Systemic Activin Is Elevated in Patients With Severe Alcoholic Hepatitis.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Staudacher JJ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9119346 | biostudies-literature | 2022
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Systemic Activin Is Elevated in Patients With Severe Alcoholic Hepatitis.
Staudacher J J JJ Bauer J J Atkinson S R SR Thursz M M Lang S S Schnabl B B Wiley M B MB Carr R R Jung B B
Gastro hep advances 20220207 2
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Project description:Alcoholic hepatitis (AH) is a syndrome of jaundice and liver failure that occurs in a minority of heavy consumers of alcohol. The diagnosis usually is based on a history of heavy alcohol use, findings from blood tests, and exclusion of other liver diseases by blood and imaging analyses. Liver biopsy specimens, usually collected via the transjugular route, should be analyzed to confirm a diagnosis of AH in patients with an atypical history or presentation. The optimal treatment for patients with severe AH is prednisolone, possibly in combination with N-acetyl cysteine. At present, only short-term increases in survival can be expected-no treatment has been found to increase patient survival beyond 3 months. Abstinence is essential for long-term survival. New treatment options, including liver transplantation, are being tested in trials and results eagerly are awaited.
| S-EPMC5828019 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background & aimsThe American Consortium of Early Liver Transplantation for Alcoholic Hepatitis comprises 12 centers from 8 United Network for Organ Sharing regions studying early liver transplantation (LT) (without mandated period of sobriety) for patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis (AH). We analyzed the outcomes of these patients.MethodsWe performed a retrospective study of consecutive patients with a diagnosis of severe AH and no prior diagnosis of liver disease or episodes of AH, who underwent LT before 6 months of abstinence from 2006 through 2017 at 12 centers. We collected data on baseline characteristics, psychosocial profiles, level of alcohol consumption before LT, disease course and treatment, and outcomes of LT. The interval of alcohol abstinence was defined as the time between last drink and the date of LT. The primary outcomes were survival and alcohol use after LT, defined as slip or sustained.ResultsAmong 147 patients with AH who received liver transplants, the median duration of abstinence before LT was 55 days; 54% received corticosteroids for AH and the patients had a median Lille score of 0.82 and a median Sodium Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score of 39. Cumulative patient survival percentages after LT were 94% at 1 year (95% confidence interval [CI], 89%-97%) and 84% at 3 years (95% CI, 75%-90%). Following hospital discharge after LT, 72% were abstinent, 18% had slips, and 11% had sustained alcohol use. The cumulative incidence of any alcohol use was 25% at 1 year (95% CI, 18%-34%) and 34% at 3 years (95% CI, 25%-44%) after LT. The cumulative incidence of sustained alcohol use was 10% at 1 year (95% CI, 6%-18%) and 17% at 3 years (95% CI, 10%-27%) after LT. In multivariable analysis, only younger age was associated with alcohol following LT (P = .01). Sustained alcohol use after LT was associated with increased risk of death (hazard ratio, 4.59; P = .01).ConclusionsIn a retrospective analysis of 147 patients who underwent early LT (before 6 months of abstinence) for severe AH, we found that most patients survive for 1 year (94%) and 3 years (84%), similar to patients receiving liver transplants for other indications. Sustained alcohol use after LT was infrequent but associated with increased mortality. Our findings support the selective use of LT as a treatment for severe AH. Prospective studies are needed to optimize selection criteria, management of patients after LT, and long-term outcomes.
| S-EPMC6460480 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The severity of alcoholic hepatitis (AH) which may coexist with cirrhosis varies greatly, from asymptomatic forms which are detected in alcoholic patients without any sign of liver disease, except laboratory abnormalities, to severe forms characterised by deep jaundice, ascites, hepatic encephalopathy and low prothrombin index. In hospitalized patients the mortality could be as high as 75%. The elevated number of therapeutic proposals reported for more than forty years reveals the lack of efficacy of a particular modality. Even in the most favorable trials, the survival is already very poor and in some cases related to the development of renal failure or hepatorenal syndrome. There are some motivating reports concerning albumin dialysis as a support treatment in patients with severe AH, either alone or in combination with other pharmacological therapies. The favorable effects of albumin dialysis in patients with severe AH suggest that the procedure used alone or in combination with other therapies may have a role in this clinical condition. This will be particularly relevant to offer an alternative therapy in these patients, thus being a potential bridge to recovery or to be listed for liver transplantation.
