BACKGROUND The standard treatment for decompensated liver cirrhosis is liver transplantation. However, it has several limitations. Recent animal studies suggest that bone marrow stem cell transplantation can lead to regression of liver fibrosis. The objective of this study was to determine the safety and feasibility of autologous bone marrow-mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in patients wit...

Background/Aims Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) belongs to the transforming growth factor-β superfamily. GDF-15 is emerging as a biomarker for several diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical performances of GDF-15 for the prediction of liver fibrosis and severity in chronic liver disease. Methods The serum GDF-15 levels were examined via enzyme immunoassay in 1...

AIM To determine whether ribavirin (RBV) concentrations differ according to cirrhosis stage among cirrhotic patients treated with interferon-free regimens. METHODS We included patients with hepatitis C virus and cirrhosis [Child-Pugh (CP) A or B], Glomerular Filtration Rate ≥ 60 mL/min, who started therapy with DAAs and weight-based RBV between October 2014 and February 2016. RBV plasma level...

Decompensated cirrhosis is associated to extensive post-transcriptional changes of human albumin (HA). This study aims to characterize the occurrence of HA homodimerization in a large cohort of patients with decompensated cirrhosis and to evaluate its association with clinical features and prognosis. HA monomeric and dimeric isoforms were identified in peripheral blood by using a HPLC-ESI-MS te...

The natural history of cirrhosis is characterized by an asymptomatic phase, referred to as “compensated cirrhosis,” followed by a progressive phase marked by the development of complications of portal hypertension and/or liver dysfunction, designated “decompensated cirrhosis.” In the compensated phase portal pressure may be normal or below the threshold of clinically significant portal hyperten...

BACKGROUND Acquired deficiencies of certain complement proteins and impaired opsonisation activity have been implicated in the pathogenesis of the increased susceptibility to infections of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. METHODS Serum concentrations of C3 and C4, plasma concentrations of C3bc, C9, and the terminal C5b-9 complement complex (TCC), and haemolytic complement activity (classic ...

BACKGROUND There is increasing evidence that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) increase the rate of infections in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. AIMS To estimate the extent to which proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) increase the rate of infections among patients with decompensated cirrhosis. METHODS We conducted a retrospective propensity-matched new user design using US Veterans Health Adm...

BACKGROUND Cirrhosis and severe sepsis are factors associated with increased mortality in intensive care unit (ICU), but chronic hepatitis C (CHC) has been less studied in ICU. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of CHC on the mortality of cirrhotic patients admitted to ICU according to severe sepsis and decompensated cirrhosis. METHODS We carried out a retrospective study based o...