Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
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J. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. · Oct 2009
Review Historical ArticleAdvances in viral hepatitis: 50 years of Australian gastroenterology.
Viral hepatitis classification, treatments and pathogenesis has been increasingly defined over the past 50 years. Australian researchers have made significant contributions in the areas of viral hepatitis A vaccine development, treatment outcomes for chronic hepatitis B and C, the role of liver transplantation and the pathogenesis of injury and disease progression. This review outlines some of these contributions.
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J. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. · Oct 2009
Comparative StudyRIFLE classification as predictive factor of mortality in patients with cirrhosis admitted to intensive care unit.
To evaluate the association of the Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss and End-stage renal failure (RIFLE) score on mortality in patients with decompensated cirrhosis admitted to intensive care unit (ICU). ⋯ RIFLE score was significantly associated with mortality, confirming the importance of renal failure in this large cohort of patients with cirrhosis admitted to ICU, but it is less useful than other scores.
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J. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. · Oct 2009
Review Historical ArticleThe liver and the waistline: Fifty years of growth.
Fifty years of the Gastroenterological Society of Australia have witnessed the changing appearance of Australians. Asian immigration has transformed the dominant urban culture from European to Eurasian, with some unique Australian attributes. Meanwhile, global conditions have altered body shape, and our sports-proud country is now fat. ⋯ The outputs include many highly cited original articles and reviews and the first book on NAFLD. Studies have identified community prevalence, clinical outcomes, association with insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and hypoadiponectinemia, developed and explored animal models for mechanisms of inflammation and fibrosis, conceptualized etiopathogenesis, and demonstrated that NASH can be reversed by lowering body weight and increasing physical activity. The findings have led to development of regional guidelines on NAFLD, the first internationally, and should now inform daily practice of gastroenterologists.
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J. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. · Oct 2009
Roles of adipose restriction and metabolic factors in progression of steatosis to steatohepatitis in obese, diabetic mice.
We previously reported that steatohepatitis develops in obese, hypercholesterolemic, diabetic foz/foz mice fed a high-fat (HF) diet for 12 months. We now report earlier onset of steatohepatitis in relation to metabolic abnormalities, and clarify the roles of dietary fat and bodily lipid partitioning on steatosis severity, liver injury and inflammatory recruitment in this novel non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) model. ⋯ In mice genetically predisposed to obesity and diabetes, HF feeding leads to restriction of adipose tissue for accommodation of excess energy, causing lipid partitioning into liver, and transformation of simple steatosis to fibrosing steatohepatitis. The way in which HF feeding 'saturates' adipose stores, decreases serum adiponectin and causes hepatic inflammation in steatohepatitis may provide clues to pathogenesis of NASH in metabolic syndrome.