scholarly journals Multiparametric MR mapping in clinical decision-making for diffuse liver disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (11) ◽  
pp. 3507-3522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena B. Thomaides-Brears ◽  
Rita Lepe ◽  
Rajarshi Banerjee ◽  
Carlos Duncker

Abstract Accurate diagnosis, monitoring and treatment decisions in patients with chronic liver disease currently rely on biopsy as the diagnostic gold standard, and this has constrained early detection and management of diseases that are both varied and can be concurrent. Recent developments in multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) suggest real potential to bridge the diagnostic gap between non-specific blood-based biomarkers and invasive and variable histological diagnosis. This has implications for the clinical care and treatment pathway in a number of chronic liver diseases, such as haemochromatosis, steatohepatitis and autoimmune or viral hepatitis. Here we review the relevant MRI techniques in clinical use and their limitations and describe recent potential applications in various liver diseases. We exemplify case studies that highlight how these techniques can improve clinical practice. These techniques could allow clinicians to increase their arsenals available to utilise on patients and direct appropriate treatments.

CJEM ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 8 (06) ◽  
pp. 433-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjay Arora ◽  
Christopher L. Martin ◽  
Mel Herbert

Although the exact pathophysiology of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is not fully understood, for more than a century ammonia has been thought to play a critical role. However, the interpretation and utility of ammonia levels in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) presenting with HE has been a long-standing source of confusion. It is a common belief in the emergency department and on the wards that a single elevated ammonia level in a patient with CLD can confirm the diagnosis of HE, and a normal level essentially rules it out. This confusion stems from the fact that early studies showed a correlation between degree of encephalopathy and the ammonia level, but numerous subsequent studies have shown that severely encephalopathic patients often have normal ammonia levels. This paper reviews the published literature on ammonia levels in patients with CLD in an attempt to clarify its value as a clinical decision-making tool in patients with suspected HE.


2016 ◽  
Vol 101 (9) ◽  
pp. 854-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Magnusson ◽  
Vera Ignjatovic ◽  
Winita Hardikar ◽  
Paul Monagle

Children with liver disease can develop severe bleeding episodes and thrombosis. Liver failure usually results in decreased levels of procoagulant and anticoagulant factors. Additional risk factors, including changes in vascular flow and endothelial function, are of importance for the development of bleeding or thrombosis in individual vascular beds. Detailed studies of haemostatic disturbances in the setting of paediatric liver disease are sparse and extrapolation from adult studies is common. The spectrum of liver diseases and the haemostatic system differs between children and adults. Specific paediatric liver diseases are reported to have more distinctive effects on haemostasis and the risk of bleeding and/or thrombosis. Conclusion: we propose a model regarding haemostasis in paediatric liver disease, taking into account a number of specific variables and mechanisms, as well as the type of liver disease, which will provide a framework for clinical decision-making in these complex patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
Na Young Lee ◽  
Ki Tae Suk

Liver cirrhosis is one of the most prevalent chronic liver diseases worldwide. In addition to viral hepatitis, diseases such as steatohepatitis, autoimmune hepatitis, sclerosing cholangitis and Wilson’s disease can also lead to cirrhosis. Moreover, alcohol can cause cirrhosis on its own and exacerbate chronic liver disease of other causes. The treatment of cirrhosis can be divided into addressing the cause of cirrhosis and reversing liver fibrosis. To this date, there is still no clear consensus on the treatment of cirrhosis. Recently, there has been a lot of interest in potential treatments that modulate the gut microbiota and gut-liver axis for the treatment of cirrhosis. According to recent studies, modulation of the gut microbiome by probiotics ameliorates the progression of liver disease. The precise mechanism for relieving cirrhosis via gut microbial modulation has not been identified. This paper summarizes the role and effects of the gut microbiome in cirrhosis based on experimental and clinical studies on absorbable antibiotics, probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics. Moreover, it provides evidence of a relationship between the gut microbiome and liver fibrosis.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. e26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah J Cohen ◽  
Sara R Keller ◽  
Gillian R Hayes ◽  
David A Dorr ◽  
Joan S Ash ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Giovanni Marasco ◽  
Sinan Sadalla ◽  
Giulio Vara ◽  
Rita Golfieri ◽  
Davide Festi ◽  
...  

Sarcopenia is gaining attention as a negative prognostic factor in different fields of medicine, including chronic liver failure. However, the assessment of sarcopenia in patients with liver diseases is often neglected due to unawareness of reliable tools and methods and thus is limited to research studies. Cross-sectional imaging is a diffuse diagnostic tool and is commonly performed in patients with chronic liver failure. The last advancements in radiology image analysis using dedicated software allow an easy and standardized method to assess skeletal muscle volume. Several measures can be obtained from cross-sectional imaging analysis to evaluate sarcopenia in patients affected by chronic liver disease. We aimed to review the recent advances in imaging-based sarcopenia assessment, in particular in patients with chronic liver diseases. As a result, we found that the skeletal muscle index (SMI) seems to be a reliable method to assess sarcopenia in cirrhotic patients. Even if further studies are needed to validate proper cut-offs for each clinical endpoint, physicians are invited to consider the assessment of sarcopenia in the work-up of patients with chronic liver disease.


