Publications by authors named "Gustav Buescher"

Article Synopsis
  • The study examines how paediatric autoimmune liver disease (pAILD) is managed across various European medical centers, revealing significant variation in treatment approaches and drug availability.
  • A survey from 36 centers indicated that most treat fewer than 50 children with pAILD, primarily using prednisolone as the first-line treatment, with azathioprine and mycophenolate as common second-line options.
  • The availability of appropriate paediatric formulations for these medications is limited across Europe, highlighting the need for collaborative strategies to ensure effective and equitable treatments for affected children.
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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the role of soluble CD27 (sCD27) and its potential as a biomarker to predict patient responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in cancer therapy, as many patients do not achieve lasting results with current treatments.
  • - Researchers assessed serum and plasma levels of sCD27 across three patient cohorts (totaling 187 individuals) receiving ICI therapy, utilizing immunoassays and investigating both circulating and extracellular vesicle-bound forms of CD27.
  • - Results showed that lower levels of sCD27 in patients treated with ICIs were associated with longer progression-free survival and overall survival, suggesting that sCD27 could serve as a valuable predictive biomarker for the effectiveness of ICI treatments.
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Introduction: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have revolutionized the treatment of many malignancies in recent years. However, immune-related adverse events (irAE) are a frequent concern in clinical practice. The safety profile of ICI for the treatment of malignancies in patients diagnosed with autoimmune and cholestatic liver disease (AILD) remains unclear.

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Article Synopsis
  • There is limited data on the safety and effectiveness of immunomodulatory drugs for treating autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), even though they are commonly used for other autoimmune conditions.
  • A survey of hepatology centers in Europe revealed 25 AIH patients, most of whom received standard AIH treatment before starting unconventional therapies to address other autoimmune diseases.
  • At the end of the follow-up period, 13 patients achieved a complete biochemical response, though some experienced relapses or insufficient response, and side effects from treatments were reported.
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A 43-year-old female patient with a brain abscess and a complicated clinical course was diagnosed with hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) at the Martin Zeitz Centre for Rare Diseases in Hamburg, Germany. The brain abscess was caused by pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (AVM), a typical finding in HHT. Patients with cryptogenic brain abscess should be screened for pulmonary AVM and HHT.

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Preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection by modulating viral host receptors, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), could represent a new chemoprophylactic approach for COVID-19 that complements vaccination. However, the mechanisms that control the expression of ACE2 remain unclear. Here we show that the farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a direct regulator of ACE2 transcription in several tissues affected by COVID-19, including the gastrointestinal and respiratory systems.

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To detect potential concern about severe acute hepatitis in children, we conducted a survey among 50 ERN RARE-LIVER centres. By 26 April 2022, 34 centres, including 25 transplant centres, reported an estimated median of 3-5, 0-2 and 3-5 cases in 2021, 2020 and 2019 and a mean of 2 (range: 0-8) cases between January and April 2022 (mean in 10 large liver transplant centres: 3). Twelve centres reported suspicion of an increase, but no rise.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Out of 1,779 participants, only 2.2% (39 individuals) were diagnosed with COVID-19, with no significant differences in demographics or liver disease status compared to those without the virus.
  • * The findings indicate that patients with AILD do not appear to face a heightened risk for COVID-19 compared to the general population during the pandemic.
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Objective: Baseline liver stiffness (LS) is prognostically relevant in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection but may change after successful HCV eradication. Data on post-treatment LS for a further risk stratification remain scarce. Here, we study the kinetics of LS and laboratory parameters in patients undergoing HCV treatment and analyze the association of post-treatment LS with outcome parameters.

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Background & Aims: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to have a devastating impact across the globe. However, little is known about the disease course in patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH).

Methods: Data for patients with AIH and SARS-CoV-2 infection were combined from 3 international reporting registries and outcomes were compared to those in patients with chronic liver disease of other aetiology (non-AIH CLD) and to patients without liver disease (non-CLD).

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Background And Aims: Hepatitis E is an infectious disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV). Immunocompromised patients present a particular risk group, as chronification of hepatitis E leading to life-threatening cirrhosis occurs when these patients are infected. Therefore, this study aims to estimate and compare the anti-HEV seroprevalence and the rate of HEV RNA positivity in transplant recipients and patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

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Background: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) has been associated with immunological phenomena. Their clinical significance, however, still needs to be clarified, that is, whether cryoglobulins or autoantibodies impact overt disease in HEV-infected individuals. To better understand, we analyzed these different immune phenomena in three cohorts, each representing different types of HEV infection.

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Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a heterogeneous group of membrane-enclosed vesicles made of a phospholipid bilayer and are secreted by all cell types. EVs are present in a variety of body fluids containing proteins, DNA, RNA species, and lipids, and play an important role in cell- to-cell communication and are worth being considered as biomarkers for both early diagnosis of cancer patients and real-time monitoring of treatment response. Recently, emerging evidence verified EVs to have crucial roles in cancer progression and metastasis and a great potential in therapeutic applications.

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