Journal of hepatology
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Journal of hepatology · Jun 1997
Autonomic dysfunction in patients with non-alcoholic chronic liver disease.
To assess the presence of autonomic neuropathy in patients with non-alcoholic chronic liver disease and its relationships with the severity of liver damage. ⋯ A high prevalence of abnormalities in both sympathetic and parasympathetic function tests, with a poor relationship with liver function parameters, has been found in patients with non-alcoholic chronic liver disease.
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Journal of hepatology · Apr 1997
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialTherapeutic effects of diuretics and paracentesis on lung function in patients with non-alcoholic cirrhosis and tense ascites.
Ascites may cause or aggravate pulmonary dysfunction in patients with liver cirrhosis. Diuretics and paracentesis are the main therapies for ascites. The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare the therapeutic effects of diuretics and large-volume paracentesis on lung function in 26 male patients with non-alcoholic cirrhosis and tense ascites. ⋯ Both diuretic therapy and large-volume paracentesis significantly improved the ventilatory function in patients with tense cirrhotic ascites. In terms of oxygenation improvement as evaluated by AaPO2, diuretic treatment may be superior to large-volume paracentesis.
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Journal of hepatology · Mar 1997
Comparative StudyHypercoagulability in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis evaluated by thrombelastography.
Patients with primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis survive variceal bleeding better than patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and have less bleeding at liver transplantation. Recently, patients with primary biliary cirrhosis have been found to have a higher incidence of thrombosis in the portal venous tree. We hypothesized that primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis patients may be hypercoagulable. ⋯ This diffference between biliary and parenchymal liver disease may have clinical implications, which need to be defined.
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Journal of hepatology · Dec 1996
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialPrednisolone withdrawal therapy enhances the effect of human lymphoblastoid interferon in chronic hepatitis B. INTERPRED Trial Group.
The aim of this multicentre, randomised, controlled, clinical trial was to evaluate the effect of prednisolone followed by lymphoblastoid interferon treatment in chronic hepatitis B. ⋯ Prednisolone pre-treatment significantly enhanced the treatment effect of lymphoblastoid interferon in terms of HBeAg clearance and seroconversion to anti-HBe. Treatment should be used with caution in patients with cirrhosis and avoided in patients showing signs, or with a history, of decompensated cirrhosis.
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Journal of hepatology · Aug 1996
Dissociated cerebral vasoparalysis in acute liver failure. A hypothesis of gradual cerebral hyperaemia.
Normally, cerebral blood flow responds to changes in the arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) but not to changes in mean arterial pressure, commonly referred to as the cerebral CO2-reactivity and autoregulation. In patients with fulminant hepatic failure and in the rat with thioacetamide-induced liver failure, autoregulation is absent, presumably due to cerebral vasoparalysis. Since also CO2-reactivity may then be compromised, it was studied in patients with fulminant hepatic failure and rats with thioacetamide-induced liver failure. ⋯ The finding that cerebral CO2 reactivity is reduced in hypercapnia, while it is preserved in hypocapnia, suggests that gradual dilation of the cerebral resistance vessels develops in fulminant hepatic failure and connects previous morphological studies with changes in the regulation of cerebral blood flow, i.e. impaired cerebral autoregulation and blunted CO2-reactivity.