Correlation Between The severity of liver disease and image analysis of histological findings. Preliminary studies

Cirrhosis is the end result of clinic liver disease and complications of cirrhosis, Including esophageal varices and ascites, develop once portal pressure reaches a threshold level of 10-12 mmHg, as assessed by the hepatic venous pressure gradient. Liver biopsy remains the gold standard for staging diffuse liver disease. But in liver disease the histologic examination can nol determine or predict the onset of disease complications and mortality of patients. Recent studies have shown a modest correlation between HVPG and histological findings and in particular the septal thickness and nodule size. The aim of the study is to assess whether there is a correlation between the HVPG value and the modifications of morphology of sinusoids. Establishing the concept of 'severity of cirrhosis' has significant clinical implications. Upon diagnosis of cirrhosis, specific histological findings on biopsy could predict the likelihood of complications or death of patient. This correlation between geometric analysis of images of individual histological changes of sinusoids and HVPG could be predictive of the clinical evolution of cirrhosis. These results are not statistically significant, but suggestive to apply this methodology in a larger number of patients

HISTOMORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS IN THE PROGRESSION OF HEPATIC STEATOSIS

The objective of this study is to create a method which can be easily used to accurately determine the degree of steatosis through an analysis of histomorphometric images, in order to provide a histological objective response. We found a non-linear progression in morphological and functional parameters between the different degrees of steatosis: hydraulic resistance, number of sinusoids [mm2]; percentage of sinusoids in a frozen section, area of the sinusoids and form/area ratio of the sinusoid

Molecular Adsorbent Recirculating System (MARS): a Chemical Engineering Analysis of In Vivo Experimental Data

Dialysis and adsorption units are commonly used in liver support devices for the removal of albumin-bound toxins, such as bilirubin, and water-soluble low-molecular-weight toxins, such as creatinine. In this paper, the consolidated approach of chemical engineers' to process design is applied to the analysis of the performance of a MARS treatment. The theoretical analysis of the detoxification process is used to discuss some clinical data obtained during a MARS treatment session, referring to bilirubin and creatinine concentration in plasma and different parts of the device circuit

Preliminary Study of Sinusoids Area in the Progression of Liver Disease

Liver biopsy is the gold standard in the evaluation of liver disease and remains the most direct way of visualizing hepatic necro-inflammation and fibrosis. A given liver biopsy sample in chronic hepatitis is a ‘‘snapshot’’ of the current necro-inflammatory activity at the time the sample is obtained. However, necro-inflammation is a dynamic process that may change over time, so that paired or multiple biopsies may show significant differences in each of the essential components outlined earlier. For this study were randomly enrolled 100 patients, including: 30 patients with normal histological examination performed for suspected disease, 70 patients with positive histology for steatosis. One hundred images were analyzed for a total of 1120 sinusoids. We found that in some specimens with 30% steatosis, the sinusoids showed the shape and hydraulic resistance are comparable to specimens with 70-75% steatosis. These findings, that will be tested in follow-up, could be steatosis with a rapid progression of the disease