Primary biliary cholangitis (formerly primary biliary cirrhosis) is a chronic, progressive, autoimmune, cholestatic liver disease more common in middle-aged women. It is characterized by destruction of small to medium bile ducts leading to cholestasis and frequently, end-stage liver disease.
Diagnostic features are chronic biochemical cholestasis, presence of antimitochondrial antibodies and the characteristic liver biopsy findings.
In patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), changes in the GLOBE score (ΔGLOBE) brought about by treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) are predictive of liver transplantation (LT)-free survival, reports a study.
Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) is independently associated with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) outcomes, a study has shown.
Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) response contributes to a decrease in decompensation, all-cause, and liver-related death or transplantation in predominantly male patients with cirrhosis, reveals a study, noting the highest benefit in those with portal hypertension.
Obeticholic acid is beneficial to primary biliary cholangitis patients with suboptimal response to ursodeoxycholic acid, significantly improving prognostic score with good tolerability, according to the results of an open-label study.
Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) who are treated with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) may have a lower risk of liver transplantation, all-cause death, or biliary tract cancer, according to a study from Japan.
The WHO defines long COVID as a condition that occurs 3 months from COVID-19 onset, whose symptoms last ≥2 months and cannot be attributed to an alternative diagnosis. In an interview with MIMS Doctor, Professor Ghassan Dbaibo of the Center for Infectious Diseases, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, describes the evolving attitudes towards long COVID among healthcare professionals (HCPs), some unexpected predisposing factors, potential biological mechanisms behind prolonged symptom duration and shares data on vaccination’s protective effects against long COVID.
Overall survival (OS) is currently the primary
criteria in assessing the efficacy of a cancer treatment. Dr Raghav Sundar, a consultant
medical oncologist at the National University Hospital, Singapore, details the
crucial role played by tumour response in evaluating treatment efficacy, with a
focus on the multiple kinase inhibitor lenvatinib in the treatment of
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).