More than 2 million people in Japan have chronic hepatitis C and many of them will lose their lives to liver cirrhosis or complications of hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatitis C virus-related diseases are a serious concern both in developing countries and in Japan and the United States, where the number of patients is also in the millions. Therapeutic modalities recently developed in Japan, including interferon therapy and nutritional supportive therapy, are gaining worldwide acceptance. At this critical juncture, HCV and Related Liver Diseases presents new information on etiology, pathology, diagnosis, and therapy. Viral hepatitis was the theme of the Yamaguchi Symposium on Liver Disease, meeting in December 1998 and attended by leading hepatologists and virologists. Collected in this volume are the papers from the symposium, providing a valuable resource for hepatologists, gastroenterologists, and others working to understand and treat viral hepatitis.

This book is written as a reference and guidebook for practicing surgeons, gastroenterologists, and interventional radiologists with an interest in hepatobiliary diseases. It presents a strategy to enhance surgeons practice and the care of patients.

This book is the proceedings of Falk Symposium 157, entitled ?Chronic Hepatitis: Metabolic, Cholestatic, Viral and Autoimmune?, held in Freiburg, Germany, on 10--11 October 2006 (one of three symposia during the XIII Falk Liver Week 2006). It provides up-to-date information on new developments in the field of chronic hepatitis and its various entities. In recent decades we have learned how heterogeneous the clinical entity of chronic hepatitis has become. The liver, as the central organ of metabolism and detoxification, is more than ever a target of disease processes evolving from the spread of obesity in the western world. Apart from nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), alcoholic liver disease is still the most prevalent liver disease in the west...

The therapeutic handling of autoimmune liver disease is limited because basic mechanistic insights into immunologically mediated pathophysiology have not yet been translated into standard pharmacological treatments. A future expansion of the incidence of autoimmune liver diseases is anticipated because of growing rates of exposure to an increased variety of xenobiotics of dietary, pharmaceutical or environmental origin. This book, the proceedings of an International Falk Workshop held in Konstanz, Germany, January 23-24, 1997, aims to share front-line thinking among immunologists, biochemists, pharmacologists and clinicians in order to better understand the aetiology of this liver disease and its relation to extra-hepatic factors.

Recent advances in surgical procedures for the management of focal liver diseases have greatly increased the demand for diagnostic accuracy. So far these demands have been only partially met by further technical developments such as colour coded duplex sonography, spiral CT and marked improvements in magnetic resonance imaging. It is becoming increasingly clear that liver specific contrast media are essential for utilizing these technical developments to their fullest advantage in patient care. Against this background, a workshop was held to explore the current methods of diagnostic imaging of the liver and to try and establish a profile for the future liver specific contrast media. The pathologist's introductory and general overview is followed by chapters on the individual imaging procedures such as ultrasound, CT and MRI, so that each of the three is given the attention it deserves. The book will be of interest to radiologists from the various disciplines, and also those who plan and perform therapies, particularly surgeons and internists.

Since the discovery of superoxide dismutase more than three decades ago, there has been rapid growth in the knowledge of oxidative stress and disease. This volume containing the proceedings of the 13th Yamaguchi Symposium on Liver Disease includes discussion of the direct cellular effects of hepatitis C virus (HCV) proteins on hepatocytes and reviews evidence that oxidative stress caused primarily by the HCV core protein plays a key role in disease pathogenesis. Also included are chapters on new aspects of oxidative stress and liver disease such as carbon monoxide as a regulator of liver microcirculation, hepatic iron accumulation and the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma, and oxidative stress in the absence of inflammation in hepatocarcinogenesis. This collection of papers from the Yamaguchi Symposium creates a valuable reference resource for physicians and hepatologists.

