Albumin-bilirubin score is associated with response to pegylated interferon and nucleos(t)ide analogues in chronic hepatitis B patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Recently, the role of albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) has not been well-understood. We aimed to investigate the association of ALBI score with natural history of chronic HBV infection and treatment response of CHB patients. METHODS: The ALBI score in a cohort of 849 individuals including 721 chronic HBV-infected patients naïve to anti-HBV treatment in different phases and 128 healthy controls were estimated. Additionally, the dynamic changes of ALBI score of 243 hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive CHB patients treated with pegylated interferon-alpha (PEG-IFN-α) or nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) were tested for 72 weeks. RESULTS: ALBI score differed among phases, with the highest score in HBeAg-positive CHB patients, followed by HBeAg-negative CHB patients, HBeAg-positive chronic HBV infection, and HBeAg-negative chronic HBV infection. Besides, CHB patients harbouring high baseline ALBI score exhibited a relatively stronger therapeutic response to PEG-IFN-α or NAs. Moreover, the rate of HBeAg and HBsAg loss in patients with ALBI grade 2 was persistently higher than that in patients with ALBI grade 1 throughout the course of treatment. Furthermore, ALBI score was an independent predictor of sustained response achievement. The combined use of ALBI score, HBeAg and ALT could enhance the predictive value of treatment response. CONCLUSIONS: ALBI score differed significantly across the natural course of chronic HBV infection and was correlated with PEG-IFN-α and NAs treatment response in HBeAg-positive CHB patients, which suggested that ALBI score could be useful as an auxiliary clinical factor to determine the initiation of therapy and predict stronger antiviral treatment response.

Organotins in the aquatic media of secondary anabranches in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, China.

The Three Gorges Reservoir Region (TGRR) is one of the most sensitive areas of ecological environment in China. As vital backwater areas, the secondary anabranches of the TGRR were prone to eutrophication in Spring which would affect the distribution and transfer of organotins (OTs) among aquatic media. This study quantified the concentrations of butyltins (BTs) and phenyltins (PhTs) in water columns and aquatic media of two anabranches of the TGRR, the Daning River (DR) and the Xiaojiang River (XR) during the state of eutrophication. Our results showed that the average concentrations of BTs and PhTs in surface water are 43.91, 81.25 ng Sn L-1 in the DR, and 63.49, 69.21 ng Sn L-1 in the XR, respectively, and there were no obvious differences in the concentrations of BTs and PhTs across the water columns in the DR and XR. PhTs, especially monophenyltin (MPhT), are predominated in the dissolved phase, whereas BTs, especially dibutyltin (DBT), are predominated in both suspended particulate matter (SPM) and the sediment. Shipping and agricultural activity were likely the sources of OTs in both the DR and XR. High concentrations of tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPhT) are still present in the aquatic media of the TGRR, and pose a significant risk to aquatic organisms due to the potential for bioaccumulation. Therefore, it is necessary to further monitor and assess OTs especially PhTs in surface water, and to continue to restrict the use of OTs to protect the aquatic environment of the TGRR.

Association of serum total cholesterol with pegylated interferon-α treatment in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that serum lipids are associated with pegylated interferon-alpha (PEG-IFN-α) treatment response in chronic hepatitis C patients. However, the role of serum lipids in influencing the outcome of HBV treatment is not well understood. This study aims to investigate the association of serum lipids with the response to interferon-alpha treatment for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. METHODS: We dynamically measured 11 clinical serum lipid parameters of 119 hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive CHB patients, including 53 patients who achieved sustained response (SR) and 66 patients who achieved non-response (NR) induced by PEG-IFN-α treatment for 48 weeks. RESULTS: The dynamic analysis showed that the baseline serum total cholesterol (TCHO) level was higher in the NR group than that in the SR group (P=0.004). Moreover, the correlation analysis demonstrated a significant positive correlation between TCHO and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) at baseline (P=0.009). In addition, CHB patients with high baseline TCHO levels exhibited higher HBV DNA, HBsAg, HBeAg and hepatitis B e antibody (HBeAb) levels during early treatment periods (weeks 0, 4, 12 and 24) than those with the low TCHO levels. Furthermore, the logistic regression analysis identified that baseline serum TCHO was a risk factor for NR achievement (OR=4.94; P=0.047). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that serum TCHO was associated with PEG-IFN-α therapeutic response in HBeAg-positive CHB patients which suggested that serum TCHO could be useful as an auxiliary clinical factor to predict poor efficacy of PEG-IFN-α therapy.

Occurrence and health risk assessment of organotins in waterworks and the source water of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, China.

The occurrence and health risks of organotins (OTs) in the waterworks and source water in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (TGRR), China were assessed in this study. Water samples were collected at four waterworks (A, B, C, and D) in March and July 2012 to analyze butyltins (BTs) and phenyltins (PTs) using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) system. Our results showed that both the waterworks and their nearby water sources were polluted by OTs, with PTs being the most dominant species. Monobutyltin (MBT), monophenyltin (MPT), diphenyltin (DPT), and triphenyltin (TPT) were detected in most of the analyzed water samples. The highest concentrations of OTs in influents, effluents, and source water in March were 52.81, 17.93, and 55.32 ng Sn L-1, respectively. Furthermore, significant seasonal changes in OTs pollution were observed in all samples, showing pollution worse in spring compared with summer. The removal of OTs by the conventional treatment processes was not stable among the waterworks. The removal efficiency of OTs in July reached 100% at plant B, while that at plant C was only 38.8%. The source water and influents shared similar composition profiles, concentrations, and seasonal change of OTs, which indicated that OTs in the waterworks were derived from the source water. A health risk assessment indicated that the presence of OTs in the waterworks would not pose a significant health risk to the population, yet their presence should not be ignored.