Spleen ultrasound elastography: state of the art and future directions - a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: An early and accurate diagnosis of clinically significant portal hypertension is mandatory for a correct prediction and management of the complications usually observed in patients affected by chronic liver disease (CLD). Spleen stiffness measurement is arising as a promising non-invasive technique, giving a reliable measure of haemodynamic changes occurring during cirrhosis progression, but contrasting data are available to date. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic review was performed including the several studies dealing with the spleen stiffness measurement in the evaluation of portal hypertension in adult patients affected by hepatic or extra-hepatic portal hypertension (PH). Results were organized in technical classification from the first one-dimensional device (TE) to the latest ultrasound elastographic techniques (pSWE and 2D-SWE). RESULTS: We evaluated a total of nearly twenty studies dealing with all available elastographic techniques that were usually compared with HVPG, which is the gold standard for diagnosing the presence of PH. Spleen stiffness showed overall a good diagnostic accuracy to diagnose clinically significant PH in CLD, in some cases even with reliable cut-off values for severe PH. CONCLUSIONS: Spleen ultrasound elastography could be an accurate non-invasive tool for assessing the presence of portal hypertension. However, the different techniques available to date and the various cut-off values suggested might still limit the impact on clinical practice.

Madelung's disease and acute alcoholic hepatitis: case report and review of literature.

Madelung's disease is a rare condition characterized by symmetric growth of fatty tumors (lipomas) around the neck, shoulders, upper arms, and trunk. It often affects men with a history of alcohol abuse. Here we report a review of the literature about this disease together with the description of a patient affected by Madelung's disease and acute alcoholic hepatitis.

New insights into the pathophysiology of IBS: intestinal microflora, gas production and gut motility.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a complex disorder clinically characterized by abdominal pain and altered bowel habit. Its pathogenetic mechanisms are still incompletely known; genes, psychosocial factors, changes in gastrointestinal motility and visceral hypersensitivity are traditionally thought to play a crucial role in symptom generation. Recent studies have identified new additional factors that can interact with the established mechanisms. Dysregulation of brain-gut axis, gastrointestinal infection, low-grade infiltration and activation of mast cells in the intestinal mucosa with consequent release of bioactive substances, and altered serotonin metabolism are the emerging factors of IBS pathogenesis. Finally, modification of small bowel and colonic microflora and altered gas balance may be of relevance in at least some subgroups of IBS patients. New therapies can be developed only on the basis of a better understanding of the heterogeneous picture of the pathophysiology of IBS.

Toxicity and risks from drug-to-drug interactions of new antivirals for chronic hepatitis C.

The new direct acting antivirals (DAAs), defined as those drugs that are effective in combinations without interferon, have totally changed HCV treatment and probably in few years will also totally change global landscape of advanced liver diseases. The advantage of DAAs is a low-risk/high-benefit ratio. Although overall adverse events during DAAs treatment are limited in frequency and severity, some toxicity issues emerged during the first years of real-life experience with these drugs. Another peculiar characteristic of present DAAs is a high probability of interaction with other "common-use" drugs, such as anti-hypertensive, anti-platelet, antiarrhythmic and cholesterol lowering agents. Above all, special attention should be paid in older patients and in those belonging to special populations, who more frequently require the concomitant use of polytherapy.