objective(s): an increase in nitric oxide (no) production has been reported in cirrhotic cardiomyopathy and, portal hypertension. since minocycline has been shown to inhibit no overproduction, we aimed to examine its role in a rat model of ccl4-induced cirrhotic cardiovascular complications. materials and methods: portal pressure and inotropic responsiveness of isolated papillary muscles to iso...

In cirrhosis, as in other conditions of protein catabolism, there is a state of acquired GH resistance, as defined by high circulating GH levels with low insulin-like growth factor I levels. However, patients with end-stage liver failure respond to supraphysiological doses of GH with an increase in circulating insulin-like growth factor I levels. The present study represents a detailed analysis...

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the threshold dose for focal liver damage after stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in cirrhotic and normal livers using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A total of 64 patients who underwent SBRT for liver tumors, including 54 cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and 10 non-cirrhotic patients with liver metastases, we...

Ascites, hepatic encephalopathy (HE), and esophageal variceal bleeding (EVB) are 3 major complications in patients with cirrhosis. Limited data exist with which to evaluate the long-term mortality of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in cirrhotic patients with or without complications.The National Health Insurance Database in Taiwan was used to identify patients with cirrhosis hospitalized between...

AIM To evaluate the role of low mechanical index (MI) contrast-enhanced sonography (CEUS) for the characterization of small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) in cirrhotic patients by comparing the results to ultrafast dynamic gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS Between September 2003 and June 2004, 73 patients (49 male and 24 female; mean age, 63 ...

Introduction: Cirrhosis of the liver is one of the commonly encountered liver disorders in clinical practice caused by a wide variety of etiologies. It is defined anatomically as a diffuse process of nodule formation and fibrosis in the liver. Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is defined by infection of the previously sterile ascitic fluid (AF), without any apparent intra-abdominal source...

background: there are two kinds of ascites, cirrhotic and malignant. the conventional diagnostic method to differentiate them is paracentesis. this is an invasive and time consuming method. however, ultrasonography is an easy and available method to provide valuable results in a short period of time. the aim of this study was to evaluate gallbladder wall thickness in differentiating cirrhotic a...

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is an important marker of morbidity and mortality in critically ill cirrhotic patients. The most common causes of AKI in cirrhotic patients include prerenal or hepatorenal syndrome (HRS). Diagnosis of AKI may be delayed by the lack of clinical, biochemical, and radiological markers with proven sensitivity and specificity in cirrhotic patients. In this review, we discus...

No specific treatment can reverse the liver injury in cirrhosis. This study aims to characterize immune status and correlations between cirrhosis induced by HBV and HCV. Phenotypes of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets (T, NK, regulatory T cells) and Th cytokine secretion were analyzed using flow cytometry in 42 HBV-cirrhotic and 40 HCV-cirrhotic patients. Cirrhotic patients had a lower propor...

BACKGROUND Because hepatic cirrhosis is a major risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma, recent guidelines by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) on clinical management of hepatocellular carcinoma recommend periodic ultrasound surveillance of cirrhotic patients with immediate workup for nodules >1 cm; an increase in the frequency of screening is considered sufficient for...