2022 ◽  
pp. 95-104
Author(s):  
E. Yu. Plotnikova ◽  
M. N. Sinkova ◽  
L. K. Isakov

Asthenia and fatigue are the most common syndromes in patients with liver disease, which significantly affects their quality of life. The prevalence of fatigue in chronic liver diseases is from 50% to 85%. While some progress has been made in understanding the processes that can cause fatigue in general, the underlying causes of fatigue associated with liver disease remain not well understood. In particular, many data suggest that fatigue associated with liver disease likely results from changes in neurotransmission in the brain against the background of hyperammonemia. Hyperammonemia is a metabolic state characterized by an increased level of  ammonia, a  nitrogen-containing compound. The  present review describes hyperammonemia, which is likely important in the pathogenesis of fatigue associated with liver disease. Ammonia is a potent neurotoxin, its elevated blood levels can cause neurological signs and symptoms that can be acute or chronic, depending on the  underlying pathology. Hyperammonemia should be recognized early, and immediately treated to prevent the development of life-threatening complications, such as, swelling of the brain and coma. The article gives pathophysiological mechanisms of influence of hyperammonemia on state of psychovegetative status of patients with liver diseases, also lists basic principles of treatment. A significant part of the article is devoted to L-ornithine-L-aspartate, which is effective in asthenia and fatigue to reduce the level of hyperammonemia through a variety of well-studied mechanisms in chronic liver diseases.


Author(s):  
Muxamedova Z.R. ◽  

The pandemic of the new coronavirus COVID-19 has switched medicine around the world on the primary fight against this infection. Patients with chronic liver diseases require increased attention of doctors during an epidemic, since against the background of an exacerbation of their disease, not only the risk of contracting the COVID 19 viral infection increases, but also its more severe course. Patients with confirmed COVID-19 with severe liver damage - high biochemical activity. According to some reports, patients with a severe course of COVID-19 have an increase in ALT levels, a decrease in the number of platelets, a decrease in the level of albumin, and a connection (although not all indicators) with a higher risk of mortality is possible.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2/S) ◽  
pp. 498-503
Author(s):  
D.H. Yuldasheva ◽  
Z.X. Muxamedova ◽  
N.S. Shadjanova

The pandemic of the new coronavirus COVID-19 has switched medicine around the world on the primary fight against this infection. Patients with chronic liver diseases require increased attention of doctors during an epidemic, since against the background of an exacerbation of their disease, not only the risk of contracting the COVID 19 viral infection increases, but also its more severe course. Patients with confirmed COVID-19 with severe liver damage - high biochemical activity. According to some reports, patients with a severe course of COVID-19 have an increase in ALT levels, a decrease in the number of platelets, a decrease in the level of albumin, and a connection (although not all indicators) with a higher risk of mortality is possible.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Géza Kogler ◽  
Christopher Hovorka

This position paper outlines the important role of academia in shaping the orthotics and prosthetics (O&P) profession and preparing for its future. In the United States, most healthcare professions including O&P are under intense pressure to provide cost effective treatments and quantifiable health outcomes. Pivotal changes are needed in the way O&P services are provided to remain competitive. This will require the integration of new technologies and data driven processes that have the potential to streamline workflows, reduce errors and inform new methods of clinical care and device manufacturing. Academia can lead this change, starting with a restructuring in academic program curricula that will enable the next generation of professionals to cope with multiple demands such as the provision of services for an increasing number of patients by a relatively small workforce of certified practitioners delivering these services at a reduced cost, with the expectation of significant, meaningful, and measurable value. Key curricular changes will require replacing traditional labor-intensive and inefficient fabrication methods with the integration of newer technologies (i.e., digital shape capture, digital modeling/rectification and additive manufacturing). Improving manufacturing efficiencies will allow greater curricular emphasis on clinical training and education – an area that has traditionally been underemphasized. Providing more curricular emphasis on holistic patient care approaches that utilize systematic and evidence-based methods in patient assessment, treatment planning, dosage of O&P technology use, and measurement of patient outcomes is imminent. Strengthening O&P professionals’ clinical decision-making skills and decreasing labor-intensive technical fabrication aspects of the curriculum will be critical in moving toward a digital and technology-centric practice model that will enable future practitioners to adapt and survive. Article PDF Link: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/cpoj/article/view/36673/28349 How To Cite: Kogler GF, Hovorka CF. Academia’s role to drive change in the orthotics and prosthetics profession. Canadian Prosthetics & Orthotics Journal. 2021; Volume 4, Issue 2, No.21. https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v4i2.36673 Corresponding Author: Géza F. KoglerOrthotics and Prosthetics Unit, Kennesaw State University.E-Mail: [email protected] ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0212-5520


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