Monthly Archives: June 2015

Major motility patterns of gastrointestinal (GI) organs were thought traditionally to be determined mainly by myogenic and neurogenic mechanisms. More recently interstitial cells have been recognized as contributing important regulatory functions in GI… Continue reading →

In acute pancreatitis (AP) tumor necrosis factor-α mediates multi-organ failure; in animal models its blockade with pentoxifylline ameliorates AP. The efficacy of pentoxifylline in predicted severe AP (pSAP) was tested in a double-blinded, randomized, control trial. Twenty-eight patients with pSAP were randomized within 72 hours of diagnosis to pentoxifylline or placebo. Baseline characteristics were similar in both groups. The pentoxifylline group had fewer intensive care unit admissions and shorter intensive care unit and hospital stays of longer than 4 days (all P < .05). Continue reading →

Levels of atonal homolog 8 (ATOH8) are reduced in 48% of hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). ATOH8 downregulation is associated with loss of tumor differentiation, indicating an effect mediated by cancer stem cells. We invest… Continue reading →

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has emerged as a major cause of cancer-related death. Its mortality has increased in Western populations, with a minority of patients diagnosed at early stages, when curative treatments are feasible. Only the multikinase … Continue reading →

Alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH) is the progressive form of alcoholic liver disease and may lead to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. We studied mouse models and human tissues to identify molecules associated with ASH progression and focused on th… Continue reading →

Severe alcoholic hepatitis (AH) has high mortality. We assessed the comparative effectiveness of pharmacological interventions for severe AH, through a network meta-analysis combining direct and indirect treatment comparisons. Continue reading →

Reagents designed to target cancer stem cells (CSCs) could reduce tumor growth, recurrence, and metastasis. We investigated the mitochondrial features of CSCs. Continue reading →

A 54-year-old white male presented with new onset abdominal pain and diarrhea over the past 2 weeks. Two years ago, he underwent an uncomplicated liver transplant (LT) for hepatocellular carcinoma and HCV cirrhosis. He had received standard oral valg… Continue reading →

Gastric cancer (GC) is globally the fifth most common cancer and third leading cause of cancer death. A complex disease arising from the interaction of environmental and host-associated factors, key contributors to GC’s high mortality include its sil… Continue reading →

Electronic health records (EHR) are being increasingly utilized and form a unique source of extensive data gathered during routine clinical care. Through use of codified and free text concepts identified using clinical informatics tools, disease labels… Continue reading →