Hepatic dysfunction due to flutamide administration has been reported and this side effect often limits the use of the agent. The prediction of flutamide-induced hepatotoxicity is attributed to the proper use of the antiandrogen. In this study, we investigated whether hepatic dysfunction could be assessed by the metabolite profile in serum from patients receiving this drug. Serum samples were o...

Hepato-splenic schistosomiasis is the most important etiology of non-cirrhotic portal hypertension. It represents a particular type chronic liver disease, which presents unique characteristics that differentiate it from those found in cirrhosis. The relative preservation parenchyma despite fibrosis was thought to yield more benign course hepato-splenic terms synthetic dysfunction and late decom...

UNLABELLED  Introduction and aim. Liver disease is associated with cognitive dysfunction also at early stages, and minimal hepatic encephalopathy, affecting 20-70% of patients, is frequently under-recognized. The main purpose of this work was to demonstrate that a substantial number of patients, enrolled due to an acute confusional state in absence of a diagnosis of liver disease, suffers of he...

Hyperhomocysteinemia results from hepatic metabolism dysfunction and is characterized by a high plasma homocysteine level, which is also an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Elevated levels of homocysteine in plasma lead to hepatic lesions and abnormal lipid metabolism. Therefore, lowering homocysteine levels might offer therapeutic benefits. Recently, we were able to lower pl...

Long-term total parenteral nutrition (TPN) is known to be associated with cholestasis and hepatic steatosis, which can be lethal in infants who cannot be fed orally. The present review focuses on the metabolic complications in the liver that may occur due to the excessive administration of fat-free TPN. We have recently developed an infant rat model of hepatic dysfunction and steatosis induced ...

BACKGROUND The carboxy terminal cross linked telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP) has been put forward as a marker of bone resorption. Patients with alcoholic liver disease may have osteodystrophy. AIMS To assess circulating and regional concentrations of ICTP in relation to liver dysfunction, bone metabolism, and fibrosis. METHODS In 15 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and 20 controls, h...

BACKGROUND & AIMS Resveratrol, a polyphenol found in a variety of fruits, exerts a wide range of beneficial effects on the endothelium, regulates multiple vasoactive substances and decreases oxidative stress, factors involved in the pathophysiology of portal hypertension. Our study aimed at evaluating the effects of resveratrol on hepatic and systemic hemodynamics, hepatic endothelial dysfuncti...

Interleukin 2 (IL-2) mediates the regression of metastatic cancer, but its clinical use is limited by associated toxicities including hepatic dysfunction. To determine the mechanism for IL-2-induced hepatic dysfunction, we hypothesized that IL-2 activation of Kupffer cells causes leukocyte-endothelial adhesion and decreases hepatic sinusoidal blood flow. C57BL/6 mice were given injections of la...

UNLABELLED Increased production of vasoconstrictive prostanoids, such as thromboxane A2 (TXA2 ), contributes to endothelial dysfunction and increased hepatic vascular tone in cirrhosis. TXA2 induces vasoconstriction by way of activation of the thromboxane-A2 /prostaglandin-endoperoxide (TP) receptor. This study investigated whether terutroban, a specific TP receptor blocker, decreases hepatic v...

Steatotic livers are more susceptible to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, which is ameliorated by ischemic preconditioning (IPC). Autophagy possesses protective action on liver I/R injury and declines in steatotic livers. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the increased susceptibility of steatotic livers to I/R injury was associated with defective hepatic autophagy, which c...