Journal of hepatology
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Journal of hepatology · Dec 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialEfficacy and safety of oral naltrexone treatment for pruritus of cholestasis, a crossover, double blind, placebo-controlled study.
To assess the efficacy and safety of naltrexone for the short and long term treatment of pruritus of cholestasis. ⋯ Naltrexone can be considered as an alternative option to treat pruritus of cholestasis. In the current study, side effects were transient and did not require specific medication.
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Journal of hepatology · Mar 2002
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialPolymorphonuclear neutrophils are a source of hepatocyte growth factor in patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis.
Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a pleiotropic cytokine involved in liver regeneration. Plasma HGF levels correlate with survival and hepatocyte proliferation in alcoholic hepatitis (AH). As AH is accompanied by inflammation, neutrophilia and polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) infiltration of the liver, we postulated that PMN could be a source of HGF in such patients. ⋯ These findings suggest that, by releasing HGF, PMN could participate in liver regeneration during severe alcoholic hepatitis.
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Journal of hepatology · Mar 2002
Hepatic and extrahepatic malignancies in primary sclerosing cholangitis.
To assess the risk of hepatic and extrahepatic malignancies in a large cohort of Swedish primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) patients compared with that of the general Swedish population. ⋯ In this national-based study including the largest cohort of PSC patients ever presented, the frequency of cholangiocarcinoma is 13%. The risk of hepatobiliary carcinoma is constant after the first year after PSC diagnosis with an incidence rate of 1.5% per year. The risk of pancreatic carcinoma is increased 14 times compared with the general Swedish population. These results are suggestive of an increased risk of pancreatic carcinoma in patients with PSC.
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Journal of hepatology · Nov 2001
Rapid changes in alcoholic hepatitis histology under steroids: correlation with soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in hepatic venous blood.
In alcoholic hepatitis (AH), enhanced expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) correlates to neutrophil infiltration and histology. In severe AH under steroids, the evolution of the hepatocyte membranous ICAM-1 expression and its soluble form (sICAM-1) is not known. ⋯ In severe AH under steroids, the short term histological improvement was associated with a decrease in circulating TNFalpha, a decrease in ICAM-1 expression, and correlated to hepatic vein sICAM-1 changes.