The Gemelli Ultrasound Chronic Pancreatitis Score: A Non-invasive Tool for the Diagnosis of Chronic Pancreatitis.

A dedicated ultrasound (US) score, the Gemelli Ultrasound Chronic Pancreatitis (USCP) score, could be useful in the follow-up of patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP). However, its role in the diagnosis of CP has not been investigated. We aimed to evaluate the role of the Gemelli USCP score in the diagnosis of CP and the agreement with standard imaging techniques.

EUS-guided fine needle tattooing (EUS-FNT) for preoperative localization of small pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (p-NETs): a single-center experience.

Background: and study aims Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs) can be difficult to detect intra-operatively. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of preoperative endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle tattooing (EUS-FNT) to facilitate intra-operative detection of pNETs.

Patients And Methods: Sixteen patients with pNETs (8 insulinoma and 8 non-functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors) underwent EUS-FNT.

Harmful Effects and Potential Benefits of Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-α on the Liver.

Anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α agents represent an effective treatment for chronic inflammatory diseases. However, some concerns about their potentially undesirable effects on liver function have been reported. On the other hand, evidence of their therapeutic effects on certain liver diseases is accumulating.

Eubiotic properties of rifaximin: Disruption of the traditional concepts in gut microbiota modulation.

Antibiotics are usually prescribed to cure infections but they also have significant modulatory effects on the gut microbiota. Several alterations of the intestinal bacterial community have been reported during antibiotic treatment, including the reduction of beneficial bacteria as well as of microbial alpha-diversity. Although after the discontinuation of antibiotic therapies it has been observed a trend towards the restoration of the original condition, the new steady state is different from the previous one, as if antibiotics induced some kind of irreversible perturbation of the gut microbial community.

[The relationship between gut microbiota and cardiovascular diseases].

The prevalence of cardiometabolic disorders (obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disorders) is increasing globally and is a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Both genetics and environmental factors are involved in the pathogenesis of these disorders. Recent studies have shown that a state of dysbiosis may be implicated in body weight control, insulin resistance and cardio-metabolic risk factors, but the underlying mechanisms remain to be fully understood.

Effect of rifaximin on gut microbiota composition in advanced liver disease and its complications.

Liver cirrhosis is a paradigm of intestinal dysbiosis. The qualitative and quantitative derangement of intestinal microbial community reported in cirrhotic patients seems to be strictly related with the impairment of liver function. A kind of gut microbial "fingerprint", characterized by the reduced ratio of "good" to "potentially pathogenic" bacteria has recently been outlined, and is associated with the increase in Model for End-Stage Liver Disease and Child Pugh scores.

Nutrients affecting gastric barrier.

The gastric barrier could be considered an active tissue involved in many synthetic and metabolic functions, as the immunological defense, by activating mucosal immune system. Barrier integrity results from a balance between protective and aggressive endogenous factors and from their interaction with exogenous factors (steroidal or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, dietary nitrates, nitrites and/or NaCl, stress, Helicobacter pylori infection, food allergens and contaminants, metals, chemicals, radiation, smoking and alcohol intake). Nutrients represent the most important exogenous factors affecting gastric barrier because of the impact on people's everyday life.

Role of yeasts in healthy and impaired gut microbiota: the gut mycome.

Although several studies have been published on the gut microbiota composition, they are mainly focused on bacteria. Therefore, the world of gut yeasts, the "gut mycome", is still unclear. Over the last years, brand new gut microbiota analysis techniques have been applied to the study of yeasts, with exciting results both in health and in disease.

Treatment of hepatitis C in compensated cirrhotic patients is equally effective before and after liver transplantation.

Aim: To investigate differences in tolerability and response to treatment in compensated cirrhotic patients affected by hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection before and after liver transplantation.

Methods: Forty-three HCV non-liver transplanted (LT) cirrhotics (mean age 55 ± 8 years, 65.1% male, Child-Pugh-A, genotype 1-4: 65.

Gut microbiota and metabolic syndrome.

Symbiosis is the result of the relationship between gut microbiota and human surfaces; in fact, it regulates many functions such as metabolic and protective ones. It is widely known that any changes in the microbes in gut microbiota (dysbiosis) and the regulation of mucosal and systemic host's immunity have been linked to different diseases such as metabolic syndromes and associated disorders. Recent studies report an aberrant gut microbiota and an alteration of gut microbial metabolic activities in obese subjects, with an important influence of a number of human physiological functions.

What we should know about portal vein thrombosis in cirrhotic patients: a changing perspective.

Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is one of the most common complications occurring during the natural course of liver cirrhosis. Even though PVT is often asymptomatic, the worsening of liver function, an unexpected episode of gastrointestinal bleeding or ascitic decompensation may be landmarks of PVT development. Beyond these clinical manifestations, it is debated whether PVT really has an impact on liver cirrhosis natural history or rather represents only one of its consequences.