Recurrent alcohol-associated hepatitis is common and is associated with increased mortality.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Alcohol relapse after surviving an episode of alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) is common. However, the clinical features, risk factors, and prognostic implications of recurrent alcohol-associated hepatitis (RAH) are not well described. APPROACH AND RESULTS: A registry-based study was done of patients admitted to 28 Spanish hospitals for an episode of AH between 2014 and 2021. Baseline demographics and laboratory variables were collected. Risk factors for RAH were investigated using Cox regression analysis. We analyzed the severity of the index episodes of AH and compared it to that of RAH. Long-term survival was assessed by Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests. A total of 1118 patients were included in the analysis, 125 (11%) of whom developed RAH during follow-up (median: 17 [7-36] months). The incidence of RAH in patients resuming alcohol use was 22%. The median time to recurrence was 14 (8-29) months. Patients with RAH had more psychiatric comorbidities. Risk factors for developing RAH included age <50 years, alcohol use >10 U/d, and history of liver decompensation. RAH was clinically more severe compared to the first AH (higher MELD, more frequent ACLF, and HE). Moreover, alcohol abstinence during follow-up was less common after RAH (18% vs. 45%, p <0.001). Most importantly, long-term mortality was higher in patients who developed RAH (39% vs. 21%, p = 0.026), and presenting with RAH independently predicted high mortality (HR: 1.55 [1.11-2.18]). CONCLUSIONS: RAH is common and has a more aggressive clinical course, including increased mortality. Patients surviving an episode of AH should undergo intense alcohol use disorder therapy to prevent RAH.

Abdominal normothermic regional perfusion in controlled donation after circulatory determination of death liver transplantation: Outcomes and risk factors for graft loss.

Postmortem normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) is a rising preservation strategy in controlled donation after circulatory determination of death (cDCD). Herein, we present results for cDCD liver transplants performed in Spain 2012-2019, with outcomes evaluated through December 31, 2020. Results were analyzed retrospectively and according to recovery technique (abdominal NRP [A-NRP] or standard rapid recovery [SRR]). During the study period, 545 cDCD liver transplants were performed with A-NRP and 258 with SRR. Median donor age was 59 years (interquartile range 49-67 years). Adjusted risk estimates were improved with A-NRP for overall biliary complications (OR 0.300, 95% CI 0.197-0.459, p < .001), ischemic type biliary lesions (OR 0.112, 95% CI 0.042-0.299, p < .001), graft loss (HR 0.371, 95% CI 0.267-0.516, p < .001), and patient death (HR 0.540, 95% CI 0.373-0.781, p = .001). Cold ischemia time (HR 1.004, 95% CI 1.001-1.007, p = .021) and re-transplantation indication (HR 9.552, 95% CI 3.519-25.930, p < .001) were significant independent predictors for graft loss among cDCD livers with A-NRP. While use of A-NRP helps overcome traditional limitations in cDCD liver transplantation, opportunity for improvement remains for cases with prolonged cold ischemia and/or technically complex recipients, indicating a potential role for complimentary ex situ perfusion preservation techniques.

Decreased Long-Term Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2-Specific Humoral Immunity in Liver Transplantation Recipients 12 Months After Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Long-term humoral immunity and its protective role in liver transplantation (LT) patients have not been elucidated. We performed a prospective multicenter study to assess the persistence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies in LT recipients 12 months after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A total of 65 LT recipients were matched with 65 nontransplanted patients by a propensity score including variables with recognized impact on COVID-19. LT recipients showed a lower prevalence of anti-nucleocapsid (27.7% versus 49.2%; P = 0.02) and anti-spike IgG antibodies (88.2% versus 100.0%; P = 0.02) at 12 months. Lower index values of anti-nucleocapsid IgG antibodies were also observed in transplantation patients 1 year after COVID-19 (median, 0.49 [interquartile range, 0.15-1.40] versus 1.36 [interquartile range, 0.53-2.91]; P < 0.001). Vaccinated LT recipients showed higher antibody levels compared with unvaccinated patients (P < 0.001); antibody levels reached after vaccination were comparable to those observed in nontransplanted individuals (P = 0.70). In LT patients, a longer interval since transplantation (odds ratio, 1.10; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.20) was independently associated with persistence of anti-nucleocapsid IgG antibodies 1 year after infection. In conclusion, compared with nontransplanted patients, LT recipients show a lower long-term persistence of anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies. However, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination after COVID-19 in LT patients achieves a significant increase in antibody levels, comparable to that of nontransplanted patients.

