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Query: UMLS:C0023890 (cirrhosis)
 42,195 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Fifty Kenyan patients with chronic liver disease or hepatocellular carcinoma were tested for hepatitis B surface antigenaemia by radioimmunoassay. The hepatitis B surface antigen was detected in 77% of the patients with chronic persistent or chronic aggressive hepatitis, or cirrhosis confirmed by liver biopsy, compared with 15% in a control group. All six patients with hepatocellular carcinoma had detectable hepatitis B surface antigen or antibody. 50% of the controls had hepatitis B surface antibody in their plasma detectable by haemagglutination. Auto-immune associated liver disease appeared infrequent. The possibility that the hepatitis B virus is an important cause of cirrhosis in Kenya is discussed.
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PMID:Hepatitis B surface antigenaemia in Kenyans with chronic liver disease. 84 49

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the third most common malignancy in Kenyan males occurring with a peak incidence at 40 years of age. A worldwide correlation has been noted between the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma and prevalence of hepatitis B virus. Liver biopsies with histological diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), cirrhosis and the normals were reviewed by the authors. They were then stained for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis e core antigen (HBcAg). Only 2.5% of normal livers were positive for HBsAg compared with 33% of HCC and 25% of cirrhosis respectively. Hepatitis core antigen was not demonstrated in normal liver biopsies but it was present in 11.5% of HCC and 14% of cirrhosis. Background cirrhosis was noted in 52% of biopsies showing HCC. It is clear that a causal association exists between hepatitis B virus (HBV) and both liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Higher antigen markers, up to 80% have been reported in South East Asia and India. This difference may be due to the type of biopsy examined (needle biopsy vs open biopsy) but the possibility that other factors such as aflatoxin and non A/non B hepatitis viruses play a more significant role in the causation of liver disease in Kenya than has previously been assumed should be explored.
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PMID:Hepatitis B virus, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver cirrhosis in Kenya. 822 8

Hepatic steatosis is common in non-insulin-dependent diabetes and can be associated with fibrosis and cirrhosis in a subset of individuals. Increased rates of fatty acid synthesis have been reported in livers from rodent models of diabetes and may contribute to the development of steatosis. Sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) are a family of regulated transcription factors that stimulate lipid synthesis in liver. In the current studies, we measured the content of SREBPs in livers from two mouse models of diabetes, obese ob/ob mice and transgenic aP2-SREBP-1c436 (aP2-SREBP-1c) mice that overexpress nuclear SREBP-1c only in adipose tissue. The aP2-SREBP-1c mice exhibit a syndrome that resembles congenital generalized lipodystrophy in humans. Both lines of mice develop hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia, and hepatic steatosis. Nuclear SREBP-1c protein levels were significantly elevated in livers from ob/ob and aP2-SREBP-1c mice compared with wild-type mice. Increased nuclear SREBP-1c protein was associated with elevated mRNA levels for known SREBP target genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis, which led to significantly higher rates of hepatic fatty acid synthesis in vivo. These studies suggest that increased levels of nuclear SREBP-1c contribute to the elevated rates of hepatic fatty acid synthesis that leads to steatosis in diabetic mice.
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PMID:Increased levels of nuclear SREBP-1c associated with fatty livers in two mouse models of diabetes mellitus. 1051 88

Occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) is defined as the presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in the liver or serum in the absence of detectable HBV surface antigen (HBsAg). OBI poses a risk for the development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The prevalence of OBI in Kenya is unknown, thus a study was undertaken to determine the prevalence and molecular characterization of OBI in Kenyan populations at high risk of HBV infection. Sera from two Nairobi cohorts, 99 male sex workers, primarily having sex with men (MSM-SW), and 13 non-MSM men having HIV-positive partners, as well as 65 HBsAg-negative patients presenting with jaundice at Kenyan medical facilities, were tested for HBV serological markers, including HBV DNA by real-time PCR. Positive DNA samples were sequenced and MSM-SW patients were further tested for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Of the 166 HBsAg-negative samples tested, 31 (18.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 13.5-25.3) were HBV DNA positive (i.e., occult), the majority (20/31; 64.5%) of which were HBV core protein antibody positive. HCV infection was not observed in the MSM-SW participants, although the prevalence of HBsAg positivity was 10.1% (10/99; 95% CI 5.6-17.6). HBV genotype A was predominant among study cases, including both HBsAg-positive and OBI participants, although the data suggests a non-African network transmission source among MSM-SW. The high prevalence of HBV infection among MSM-SW in Kenya suggests that screening programmes be instituted among high-risk cohorts to facilitate preventative measures, such as vaccination, and establish entry to treatment and linkage to care.
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PMID:Characterization of occult hepatitis B in high-risk populations in Kenya. 3246 24