| S-EPMC4081670 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Severe alcoholic hepatitis (AH) is an acute and often devastating form of alcohol-associated liver disease. Clinically, AH is characterized by elevated bilirubin, model for end stage liver disease scores >20, and nonspecific symptoms that are caused by underlying inflammation, hepatocyte injury, and impaired intestinal barrier function. Compromised immune defense in AH contributes to infections, sepsis and organ failure. To date, corticosteroids are the only recommended treatment for severe AH, however it does not provide survival benefits beyond 1 month. Recent preclinical and early clinical studies in AH aided understanding of the disease and presented opportunities for new therapeutic options targeting inflammation, oxidative stress, liver regeneration and modification of intestinal microbiota. In this comprehensive review, we discuss promising preclinical results and ongoing clinical trials evaluating novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of severe AH.
| S-EPMC7641578 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesAlcoholic hepatitis (AH) is a severe condition characterized by a marked inflammatory response and high short-term mortality. Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is an early event in vascular and inflammatory disorders. The aim of this study is to evaluate ED in AH patients.MethodsPrognostic value of ED biomarkers was evaluated in patients with severe AH (n = 67), compensated alcoholic cirrhosis (n = 15), heavy drinkers without liver disease (n = 15) and controls (n = 9), and in a validation cohort of 50 patients with AH. Gene expression of ED markers was analyzed in liver tissue.ResultsPlasma levels of ED markers such as vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), E-selectin and von Willebrand factor (vWF) increased along alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) progression. Intergroup analysis showed a significant increase of these markers in AH patients. In addition, VCAM-1 showed a positive correlation with Maddrey, MELD and ABIC scores and inflammation parameters (i.e. C-reactive protein and LPS levels). Importantly, levels of VCAM-1 were higher in patients with increased mortality and were independently associated with short-term survival (90-day) when adjusted by ABIC score. These results were confirmed in an independent cohort of AH patients. In addition, severe AH patients showed altered hepatic expression of ED markers.ConclusionsIn this study we show that advanced ALD and particularly severe AH is associated with an increase of ED biomarkers, which correlate with patient outcomes. These results suggest that ED may be a pathogenic event in AH and highlight endothelial factors as potential biomarkers in AH.
| S-EPMC10113804 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Chronic alcohol consumption causes increased intestinal permeability and changes in the intestinal microbiota composition, which contribute to the development and progression of alcohol-related liver disease. In this setting, little is known about commensal fungi in the gut. We studied the intestinal mycobiota in a cohort of patients with alcoholic hepatitis, patients with alcohol use disorder, and nonalcoholic controls using fungal-specific internal transcribed spacer amplicon sequencing of fecal samples. We further measured serum anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA) as a systemic immune response to fungal products or fungi. Candida was the most abundant genus in the fecal mycobiota of the two alcohol groups, whereas genus Penicillium dominated the mycobiome of nonalcoholic controls. We observed a lower diversity in the alcohol groups compared with controls. Antibiotic or steroid treatment was not associated with a lower diversity. Patients with alcoholic hepatitis had significantly higher ASCA levels compared to patients with alcohol use disorder and to nonalcoholic controls. Within the alcoholic hepatitis cohort, patients with levels of at least 34 IU/mL had a significantly lower 90-day survival (59%) compared with those with ASCA levels less than 34 IU/mL (80%) with an adjusted hazard ratio of 3.13 (95% CI, 1.11-8.82; P = 0.031). Conclusion: Patients with alcohol-associated liver disease have a lower fungal diversity with an overgrowth of Candida compared with controls. Higher serum ASCA was associated with increased mortality in patients with alcoholic hepatitis. Intestinal fungi may serve as a therapeutic target to improve survival, and ASCA may be useful to predict the outcome in patients with alcoholic hepatitis.
