OBJECTIVE To evaluate the outcome of liver transplantation in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis with respect to selection criteria, survival, and evidence suggesting a return to harmful drinking. DESIGN Nine year retrospective study. SETTING Cambridge and King's College Hospital liver transplant programme. SUBJECTS 24 Patients (three women, 21 men) with alcoholic cirrhosis. MAIN OUTCOME...

Although altered cytokine homeostasis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of both alcoholic liver and pancreas diseases, the serum cytokine pattern characteristic of concomitant alcoholic liver cirrhosis and pancreatitis has not been examined. In this paper we examine the serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6, IL-8, TNF-alpha, and also antiinflammatory ones, such as IL-10 ...

CONTEXT In about 10% of patients with chronic liver disease, it is not possible to identify an etiologic factor. These cases are called cryptogenic cirrhosis. Currently, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is being considered as a possible etiologic factor for a significant segment of patients that presents with cryptogenic cirrhosis. OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of risk factors for N...

Sera from patients with chronic liver disease were tested for antibody against hepatitis B surface antigen by radioimmunoassay. The antibody was found in 25% of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and in 52% when alcoholic cirrhosis was associated with portal hypertension, these results being significantly higher than in a matched control population. Other forms of chronic liver disease did not d...

BACKGROUND Interleukin (IL)-12 is a proinflammatory cytokine produced by antigen-presenting cells upon stimulation by diverse stimuli. This study aimed to explore the relationship between IL-12 serum levels and different stages of alcoholic liver disease, alcoholic intake status and abstinence from alcohol. METHODS A total of 35 healthy controls without alcohol consumption and 94 patients wit...

BACKGROUND An isoleucine>methionine mutation at position 148 in the PNPLA3 gene (p.I148M, rs738409) has recently been identified as a susceptibility factor for liver damage in steatohepatitis. Here, we studied whether the PNPLA3 rs738409 polymorphism also affects predisposition to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS We compared distributions of PNPLA3 genotypes in 80 and 81 Caucasian pati...

In previous studies, the relationship between aspartate aminotransferase to alanine aminotransferase ratio(AST/ALT ratio) and liver disease has been evaluated. In viral hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease and primary biliary cirrhosis, AST/ALT ratio has been proven to be an indicator of liver cirrhosis.1-3 AST/ALT ratio was a potential value in differentiating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis from a...

BACKGROUND Insulin resistance (IR) is associated with hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis, regardless of its etiology but the mechanism of hyperinsulinemia in cirrhosis is still unclear. The current study was designed to assess hyperinsulinemia and pancreatic β-cell function in euglycemic cirrhosis of varied etiology. METHODS A cross sectional case control study of 100 subjects. IR was assessed by...

The prevalences of 10 HLA-A and 16 HLA-B antigens were determined in 50 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and 120 alcoholic patients without cirrhosis and compared with those in a control group of 550 healthy subjects from the same geographical area. B40 was absent in the patients with cirrhosis but was found in 18 (15%) of the patients without cirrhosis (p = 0.0087). No other association was n...

BACKGROUND & AIMS Environmental and genetic factors contribute to alcoholic cirrhosis onset. In particular, age at exposure to liver stressors has been shown to be important in progression to fibrosis in hepatitis C individuals. However, no definite data on the role of age at onset of at-risk alcohol consumption are available. Moreover, patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 (PN...