Changes in humoral immune response after SARS-CoV-2 infection in liver transplant recipients compared to immunocompetent patients.

The protective capacity and duration of humoral immunity after SARS-CoV-2 infection are not yet understood in solid organ transplant recipients. A prospective multicenter study was performed to evaluate the persistence of anti-nucleocapsid IgG antibodies in liver transplant recipients 6 months after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) resolution. A total of 71 liver transplant recipients were matched with 71 immunocompetent controls by a propensity score including variables with a well-known prognostic impact in COVID-19. Paired case-control serological data were also available in 62 liver transplant patients and 62 controls at month 3 after COVID-19. Liver transplant recipients showed a lower incidence of anti-nucleocapsid IgG antibodies at 3 months (77.4% vs. 100%, p < .001) and at 6 months (63.4% vs. 90.1%, p < .001). Lower levels of antibodies were also observed in liver transplant patients at 3 (p = .001) and 6 months (p < .001) after COVID-19. In transplant patients, female gender (OR = 13.49, 95% CI: 2.17-83.8), a longer interval since transplantation (OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.03-1.36), and therapy with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (OR = 7.11, 95% CI: 1.47-34.50) were independently associated with persistence of antibodies beyond 6 months after COVID-19. Therefore, as compared with immunocompetent patients, liver transplant recipients show a lower prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and more pronounced antibody levels decline.

Epidemiological pattern, incidence, and outcomes of COVID-19 in liver transplant patients.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The incidence and outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in immunocompromised patients are a matter of debate. METHODS: We performed a prospective nationwide study including a consecutive cohort of liver transplant patients with COVID-19 recruited during the Spanish outbreak from 28 February to 7 April, 2020. The primary outcome was severe COVID-19, defined as the need for mechanical ventilation, intensive care, and/or death. Age- and gender-standardised incidence and mortality ratios (SIR and SMR) were calculated using data from the Ministry of Health and the Spanish liver transplant registry. Independent predictors of severe COVID-19 among hospitalised patients were analysed using multivariate Cox regression. RESULTS: A total of 111 liver transplant patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 (SIR = 191.2 [95% CI 190.3-192.2]). The epidemiological curve and geographic distribution overlapped widely between the liver transplant and general populations. After a median follow-up of 23 days, 96 patients (86.5%) were admitted to hospital and 22 patients (19.8%) required respiratory support. A total of 12 patients were admitted to the ICU (10.8%). The mortality rate was 18%, which was lower than in the matched general population (SMR = 95.5 [95% CI 94.2-96.8]). Overall, 35 patients (31.5%) met criteria of severe COVID-19. Baseline immunosuppression containing mycophenolate was an independent predictor of severe COVID-19 (relative risk = 3.94; 95% CI 1.59-9.74; p = 0.003), particularly at doses higher than 1,000 mg/day (p = 0.003). This deleterious effect was not observed with calcineurin inhibitors or everolimus and complete immunosuppression withdrawal showed no benefit. CONCLUSIONS: Being chronically immunosuppressed, liver transplant patients have an increased risk of acquiring COVID-19 but their mortality rates are lower than the matched general population. Upon hospital admission, mycophenolate dose reduction or withdrawal could help in preventing severe COVID-19. However, complete immunosuppression withdrawal should be discouraged. LAY SUMMARY: In liver transplant patients, chronic immunosuppression increases the risk of acquiring COVID-19 but it could reduce disease severity. Complete immunosuppression withdrawal may not be justified. However, mycophenolate withdrawal or temporary conversion to calcineurin inhibitors or everolimus until disease resolution could be beneficial in hospitalised patients.

Alcohol-related liver disease. Clinical practice guidelines. Consensus document sponsored by AEEH. / Enfermedad hepática por alcohol. Guías de práctica clínica. Documento de consenso auspiciado por la AEEH.

Alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD) is the most prevalent cause of advanced liver disease and liver cirrhosis in Europe, including Spain. According to the World Health Organization the fraction of liver cirrhosis attributable to alcohol use in Spain is 73.8% among men and 56.3% among women. ARLD includes various stages such as steatohepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular cancer. In addition, patients with underlying ARLD and heavy alcohol intake may develop alcoholic hepatitis, which is associated with high mortality. To date, the only effective treatment to treat ARLD is prolonged withdrawal. There are no specific treatments, and the only treatment that increases life expectancy in alcoholic hepatitis is prednisolone. For patients with alcoholic hepatitis who do not respond to treatment, some centres offer the possibility of an early transplant. These clinical practice guidelines aim to propose recommendations on ARLD taking into account their relevance as a cause of advanced chronic liver disease and liver cirrhosis in our setting. This paper aims to answer the key questions for the clinical practice of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, as well as Internal Medicine and Primary Health Centres, making the most up-to-date information regarding the management and treatment of ARLD available to health professionals. These guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations for the clinical management of this disease.

Acute cellular rejection versus recurrent hepatitis C after liver transplantation: Clinical and pathological features driving a rational diagnostic approach.

AIM: The aim of our study was develop and validate an algorithm system based on morphological features for finding the differences between recurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) and acute cellular rejection (ACR) in liver biopsies of HCV-transplanted patients. METHODS: Two hundred and eighty-eight liver biopsies were analyzed from 121 patients transplanted for HCV. A diagnostic consensus was reached between clinicians and pathologists in 214 biopsies for the diagnosis of recurrent HCV or ACR. A random sample of 114 liver biopsies (derivation cohort) was taken to generate the diagnostic tree and was subsequently evaluated using the validation cohort in 100 liver biopsies by recursive partitioning analysis of morphological variables and time since transplantation. RESULTS: The presence of endotheliitis together with a time of less than 6 weeks since LT definitely excluded recurrent HCV. After obtaining the regression tree, diagnostic accuracy was 96% and 93% in the derivation and validation cohort, respectively. Both cases surpassed the pathologist's original diagnosis, which had a diagnostic accuracy of 91% (P < 0.05, for both comparisons). CONCLUSION: A recursive partitioning analysis of the morphological features in liver biopsies from HCV-transplanted patients may be useful for easily distinguishing between recurrent HCV and ACR.

Use of artificial intelligence as an innovative donor-recipient matching model for liver transplantation: results from a multicenter Spanish study.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: There is an increasing discrepancy between the number of potential liver graft recipients and the number of organs available. Organ allocation should follow the concept of benefit of survival, avoiding human-innate subjectivity. The aim of this study is to use artificial-neural-networks (ANNs) for donor-recipient (D-R) matching in liver transplantation (LT) and to compare its accuracy with validated scores (MELD, D-MELD, DRI, P-SOFT, SOFT, and BAR) of graft survival. METHODS: 64 donor and recipient variables from a set of 1003 LTs from a multicenter study including 11 Spanish centres were included. For each D-R pair, common statistics (simple and multiple regression models) and ANN formulae for two non-complementary probability-models of 3-month graft-survival and -loss were calculated: a positive-survival (NN-CCR) and a negative-loss (NN-MS) model. The NN models were obtained by using the Neural Net Evolutionary Programming (NNEP) algorithm. Additionally, receiver-operating-curves (ROC) were performed to validate ANNs against other scores. RESULTS: Optimal results for NN-CCR and NN-MS models were obtained, with the best performance in predicting the probability of graft-survival (90.79%) and -loss (71.42%) for each D-R pair, significantly improving results from multiple regressions. ROC curves for 3-months graft-survival and -loss predictions were significantly more accurate for ANN than for other scores in both NN-CCR (AUROC-ANN=0.80 vs. -MELD=0.50; -D-MELD=0.54; -P-SOFT=0.54; -SOFT=0.55; -BAR=0.67 and -DRI=0.42) and NN-MS (AUROC-ANN=0.82 vs. -MELD=0.41; -D-MELD=0.47; -P-SOFT=0.43; -SOFT=0.57, -BAR=0.61 and -DRI=0.48). CONCLUSIONS: ANNs may be considered a powerful decision-making technology for this dataset, optimizing the principles of justice, efficiency and equity. This may be a useful tool for predicting the 3-month outcome and a potential research area for future D-R matching models.

