Polyunsaturated fatty acid deficiency reverses effects of alcohol on mitochondrial energy metabolism

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) deficiency is common in patients with alcoholic liver disease. The suitability of reversing such deficiency remains controversial. The aim was to investigate the role played by PUFA deficiency in the occurrence of alcohol-related mitochondrial dysfunction. METHODS: Wistar rats were fed either a control diet with or without alcohol (control and ethanol groups) or a PUFA deficient diet with or without alcohol (PUFA deficient and PUFA deficient+ethanol groups). After 6 weeks, liver mitochondria were isolated for energetic studies and fatty acid analysis. RESULTS: Mitochondria from ethanol fed rats showed a dramatic decrease in oxygen consumption rates and in cytochrome oxidase activity. PUFA deficiency showed an opposite picture. PUFA deficient+ethanol group roughly reach control values, regarding cytochrome oxidase activity and respiratory rates. The relationship between ATP synthesis and respiratory rate was shifted to the left in ethanol group and to the right in PUFA-deficient group. The plots of control and PUFA deficient+ethanol groups were overlapping. Phospholipid arachidonic over linoleic ratio closely correlated to cytochrome oxidase and oxygen uptake. CONCLUSIONS: PUFA deficiency reverses alcohol-related mitochondrial dysfunction via an increase in phospholipid arachidonic over linoleic ratio, which raises cytochrome oxidase activity. Such deficiency may be an adaptive mechanism

Irritable bowel syndrome is more frequent in patients hospitalized for ischaemic colitis: results of a case-control study.

International audienceIt has been suspected that there is an epidemiological link between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and ischaemic colitis (IC). We performed a retrospective case-control study to compare the frequency of IBS in patients hospitalized for IC compared with that of patients with peptic ulcer bleeding. Cases were patients with a first episode of IC and controls were patients with a first episode of peptic ulcer bleeding, matched to cases for sex and 10-year age-class. Diagnosis of IBS was based on medical information extracted from hospital medical files and a standard self-questionnaire. The association between IBS and IC was tested using Mc Nemar's paired odds ratio (OR); confidence interval at 95% (CI 95%) was calculated; Mantel-Haenzel's Chi(2) was applied. A total of 113 cases and 113 matched controls were studied. There were 37 males and 76 females and the mean age was 69 +/- 15 years in each group. The prevalence of IBS in cases was 16.9%vs 1.8% in controls. The risk of IBS was 11.05 times higher among cases than in controls (P < 0.001); CI 95%: (2.45-49.74). A total of 87 pairs with complete data were used for OR calculation. The risk of IBS was 7.5 times higher in cases than in controls (P = 0.002); CI 95%: (1.72-32.80). This case-control study shows that IBS is more frequent in IC patients than in controls

A 2-year multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of bezafibrate for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis in patients with inadequate biochemical response to ursodeoxycholic acid therapy (Bezurso)

International Liver Congress / 52nd Annual Meeting of the European-Association-for-the-Study-of-the-Liver-Disease, Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS, APR 19-23, 2017International audienc

Suspicious liver nodule in chronic liver disease: Usefulness of a second biopsy

IF 2.115 (2017)International audiencePurposeTo assess the usefulness of a second biopsy when the first one was inconclusive in patients with a liver nodule found during the follow-up for chronic liver disease.Materials and methodsAmong 381 patients (544 nodules) included in a prospective study designed to evaluate the accuracy of imaging for the diagnosis of small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in chronic liver disease, 254 nodules were biopsied. The following histological results were considered as conclusive: HCC, dysplastic or regenerative nodule, and other identified tumors (benign or malignant). For nodules with inconclusive results (e.g. fibrosis or no definite focal lesion), a second biopsy was suggested, but was not mandatory.ResultsA total of 242 patients (194 men, 48 women; mean age, 61.9 ± 9.5 [SD]; range: 40.2–89.0 years) with 254 nodules underwent a first biopsy. Mean nodule diameter was 19.2 ± 5.4 mm (range: 10–33 mm). The first biopsy was conclusive in 189/254 nodules (74.4%): 157 HCCs (83.1%), 11 regenerative nodules (5.8%), 10 dysplastic nodules (5.3%), 3 cholangiocarcinomas (1.6%), and 8 other tumors (4.2%). Among the 65 nodules for which the first biopsy was inconclusive, a second biopsy was performed for 17 nodules in 16 patients within 6 months of the first one. It was conclusive in 13/17 nodules (76.5%): 10 HCCs (76.9%), 2 dysplastic nodules (15.4%), and 1 other tumor (7.7%). In 4/17 nodules (23.5%), no definitive diagnosis could be provided.ConclusionThe diagnostic yield of a second biopsy of a suspicious lesion suggestive of HCC in chronic liver disease is not decreased compared to the first one. Repeated biopsy after a first negative one could be an alternative option to the follow-up of patients with chronic liver disease

P1266 : Human albumin use in cirrhotic patients in France: Results of the national “Albu-live” survey

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