MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five male New Zealand White rabbits weighed between 1.5 and 4.0 kg were anesthetized and their livers were exposed. 18 liver biopsies were performed under control group (without tract ablation, n = 9) and study group (with tract ablation, n = 9) settings. The needle insertion depth (~3 cm) and rate of retraction (~3 mm/s) were fixed in all the experiments. For tract ablation, three different needle temperatures (100, 120 and 150 °C) were compared. The blood loss at each biopsy site was measured by weighing the gauze pads before and after blood absorption. The rabbits were euthanized immediately and the liver specimens were stained with hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) for further histopathological examination (HPE).
RESULTS: The average blood loss in the study group was reduced significantly (p livers. This could potentially reduce the risk of tumor seeding in clinical settings.
AIM: To evaluate the accuracy of MACK-3 for the diagnosis of fibrotic NASH.
METHODOLOGY: Consecutive adult non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients who had liver biopsy in a university hospital were included. MACK-3 was calculated using the online calculator using the following variables: fasting glucose, fasting insulin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and cytokeratin 18 (CK18). MACK-3 cut-offs ≤0.134 and ≥0.550 were used to predict absence and presence of fibrotic NASH, respectively. Histopathological examination of liver biopsy specimen was reported according to the NASH Clinical Research Network Scoring System.
RESULTS: Data for 196 subjects were analysed. MACK-3 was good for diagnosis of fibrotic NASH (area under receiver-operating characteristics curve [AUROC] 0.80), comparable to the Fibrosis-4 index (FIB4) and the NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS) and superior to the BARD score and CK18. MACK-3 was good for diagnosis of active NASH (AUROC 0.81) and was superior to other blood fibrosis tests. The overall accuracy, percentage of subjects in grey zone, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of MACK-3 for diagnosis of fibrotic NASH was 79.1%, 46.9%, 100%, 43.8%, 43.1% and 100%, respectively, while for diagnosis of active NASH was 90.0%, 39.3%, 84.2%, 81.4%, 88.9% and 74.5%, respectively.
CONCLUSION: MACK-3 is promising as a non-invasive test for active NASH and fibrotic NASH and may be useful to identify patients who need more aggressive intervention.
METHODS: Prospectively collected data from the AARC database were analyzed.
RESULTS: Of the 1249 AH patients, (aged 43.8 ± 10.6 years, 96.9% male, AARC score 9.2 ± 1.9), 38.8% died on a 90 day follow-up. Of these, 150 (12.0%) had mild-moderate AH (MAH), 65 (5.2%) had SAH and 1034 (82.8%) had ACLF. Two hundred and eleven (16.9%) patients received CS, of which 101 (47.87%) were steroid responders by day 7 of Lille's model, which was associated with improved survival [Hazard ratio (HR) 0.15, 95% CI 0.12-0.19]. AARC-ACLF grade 3 [OR 0.28, 0.14-0.55] was an independent predictor of steroid non-response and mortality [HR 3.29, 2.63-4.11]. Complications increased with degree of liver failure [AARC grade III vs. II vs I], bacterial infections [48.6% vs. 37% vs. 34.7%; p liver transplant.
METHODS: Male albino rats were exposed to the equivalent of HCQ therapeutic doses given to human patients being affected by malaria, lupus erythematosus, and COVID-19. The animal blood samples were subjected to hematological analysis, biochemical analysis, liver function tests, kidney function tests, and cardiac biomarkers. Liver, kidney, heart, spleen, and testis biopsies were subjected to histological examination.
RESULTS: HCQ significantly lowered the values of erythrocytes, hemoglobin, hematocrit, platelets, leucocytes, and lymphocytes but significantly increased the values of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), amylase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, cholesterol, and chlorine ions. The renal tissues of HCQ-treated animals demonstrated glomerular fragmentation, partial atrophy degeneration, renal tubules hydropic degeneration, hyaline cast formation, and interstitial edema formation. Additionally, the heart exhibited myofiber necrosis, myolysis, wavy appearance, disorganization, and disarray. The testicular tissues also demonstrated spermatocyte degeneration, spermatogenic cell sloughing, testicular interstitial edema, and occasional spermatogenic arrest. Additionally, the spleen showed a decrease in the number and size of the white pulp follicles, a decrease in the number of apoptotic activity, and a decline in the number of T-rich cells. However, the red pulp demonstrated a diffuse decline in B rich-lymphocytes and macrophages. The liver was also the least affected but showed Kupffer cell hyperplasia and occasional hepatocyte dysplasia.
CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that chronic exposure to HCQ could alter the structures and functions of the vital organs.