Longitudinal relationship of liver injury with inflammation biomarkers in COVID-19 hospitalized patients using a joint modeling approach.

The mechanisms underlying liver disease in patients with COVID-19 are not entirely known. The aim is to investigate, by means of novel statistical techniques, the changes over time in the relationship between inflammation markers and liver damage markers in relation to survival in COVID-19. The study included 221 consecutive patients admitted to the hospital during the first COVID-19 wave in Spain. Generalized additive mixed models were used to investigate the influence of time and inflammation markers on liver damage markers in relation to survival. Joint modeling regression was used to evaluate the temporal correlations between inflammation markers (serum C-reactive protein [CRP], interleukin-6, plasma D-dimer, and blood lymphocyte count) and liver damage markers, after adjusting for age, sex, and therapy. The patients who died showed a significant elevation in serum aspartate transaminase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase levels over time. Conversely, a decrease in serum AST levels was observed in the survivors, who showed a negative correlation between inflammation markers and liver damage markers (CRP with serum AST, alanine transaminase [ALT], and gamma-glutamyl transferase [GGT]; and D-dimer with AST and ALT) after a week of hospitalization. Conversely, most correlations were positive in the patients who died, except lymphocyte count, which was negatively correlated with AST, GGT, and alkaline phosphatase. These correlations were attenuated with age. The patients who died during COVID-19 infection displayed a significant elevation of liver damage markers, which is correlated with inflammation markers over time. These results are consistent with the role of systemic inflammation in liver damage during COVID-19.

Synergistic effect of alcohol consumption and body mass on serum concentrations of cytokeratin-18.

BACKGROUND: Cytokeratin-18 is an essential component of the cytoskeleton of epithelial cells (including hepatocytes). Serum concentrations of cytokeratin-18 (tissue polypeptide-specific antigen [TPS]) are used as a marker of epithelial neoplasms. Here, we investigated the potential interaction between alcohol and obesity in relation to serum TPS concentrations. METHODS: Alcohol consumption, body mass index, and components of metabolic syndrome were measured in a random sample (n = 420) of the adult population (aged 18 to 92 years, 45% men) from a single municipality. Regular alcohol intake of >20 g/d (women) or >30 g/d (men) was considered risky drinking. Serum TPS was measured with a commercial immunoassay. RESULTS: Risky drinking was associated with increased serum concentrations of TPS, which was particularly evident among obese individuals. Among individuals without risky drinking, TPS concentrations were similar for all levels of body mass. Conversely, among risky drinkers, serum TPS concentrations increased in parallel with body mass (p = 0.002). The odds ratio of a high (>100 U/l) TPS concentration for the combination of risky drinking and obesity was greater than the additive effect of the 2 separate factors, after adjusting for age and sex. A similar interaction was observed between risky drinking and abdominal adiposity, a major component of the metabolic syndrome. Serum TPS concentrations were correlated with markers of liver damage. Serum TPS was not superior to standard markers (gamma-glutamyl transferase and red blood cell mean volume) for the detection of risky drinking. CONCLUSIONS: There is a synergism between risky alcohol consumption and common metabolic disorders (particularly obesity) in relation to serum concentrations of cytokeratin-18 (TPS), which probably reflect liver disease.

Clinical and capillaroscopic findings in patients with liver disease and proximal apparent leukonychia (Terry nails and its variants).

