BACKGROUND A novel Fibroscan XL probe has recently been introduced and validated for obese patients, and has a diagnostic accuracy comparable with that of the standard M probe. The aim of this study was to analyze and understand the differences between these two probes in nonobese patients, to identify underlying causes for these differences, and to develop a practical algorithm to translate re...

INTRODUCTION The introduction of noninvasive liver stiffness (LS) determination has heralded a new stage in the diagnosis and treatment of liver fibrosis. AIM We evaluated the effect of food intake on LS in patients with different degrees of liver disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS We evaluated 24 patients (F≤1, n=11 and F> 1, n=13). LS (Fibroscan®) and portal blood flow (PBF) (Doppler ultrasoun...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Deficiencies of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) are prevalent in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). Liver fibrosis is the main determinant of CLD prognosis. The present study was performed to evaluate the correlation between 25(OH)D levels and liver fibrosis as assessed by transient elastography (TE) in patients with compensated CLD. METHODS Serum 25(OH)D levels and live...

Background.  There are limited data on clinical outcomes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection from low- and middle-income countries. We characterize mortality and liver disease progression in a cohort of people who inject drugs (PWID) with high HCV burden. Methods.  In a cohort of PWID in Chennai, India, 851 persons were observed semiannually. Information on death was obtained through verbal au...

The Fibroscan (Echosens, Paris, France) device based on vibration–controlled transient elastography (VCTE) is used to non– invasively assess liver stiffness correlated to the hepatic fibrosis. Stiffness is quantified by measuring the velocity of a low–frequency shear wave traveling through the liver, which is proportional to the Young’s modulus E. It has been demonstrated that E is highly corre...

Cirrhosis, the end stage of any chronic liver disease, can lead to portal hypertension (PHT), which can lead to fatal complications. Therefore, the prognosis and management of chronic liver diseases strongly depend on the severity of PHT. The best method to diagnose PHT is the direct measurement of portal pressure, and hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) has been suggested as a reliable gol...

Introduction: Normal liver tissue is soft when assessed by palpation, whereas cirrhotic livers are typically very hard [1]. Liver stiffness is a very sensitive and specific biomarker for staging liver fibrosis in chronic liver disease patients, which has been proved by a number of elastographic techniques such as ultrasound elasticity imaging and Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) [2-6]. Eme...

The mechanical properties of liver can sensitively indicate the progression of hepatic fibrosis. Mechanical tissue characterization involves the analysis of the complex shear modulus measured either by oscillatory rheometry or by in vivo elastography. In this study, bovine liver specimens were investigated by oscillatory rheometry and multifrequency magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) in a co...