| S-EPMC6925657 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Importance: Severe alcoholic hepatitis (AH) is a highly lethal disease with a 3-month mortality up to 50%. Corticosteroids are the current standard of care although nearly 40% of the patients do not respond and accurate pre-treatment predictors of survival are lacking. Objective: To develop a prognostic score based on molecular and clinical variables before initiation of corticosteroids. Design, Setting, and Participants: Gene expression profiling of fixed liver biopsy obtained for diagnosis of severe AH assessed in 3 independent cohorts (1 prospective cohort for prognostic gene signature and integrative score derivation, and 2 retrospective cohorts for validation). Samples were obtained from 4 European and 1 US medical centers between July 2006 and February 2015. Exposures: Biopsy proven severe AH patients treated with corticosteroids. Main Outcome Measures: Identification of a gene signature combined with a validated clinical index to develop an integrative prognostic score of survival without death or liver transplantation in a derivation cohort (n=71). Prognostic performance of the score was validated in an independent multi-center validation cohort 1 (n=48). Finally, the score was implemented in an FDA-approved clinical diagnostic platform (NanoString) and tested in another independent validation cohort 2 (n=20). Results: A prognostic score, integrating a 123-gene signature and the model for end-stage liver disease (gs-MELD score), was defined in the derivation cohort, in which poor- and good-prognosis patients were discriminated with a cut-off value of 2.66 at 3 months (event-free survival rates of 32% vs. 76%, respectively, p<.001) and 6 months (26% vs. 65%, respectively, p<.001). In the validation cohort 1, the score similarly discriminated poor- and good-prognosis patients at 3 months (43%, [95% CI, 26%-70%] vs. 96% [95% CI, 89%-100%], respectively, p<.001, c-index of 0.83 [95% CI, 0.66-0.99]) and 6 months (34% [95% CI, 18%-61%] vs 84% [95% CI, 72%-100%], respectively, p<.001, c-index of 0.80 [95% CI, 0.66-0.94]), and outperformed other existing clinical indices. The NanoString-based gs-MELD score remained predictive of 3- (p=.03) and 6-month (p=.009) even-free survival in the validation cohort 2. Conclusion and Relevance: The gs-MELD score, incorporating clinically applicable gene signature test and the MELD score, enables pre-treatment survival prediction in severe AH patients.
2018-02-18 | GSE95246 | GEO
Project description:Severe alcoholic hepatitis (SAH) has a high mortality rate, and corticosteroid therapy is effective in 60% patients. This study aimed to investigate a baseline metabolic phenotype that could help stratify patients not likely to respond to steroid therapy and to have an unfavorable outcome. Baseline urine metabolome was studied in patients with SAH using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Patients were categorized as responders (Rs, n = 52) and nonresponders (NRs, n = 8) at day 7 according to the Lille score. Multivariate projection analysis identified metabolites in the discovery cohort (n = 60) and assessed these in a validation cohort of 80 patients (60 Rs, 20 NRs). A total of 212 features were annotated by using metabolomic/biochemical/spectral databases for metabolite identification. After a stringent selection procedure, a total of nine urinary metabolites linked to mitochondrial functions significantly discriminated nonresponders, most importantly by increased acetyl-L-carnitine (12-fold), octanoylcarnitine (4-fold), decanoylcarnitine (4-fold), and alpha-ketoglutaric acid (2-fold) levels. Additionally, urinary acetyl-L-carnitine and 3-hydroxysebasic acid discriminated nonsurvivors (P < 0.01). These urinary metabolites significantly correlated to severity indices and mortality (r > 0.3; P < 0.01) and were associated with nonresponse (odds ratio >3.0; P < 0.001). In the validation cohort, baseline urinary acetyl-L-carnitine documented an area under the receiver operating curve of 0.96 (0.85-0.99) for nonresponse prediction and a hazard ratio of 3.5 (1.5-8.3) for the prediction of mortality in patients with SAH. Acetyl-L-carnitine at a level of >2,500 ng/mL reliably segregated survivors from nonsurvivors (P < 0.01, log-rank test) in our study cohort. Conclusion: Urinary metabolome signatures related to mitochondrial functions can predict pretherapy steroid response and disease outcome in patients with SAH. (Hepatology Communications 2018;2:628-643).