ABSTRACT: Terry nails and Lindsay nails are similar forms of proximal apparent leukonychia (PAL). A change in nail bed vascularity is thought to be responsible for PAL. The study was aimed at investigating the frequency of PAL in patients attending a liver disease clinic, the factors associated with its presence, its value for detecting cirrhosis, its prognostic value for mortality, and associated capillaroscopic findings.A total of 521 patients were included (age range, 18-94 years; 69% men). Systematic nail photographs were evaluated by 2 independent investigators. Disease-related data were obtained from the medical records. Mortality was evaluated after 7 years of follow-up. Nailfold capillaroscopy was performed on a subset of 80 patients.PAL was present in 228 patients (43.8%; Terry nails in 205, Lindsay nails in 20, and both in 3). The kappa-coefficient of interobserver agreement was 0.82. The presence of PAL was associated with cirrhosis and, accordingly, with portal hypertension and hepatocellular dysfunction. The positive likelihood ratio of PAL for the diagnosis of cirrhosis was 1.6 (95% CI 1.3-1.92). PAL was independently associated with chronic alcohol abuse and was not a significant predictor of mortality. Venous loop dilatation and prominence of the venous plexus were observed on capillaroscopy in patients with cirrhosis but were not significantly associated with PAL.In summary, PAL is a common finding in patients from a liver clinic; it is associated with liver cirrhosis and with alcohol abuse. PAL is not associated with specific capillaroscopic findings. We propose the generic term proximal apparent leukonychia instead of classic eponymous titles to avoid confusion in the literature.

Effect of alcoholic liver disease and hepatitis C infection on waiting list and posttransplant mortality and transplant survival benefit.

UNLABELLED: Disease-specific analysis of liver transplant survival benefit, which encompasses both pre- and posttransplant events, has not been reported. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection on waiting list mortality, posttransplant mortality, and the survival benefit of deceased donor liver transplantation using United States data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients on 38,899 adults placed on the transplant waiting list between September 2001 and December 2006. Subjects were classified according to the presence/absence of HCV and ALD. Cox regression was used to estimate waiting list mortality and posttransplant mortality separately. Survival benefit was assessed using sequential stratification. Overall, the presence of HCV significantly increased waiting list mortality, with a covariate-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for HCV-positive (HCV+) compared with HCV-negative (HCV-) HR = 1.19 (P = 0.0001). The impact of HCV+ was significantly more pronounced (P = 0.001) among ALD-positive (ALD+) patients (HR = 1.36; P < 0.0001), but was still significant among ALD-negative (ALD-) patients (HR = 1.11; P = 0.02). The contrast between ALD+ and ALD- waiting list mortality was significant only among HCV+ patients (HR = 1.14; P = 0.006). Posttransplant mortality was significantly increased among HCV+ (versus HCV-) patients (HR = 1.26; P = 0.0009), but not among ALD+ (versus ALD-) patients. Survival benefit of transplantation was significantly decreased among HCV+ compared with HCV- recipients with model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scores 9-29, but was significantly increased at MELD >or=30. ALD did not influence the survival benefit of transplantation at any MELD score. CONCLUSION: Except in patients with very low or very high MELD scores, HCV status has a significant negative impact on the survival benefit of liver transplantation. In contrast, the presence of ALD does not influence liver transplant survival benefit.

Time-Course Changes of Serum Keratin Concentrations after Liver Transplantation: Contrasting Results of Keratin-18 and Keratin-19 Fragments.

OBJECTIVE: Under normal conditions, adult hepatocytes express only keratin-8 (K8) and keratin-18 (K18), whereas cholangiocytes also express K19. In this study, we delineate the pattern of normal time-course changes in serum K19 and K18 levels after liver transplantation. Patients and Methods. Serum levels of the K19 fragment CYFRA 21-1 and the K18 fragments tissue polypeptide specific antigen (TPS) and M30 (a neoepitope that is generated after caspase cleavage during apoptosis) were measured at baseline and at regular intervals (up to 6 months) after liver transplantation in 11 adult patients. RESULTS: There was a gradual decrease in serum K19 concentrations from baseline values after transplantation, following a time-course pattern similar to that of serum bilirubin. In contrast, serum concentrations of K18 fragments increased markedly shortly after transplantation and gradually decreased thereafter, following a time-course pattern similar to that of serum transaminases. The increase in TPS tended to occur earlier than that in M30, suggesting an initial predominance of hepatocyte necrosis followed by a predominance of apoptosis in the first days after transplantation. Five patients presented posttransplant complications (acute rejection in three cases and HCV recurrence in two cases). An early increase in serum K19 concentrations was observed in all cases. An increase in serum concentrations of K18 fragments (M30 and TPS) was observed in the two cases with HCV recurrence and was more variable in the three cases with acute rejection. CONCLUSIONS: Serum concentrations of K19 and K18 fragments follow a dissimilar pattern of time-course changes after liver transplantation. The diagnostic value of variations in these normal patterns should be addressed in future studies.

