLD)在人群中的发病率越来越高.非酒精性脂肪性肝炎(nonalcoholic steatohepatitis,NASH)是NAFLD的最严重类型,在发达国家已成为临床上最常见的慢性肝病类型.     

Orthotopic liver transplantation for alcoholic liver disease

Alcohol abuse is the most common cause of end-stage liver disease in the United States, but many transplant centers are unwilling to accept alcoholic patients because of their supposed potential for recidivism, poor compliance with the required immunosuppression regimen and resulting failure of the allograft. There is also concern that alcohol-induced injury in other organs will preclude a good result. From July 1, 1982, to April 30, 1988, 73 patients received orthotopic liver transplants at the University of Pittsburgh for end-stage alcoholic liver disease. Fifty-two (71%) of these were alive at 25 +/- 9 mo (mean +/- S.D.) after transplantation, when a phone survey of these patients, their wives/husbands, and their physicians was performed to evaluate their subsequent use of alcohol, current medical condition and employment. Data obtained were compared with those for nonalcoholic patients selected as transplant controls. The recidivism rate has been 11.5%, with most patients drinking only socially. Fifty-four percent of the survivors are employed, 21% classify themselves as homemakers and only 11 (21%) are unable to work. Twenty-one patients died after transplantation; the most frequent cause of death was sepsis (43%), and intraoperative death was the next most common cause (28.6%). These data demonstrate that alcoholic patients can be transplanted successfully and achieve good health not significantly different from that of individuals transplanted for other causes. Thus orthotopic liver transplantation is a therapeutic option that should be considered for individuals with end-stage alcoholic liver disease who desire such therapy.     

Adult liver transplantation for metabolic liver disease

Liver replacement provides an effective method of replacing a failing liver, and corrects the underlying defect in many metabolic conditions. Results of liver transplantation for metabolic diseases have been encouraging, with the exception of hereditary hemochromatosis, in which infectious and for which cardiac complications appear to increase posttransplant mortality. An improved understanding of the underlying genetic and molecular defect will lead to advances in medical therapy and perhaps will decrease the need for liver replacement. The prospects of gene therapy are being pursued for many metabolic disorders, however until this research leads to direct clinical application, liver transplantation remains the only effective option for many patients with metabolic liver disease.