| S-EPMC5983217 | biostudies-literature
Project description:AimTo verify the value of Gutuo Jiejiu decoction in improving the survival of patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis (SAH).MethodsWe performed a retrospective cohort study in consecutive patients diagnosed with SAH at the Teaching Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Shuguang Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The traditional Chinese medicine formula Gutuo Jiejiu decoction was employed as an exposure factor. Patients from the Teaching Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine who had been treated with Gutuo Jiejiu decoction + prednisone were assigned to an observation group, and patients from Shuguang Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine who had been treated with prednisone alone were selected as a control group. A retrospective analysis was performed by comparing age, alcohol intake, and clinical parameters of liver injury before and after treatment. Additionally, the 3- and 12-mo survival rates and the occurrence of complications were analyzed.ResultsOne hundred and twenty-eight eligible patients were selected from 175 cases with SAH, of which 68 were assigned to the observation group and the other 60 to the control group. No significant difference was found in the patients' baseline characteristics (P > 0.05). However, significant improvements of 90-d survival rate [56/68 (82.4%) vs 27/60 (45.0%), P = 0.0000] and 365-d survival rate [48/68 (70.6%) vs 13/60 (21.7%), P = 00000] were observed in the observation group after treatment. After the first 3 mo of treatment, more improvements in the clinical parameters and scoring systems related to liver injury occurred in the observation group than in the control group (P < 0.05). After treatment for 12 mo, the differences in the clinical parameters and scoring systems related to liver injury between the two groups were more significant (P < 0.05). No significant differences in complications and adverse effects were found between the two groups.ConclusionGutuo Jiejiu decoction could improve the survival rates and clinical parameters of liver injury in patients with SAH, and may represent a new option for treating SAH.
| S-EPMC5413790 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Severe alcoholic hepatitis (SAH) is associated with iron accumulation in hepatocytes/macrophages. This possibly correlates with inflammation and stress but the exact mechanism still remains obscure. To understand the role of iron and the mechanisms of systemic iron-overload, a transcriptomic study of liver and Peripheral Blood -Mononuclear-Cells (PBMCs) was undertaken in SAH patients, with and without hepatic iron-overload. Our results show that iron-overload in hepatocytes/macrophages is due to an increased expression of iron-loading receptors and CD163 signaling cascade. Increase in labile iron pool induces expression of iron-loading, oxidative-stress and inflammatory genes along with expression of CD163 and ADAM17. Increased liver iron correlated with circulatory iron, TNF-α, macrophage activation (sCD163) and peroxide-stress in CD163+macrophages in patients who were iron-overloaded and died. Circulatory TNF-α and sCD163 levels were associated with poor outcome. Temporal iron/Fenton stress induced in healthy monocyte-derived-macrophage (MDM)/Tohoku-Hospital-Pediatrics-1(THP1) cells showed higher expression of iron-regulatory, inflammatory and oxidative-stress genes. These genes could be suppressed by iron-chelation. These results suggest that iron mediates inflammation through ADAM17 induction, resulting in macrophage activation and increased shedding of TNF-α and sCD163. These events could be inhibited with iron chelation or with ADAM17-blockade, postulating a therapeutic strategy for SAH patients with iron overload.
| S-EPMC6035223 | biostudies-literature