Improvement of renal function after the switch from a calcineurin inhibitor to everolimus in liver transplant recipients with chronic renal dysfunction.

Chronic renal dysfunction is a frequent and severe complication in solid-organ transplant recipients. Calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) are the main pathogenic factors of renal dysfunction. Switching from CNIs to nonnephrotoxic drugs, such as mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors (everolimus and sirolimus), can improve renal function in these patients, but available data about the efficacy and safety of everolimus in liver transplant recipients are scarce. Twenty-one liver transplant recipients (19 males, mean age = 60.6 +/- 7.8 years) with chronic renal dysfunction (creatinine >or= 1.5 mg/dL) were prospectively included. The basal creatinine values were 1.79 +/- 0.39 mg/dL (range = 1.50-2.90 mg/dL). The basal creatinine clearance, evaluated with the Cockroft-Gault formula, was 54.64 +/- 12.47 mL/minute. Everolimus was initiated at a dosage of 0.75 mg twice daily, with target levels of 3 to 8 ng/mL. The withdrawal of CNIs was initiated after the target levels of everolimus were reached. Periodic controls of the weight, arterial pressure, liver function tests, serum creatinine, everolimus levels, proteinuria, creatinine clearance, and glomerular filtration rate at days 30, 90, 180, and 360 were made. After a median follow-up of 19.8 months, the respective creatinine values at 30, 90, 180, and 360 days were 1.68 +/- 0.40 (P = 0.012 with respect to basal values), 1.67 +/- 0.34 (P = 0.107), 1.70 +/- 0.41 (P = 0.521), and 1.57 +/- 0.30 mg/dL (P = 0.047). The respective creatinine clearance values at 30, 90, 180, and 360 days were 58.64 +/- 16.50 (P = 0.013 with respect to basal values), 59.49 +/- 13.27 (P = 0.028), 59.82 +/- 16.83 (P = 0.124), and 64.46 +/- 16.79 mL/minute (P = 0.025). CNIs were withdrawn in 20 recipients (95.2%). Rejection was not detected in any case. In conclusion, the application in liver transplant recipients with chronic renal dysfunction of an immunosuppressive protocol with everolimus and the withdrawal of CNIs was associated with an initial improvement of renal function tests without an increase in the risk of rejection.

Post-operative stress hyperglycemia is a predictor of mortality in liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND: A significant association is known between increased glycaemic variability and mortality in critical patients. To ascertain whether glycaemic profiles during the first week after liver transplantation might be associated with long-term mortality in these patients, by analysing whether diabetic status modified this relationship. METHOD: Observational long-term survival study includes 642 subjects undergoing liver transplantation from July 1994 to July 2011. Glucose profiles, units of insulin and all variables with influence on mortality are analysed using joint modelling techniques. RESULTS: Patients registered a survival rate of 85% at 1 year and 65% at 10 years, without differences in mortality between patients with and without diabetes. In glucose profiles, however, differences were observed between patients with and without diabetes: patients with diabetes registered lower baseline glucose values, which gradually rose until reaching a peak on days 2-3 and then subsequently declined, diabetic subjects started from higher values which gradually decreased across the first week. Patients with diabetes showed an association between mortality and age, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score (MELD) score and hepatitis C virus; among non-diabetic patients, mortality was associated with age, body mass index, malignant aetiology, red blood cell requirements and parenteral nutrition. Glucose profiles were observed to be statistically associated with mortality among patients without diabetes (P = 0.022) but not among patients who presented with diabetes prior to transplantation (P = 0.689). CONCLUSIONS: Glucose profiles during the first week after liver transplantation are different in patients with and without diabetes. While glucose profiles are associated with long-term mortality in patients without diabetes, after adjusting for potential confounding variables such as age, cause of transplantation, MELD, nutrition, immunosuppressive drugs, and units of insulin administered, this does not occur among patients with diabetes.

