Hepatic encephalopathy in patients with liver cirrhosis：Is there a role of malnutrition？

Hepatic encephalopathy（HE） is a common complica-tion in patients with liver cirrhosis but its pathogenesis remains incompletely understood.Malnutrition is commonly encountered in patients with liver cirrhosis and it has been reported to affect the quality of life of this group of patients.Experimental studies suggest that low energy intake and poor nutritional status may facilitate the development of HE but there are scarce data on the potential role of malnutrition in HE in patients with liver cirrhosis.Two recently published studies have evaluated the potential role of malnutrition in the development of HE in cirrhotic patients with conflicting results.In this letter to the editor we briefly present the results of the two studies as well as potential reasons for the conflicting results reported.     

Abstinence in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis: A follow-up study

Aim:  To investigate the proportion of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis who abstained from alcohol after contact with a hepatology unit, the predictors for abstinence, and the role of clinical and psychosocial factors in short-term mortality in these patients.
Methods:  Eighty-seven consecutive patients with alcoholic cirrhosis from a transplant center were included. Data on cirrhosis severity and complications, as well as on abstinence and psychosocial factors were collected. Patients were followed up for 19 (12–25) months. Data on abstinence during follow up, alcohol abuse treatment, psychiatric contact, severity of cirrhosis, mortality, and liver transplantation were analyzed.
Results:  Prior to inclusion, 53/87 (61%) patients had abstained from alcohol for 24 months (interquartile range: 18–33). Twenty percent had a history of other substance abuse, 47% had undergone alcohol abuse treatment, and 21% had a previous psychiatric diagnosis. Forty-eight percent lived with a partner, 23% worked/studied, and 53% were pensioners. During follow up, 26% died, 20% received a liver transplant, 55% abstained from alcohol, 47% received alcohol abuse treatment, and 33% had psychiatric contact. In a multivariate analysis, abstinence during follow up was found to be related to abstinence upon inclusion in the study, to the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score at follow up, and to no abuse treatment in a detoxification unit, whereas mortality was related to index MELD and alcohol abuse treatment during follow up. Neither abstinence nor mortality was related to psychosocial factors.
Conclusion:  More than half of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis were found to abstain from alcohol during follow up, which was related to prior documentation of abstinence and cirrhosis severity. Cirrhosis severity (expressed as the MELD) and alcohol abuse treatment during follow up were related to short-term mortality.     

Platelet glycoproteins IIb and IIIa as a calcium channel in liposomes

Human platelet membrane glycoproteins IIb and IIIa (GPIIb and IIIa) were incorporated into phospholipid vesicles by the reverse-phase technique to assess the ability of GPIIb and IIIa to function as a Ca2+ channel. Movement of Ca2+ across the lipid bilayer was quantitated by injection of proteoliposomes with encapsulated Fura-2 into Ca2+ buffers and measurement of Fura-2 fluorescence as an indicator of Ca2+ influx. Reciprocally, to assess the function of proteins in an inside-out orientation, Ca2+-loaded vesicles were injected into Ca2+-free buffer and Ca2+ efflux monitored by a calcium electrode. Incorporation of the IIb-IIIa complex produced significant facilitation of Ca2+ movement across the lipid bilayer. No net transmembrane Ca2+ movement was seen with dissociated IIb and IIIa. Movement of Ca2+ was proportional to the transmembrane Ca2+ gradient. Ca2+ movement into the vesicles was inversely proportional to extravesicular NaCl from 25 to 150 mmol/L, analogous to several studies in the intact platelet. Adenosine triphosphate had no effect on Ca2+ movement into or out of the vesicles. Specific inhibition of a Ca2+ shift into the vesicles was seen with M148, a monoclonal antibody to IIb/IIIa, while no inhibition was observed with a panel of other anti-IIb/IIIa monoclonal antibodies. This suggests that a specific site on the complex or orientation of the complex is essential for calcium channel function. These data demonstrate that the GPIIb/IIIa complex can serve as a passive Ca2+ channel across a phospholipid bilayer and has the potential to play a role in Ca2+ flux across the platelet plasma membrane.     

《英国非酒精性脂肪性肝炎肝移植指南》导读

非酒精性脂肪性肝炎（non—alcoholicsteatohepatitis,NASH）现已成为肝移植愈来愈重要的基础肝病。鉴于晚期NASH患者常并存多种影响肝移植转归的临床问题,而至今尚无针对NASH患者进行肝移植的评估和治疗指南,为此英国移植学会（British Transplant Society,BTS）邀请相关专家制定了指南,以指导肝移植前后NASH患者的处理。