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Liver Disease—Alcoholic Hepatitis/Cirrhosis
Published in Charles Theisler, Adjuvant Medical Care, 2023
A liver disease is any disturbance of liver function that causes illness. Liver disease can present as a spectrum of clinical conditions that ranges from asymptomatic disease to end-stage liver disease.1 The two most common chronic liver diseases are viral hepatitis (see Hepatitis) and cirrhosis. In cirrhosis, liver cells are replaced with fibrotic tissue. The term cirrhosis is derived from the Greek “kirrhos” meaning orange-colored, and refers to the yellow-orange hue of the liver seen by the pathologist or surgeon.2 Cirrhosis is the twelfth most common cause of death in the U.S. and the fourth most frequent cause in the 45-54 year age group.
Botanicals and the Gut Microbiome
Published in Namrita Lall, Medicinal Plants for Cosmetics, Health and Diseases, 2022
Chronic diseases in the liver include infectious liver diseases and metabolic liver diseases, as well as auto-immune diseases, which can ultimately lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis (Lu et al., 2019). It has been shown that chronic liver diseases are associated with imbalances in the gut microbiota. This is known as dysbiosis, which is the imbalance between the beneficial and pathogenic bacteria in favor of the pathogenic bacteria (Chen et al., 2011; Lu et al 2011; Qin et al., 2014; Michail et al., 2015; Tang et al., 2018; Lu et al., 2019). The current hypothesis is that as gut microbiota are stressed due to various diseases of the host which affects them, this eventually leads to dysbiosis, which then results in an acceleration of liver fibrosis and liver cirrhosis through the increase in inflammation. Data that has supported this theory is explained by alcoholic liver disease. Increased consumption of alcohol is directly intoxicating the liver through the dysbiosis in the form of small and large intestinal bacterial overgrowth or directly through microbial toxicity. The intestinal barriers also undergo direct local injury, which results in translocation of bacteria and the increase in inflammation (Acharya and Bajaj, 2021).
Glycyrrhiza glabra (Licorice) and Gymnema sylvestre (Gurmar)
Published in Azamal Husen, Herbs, Shrubs, and Trees of Potential Medicinal Benefits, 2022
Jasbir Kaur, Sana Nafees, Mohd Anwar, Jamal Akhtar, Nighat Anjum
Hepatoprotective activity: Viral or non-viral chronic hepatitis is a gradually developing liver diseases that may convert into cirrhosis (or liver failure) or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). For more than 60 years in Japan, glycyrrhizin has been used as a remedy for chronic hepatitis under the name of SNMC (stronger neo-minophagen-C) (Acharaya et al., 1993). A significant decrease in serum aminotransferases and liver histology was improved on the administration of glycyrrhizin as compared to a placebo. HCC from chronic hepatitis C has been prevented by the long-term use of glycyrrhizin, and in vitro data suggests that the intracellular transport system is modified by the glycyrrhizin (Sato et al., 1996, Van Rossum et al., 1998). The aglycone part of glycyrrhizin, i.e., 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid (GA), suppresses the expression of P450 E1, thus shielding the liver (Jeong et al., 2002). GA also inhibits oxidative and liver damage caused by aflatoxins by increasing the activity of CYP1A1 and GST (glutathione-S-transferase) and can promote anticancer activity through the metabolic inactivation of epitotoxin (Chan et al., 2003). One study showed that G. glabra root hydromethanol extract showed significant protection against CCl4 hepatotoxicity in the liver of experimental mice (Sharma and Agrawal, 2014). Glycyrrhizin and its analogues via epidermal growth factor receptors have also been studied experimentally, exciting the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway followed by stimulation of hepatocyte DNA synthesis and proliferation (Kimura et al., 2001).
Apoprotein E methylation is correlated with immune microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma
Published in Acta Oncologica, 2023
Jiao Li, Shan Tian, Qi Liu, Pailan Peng
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer, and usually occurs on the basis of preexistent liver diseases [1]. HCC is reported to be the third most deadly tumor in the world [2]. The exact pathogenesis of HCC still remains obscure, but viral hepatitis, excessive alcohol consumption, liver cirrhosis, genetic factors and immune imbalance are all involved in the occurrence of HCC [3]. Although some advances in the treatment of HCC are acknowledged, the clinical outcomes of HCC patients remain unsatisfactory, specifically those with advanced TNM stage of HCC. Most individuals with HCC are diagnosed only when the disease had progressed to advanced stage, and thus lost the opportunity of radical resection. Currently, immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), shows promising future for advanced HCC individuals. However, some patients with advanced HCC are failed to benefit from immunotherapy with ICIs [4]. An insight into the understanding of the heterogeneity of HCC immune microenvironment could aid in offering personalized immunotherapy management, and thus to improve the survival outcomes of HCC patients.
The potential value of serum GP73 in the ancillary diagnosis and grading of liver cirrhosis
Published in Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation, 2023
Chen Hui-ling, Huang Kang-ming, Zhao Yu, Deng Yin-han, Du Huang, Xiao Shu-ping, Chen Hong-bin
Cirrhosis is a late stage of various chronic liver diseases. Advanced cirrhosis has many complications and a high mortality rate [1]. Thus, early diagnosis and treatment are important for the prognosis of patients with cirrhosis. At present, the main methods for the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis include liver biopsy [2], liver transient elasticity [3], and imaging (e.g. ultrasound, CT, MRI, PET-CT) [4–8]. Traditional noninvasive diagnostics for cirrhosis, such as the aspartate transferase/platelet ratio (APRI), FIB-4 (Fibrosis-4), and liver stiffness measurement, also have limitations in clinical application. Therefore, the search for new serological markers has become a research hotspot. In recent years, GP73 has been recognised as a promising serological marker for the diagnosis of cirrhosis [9–11].
S-Propargyl-cysteine prevents concanavalin A-induced immunological liver injury in mice
Published in Pharmaceutical Biology, 2022
Beilei Ma, Yicheng Mao, Lingling Chang, Tao Dai, Xiaoming Xin, Fenfen Ma, Zhijun Wang, Zhuqing Shen, Qibing Mei, Yizhun Zhu
The liver is an important organ and plays a key role in glucose, lipid, xenobiotic metabolism, and antioxidant defense (Mani et al. 2014). Various types of liver diseases, including inflammatory liver disease (hepatitis), plague human health. Hepatitis, which is mostly caused by a viral infection, alcohol addiction, side effects of certain drugs, or autoimmune disorders, possesses the major pathological feature of tissue infiltration with a large number of inflammatory factors. This infiltration leads to morphological deformation and function deficiency in the liver (Zenewicz et al. 2007). Hepatitis seriously threatens the patients′ health because the normal functions of the organ, such as producing bile for digestion, producing essential hormones, eliminating the toxins from the body, and controlling fat and cholesterol levels, are undermined. There are many kinds of hepatitis, and autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is an immune-mediated liver disease that has witnessed few major advances in treatment options over the last several decades. It barely has options for patients who are either refractory to or intolerant to standard therapy, which consists of prednisone and azathioprine. Thus, it is imperative to develop novel drugs and alternative strategies for AIH prevention and treatment.