Clinical and molecular characterization of Wilson disease in Spanish patients.

Wilson disease (WD) results when specific mutations occur at the ATP7B gene. The presence of mutations in the ATP7B gene was studied in the coding region and the intron-exon boundaries in 15 WD Spanish patients, and their first-degree relatives when possible. A total of 20 nucleotide sequence changes were detected, 18 missense and two splicing mutations. Six of these variants were classified as disease-causing mutations, five missense, and one splicing; four of them have been previously described (M645R, A1065P, H1069Q, and 3060 + 5G > T), whereas two were novel (P768L and A990P). No mutation was clearly prevalent, although the H1069Q mutation predominated, nor did a good phenotype-genotype correlation exist. The two new mutations described were manifested as an asymptomatic increase in serum transaminases. The remaining 14 changes were classified as polymorphisms and their potential effects on protein function are discussed. The identification of mutations in the ATP7B gene has allowed a conclusive diagnosis to be made of WD in patients presenting neurological phenotype or neurological of hepatic phenotype, who would otherwise not have been diagnosed using classical criteria. WD patients could start chelating treatment earlier on and possibly modify the natural progression of the disease.

[Liver abnormalities in adult celiac disease. Clinicopathologic characterization and outcome after therapy]. / Alteraciones hepáticas en la enfermedad celíaca del adulto. Caracterización clínico-patológica y evolución.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The clinical manifestations of adult celiac disease are highly varied and may include liver disease. The present study aimed to characterize liver abnormalities and outcome after a gluten-free diet in patients with celiac disease diagnosed in a hepatology clinic. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The clinical records of patients diagnosed with celiac disease during a 7-year period were reviewed. RESULTS: Of 1916 patients attending a first consultation at the clinic, 10 were finally diagnosed with celiac disease. All patients had been referred for evaluation of persistent elevation of liver enzyme levels. All patients were young (mean age 30 years, range 21-39 years) and there were more women than men (eight women, 80%). Six patients (60%) had additional manifestations attributable to undiagnosed celiac disease, sometimes since childhood. In all patients, elevation of liver enzyme levels was moderate and overall liver function was preserved. Liver biopsy was performed in five patients and all showed chronic periportal infiltrate. Immunohistochemical studies revealed that the infiltrate was mainly composed of CD8-positive T lymphocytes. In all patients, a gluten-free diet was followed by normalization of liver enzyme levels. CONCLUSIONS: Although celiac disease is not highly frequent, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with persistent abnormalities of liver markers. The most conspicuous histopathological change is periportal T-cell infiltrate. Liver abnormalities in celiac disease are generally mild and improve after a gluten-free diet.

Time-course changes of serum immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG, IgM) after liver transplantation for alcoholic cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: Serum immunoglubulin increase is a hallmark of liver disease. Serum IgA is specifically increased in alcoholic liver disease, which has been considered an IgA-associated disorder. No previous studies have been focused on the time-course changes of serum immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM) after liver transplantation. AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate the outcome of serum immunoglobulin levels in alcoholic cirrhosis after liver transplantation, with special focus on IgA values. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 18 patients, liver transplanted in our center because of alcoholic cirrhosis were included in the study. Serum immunoglobulins were assayed by nephelometry before transplantation and at different intervals after the procedure from the intraoperative period to more than a year after transplantation. RESULTS: A rapid drop in IgA, IgG and IgM concentration was observed during the surgical procedure, particularly after donor liver reperfusion, and during the first days after transplantation. Mild transient hypogammaglobulinemia (IgG) was present. After a subsequent moderate re-increase, serum immunoglobulins (particularly IgA and IgG) remained stable within normal or near-normal limits during the following months after liver transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: Liver transplantation for alcoholic cirrhosis is followed by a decrease in serum IgA, IgG and IgM. In the short term, low IgG levels may be observed. In the long term, serum levels of IgA and IgG become normal or near-normal.