De novo autoimmune hepatitis following liver transplantation for primary biliary cirrhosis: an unusual cause of late grafts dysfunction

De novo autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a rare disorder first described in 1998. It occurs in patients who underwent liver transplantation for a different etiology. We present the case of a 56-year-old woman who was diagnosed with primary biliary cirrhosis and had liver transplantation for refractory pruritis. Seven years after transplantation, she presented alterations in the hepatic profile with hypertransaminasemia, elevated alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyl-transferase. Her liver functions test also showed elevated IgG levels. Serum autoantibodies were negative except for antimitochondrial antibodies. Histological findings indicated features of AIH without bile duct damage or loss. She had a pretreatment AIH score of 13 points and a post treatment score of 15 points according to the International AIH Group. The patient was treated effectively with prednisolone and her liver function and globulin levels rapidly returned to normal.Key words: Primary biliary cirrhosis, liver transplantation, de novo autoimmune hepatiti

Hepatic sarcoidosis: a case series

Sarcoidosis is a systemic non caseous granulomas disease. Liver is a common location but usually asymptomatic. Evidence based guidelines for this location treatment is lacking and the effect of corticosteroids may be inadequate. The aim of our study was to describe the clinical, biochemical, radiological and therapeutic features of seven patients with systemic sarcoidosis and liver involvement. A retrospective and descriptive monocentric study, over 3 years, including seven patients with systemic sarcoidosis and liver involvement. We included 5 women and 2 men with an average age of 43 years. Hepatic localization revealed sarcoidosis in 5 cases. Hepatomegaly was observed in all patients as well as abnormal serum liver function test reflected by anicteric cholestasis. Liver biopsy, showed in all granulomatous lesions consistent with sarcoidosis and severe fibrosis in 2 cases. Extra-hepatic manifestations were present in all patients represented mainly by pulmonary location. All patients were treated, five by corticosteroid and two with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). Complete response was observed in one case, partial response in another case and corticosteroid refractoriness in one case. In two cases, corticosteroid therapy was introduced for less than 1 month, not allowing assessment of response. Antimalarials in combination with UDCA were used successfully in a patient with steroid-resistant liver disease. Liver involvement can reveal systemic sarcoidois. Given the risk of progression to severe liver disease, it must be screened in all patients with systemic sarcoidosis. Treatment is not systematic, and still based on corticosteroid therapy. In the absence of prospective randomized controlled trials, the efficacy of UDCA need to be proven.Pan African Medical Journal 2016; 2

Hydrogenolyse du n-butane sur des catalyseurs modeles au nickel : influence du facteur electronique

SIGLECNRS T Bordereau / INIST-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et TechniqueFRFranc

Colectomy for porto-systemic encephalopathy: is it still topical?

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a common long term complication of porto-systemic shunt. We report herein the case of a 59-year-old man with Child-Pugh A cirrhosis treated successfully 9 years earlier with distal splenorenal shunt for uncontrolled variceal bleeding. In the last year, he developed a severe and persistent hepatic encephalopathy secondary to the shunt, which was resistant to medical therapy. As liver transplantation was not available and obliteration of the shunt was hazardous, we performed subtotal colectomy in order to reduce ammonia production. This therapeutic option proved successful, as the grade of encephalopathy decreased and the patient improved. Our experience indicates that colonic exclusion should be considered as an option in the management of HE refractory to medical treatment in highly selected patients when liver transplantation is not available or even as a bridge given the long waiting time on lists