In this issue of Clinics in Liver Disease, guest editor Dr. Steven L. Flamm brings his considerable expertise to the topic of Updates in Consultations in Liver Disease. Many disease entities are uncommon and complicated in scope, and liver disease may occur in the setting of other chronic medical conditions and involve other organ systems. In this issue, top experts provide a up-to-date framework for approaching consultation for common liver-related problems for the gastroenterology and hepatology practitioner. Contains 12 practice-oriented topics including clinical pearls in evaluation and treatment of patients with liver disease; evaluation of patients with markedly elevated liver enzymes; evaluation of liver disease in pregnancy; COVID and implications on the liver; and more. Provides in-depth clinical reviews on consultations in liver disease, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

This book focusses on the latest results related to the field of bile acids as signaling molecules and describes how these receptors have become a major pharmacological target. It covers all major areas of research in this field, from genetics, chemistry, in silico modeling, molecular biology to clinical applications, offering a cross-country view of the functional role of bile acids as signaling molecules, virtually acting on all major areas of metabolism. While FXR and GPBAR1 are essential bile acid sensors that integrate the de novo bile acid synthesis with intestinal microbiota and liver metabolism, in a broader sense, BARs play a pathogenic role in the development of common human alignments including liver, intestinal and metabolic disorders, such as steatosis (NAFLD) and steato-hepatitis (NASH), diabetes, obesity and atherosclerosis.

In this issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics, guest editor and clinical nurse specialist Cynthia Benz brings her considerable expertise to the topic of Care for the Liver Failure Patient. Nurse involvement in chronic and fatal liver diseases requires interventions to improve symptom control, reduce inpatient care, prevent worsening of condition, and improve quality of life. In this issue, top experts focus on these nursing interventions for patients experiencing liver failure or the eventuality of liver failure. Contains 11 practice-oriented topics including acute liver failure in the pediatric patient; right sided heart failure and liver failure; hepatocellular carcinoma; ascites; esophageal varices; and more. Provides in-depth clinical reviews on care for the liver failure patient, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

The liver is of central importance to the entire organism due to its diverse functions in metabolism, its ability to detoxify and excrete, the hepatic formation and inactivation of mediators, and its involvement in non-specific defence mechanisms. Thus, extrahepatic manifestations of liver disease are often decisive for the disease course. In the last few years, knowledge about interaction between the liver and other organs or systems - e.g. kidneys, GI tract, skeleton, endocrine, haematopoietic and nervous sytems - has increased considerably. Thus many extrahepatic manifestations of liver disease can now be better understood and are more accessible to diagnosis and therapy. The IXth International Congress on Liver Diseases brought together experts from around the world to give information on new developments in this field which are important both for research and clinical work. These proceedings will therefore be required reading for all researchers and clinicians dealing with effectsof liver diseases on the entire organism.

At no other time in human existence has there been so many environmental changes. Over 87,000 chemicals are now commercially available in the U.S., almost all of which have not been tested for safety, particularly in young children and the growing fetus.The number and quantity of chemicals has continued to increase since World War II-and so too has the incidence of many chronic health problems, such as Type 2 Diabetes, obesity, thyroid disease, asthma, allergy, autoimmune disease, autism, ADHD, and several cancers. Many studies have revealed that exposure to chemicals and radiation in our everyday environment may increase risk for these conditions. Integrative Environmental Medicine examines the history and changing landscape of our environment in the U.S. and shares up-to-date research and information on ways to reduce exposures and reduce health risks. This text explores the unique properties of many chemicals and their ability to deceive the human body's normal workings, affecting everything from thyroid and autoimmune disease risk, to cancer development, to developmental issues in children, and even the development of diabetes and weight gain through gut bacteria manipulation. We discuss topics of improving regulations and appropriate testing for chemicals, remediation of environmental catastrophes, and designing healthier products for the future. Finally, we discuss best practices for clinicians to ascertain exposure history and teach patients how to avoid harmful exposures and help their body eliminate contaminates through better dietary and lifestyle practices. Throughout this book, we share vetted, practical resources and tools-including websites, phone apps, physician and patient hand-outs-to help healthcare practitioners facilitate healthier choices for themselves and their patients. This text is unique in that it offers tangible, practical information that can easily be integrated into the daily work flow of patient clinical care; websites, phone apps, physician and patient handouts and printable lists.

This volume features up-to-date protocols for the isolation, preservation, and validation of various cell sources comprising large and small animal models, examining the impact of cell transplantation on acute and chronic liver diseases. Hepatocyte Transplantation: Methods and Protocols guides readers through laboratory protocols for the generation of humanized livers for the assessment of biological actions in vivo and techniques to monitor cell engraftment after cell transplantation in vivo are described and procedures for computational analyses of hepatocyte transplantation. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Comprehensive and practical, Hepatocyte Transplantation: Methods and Protocols is an essential resource for researchers and clinicians to assess the biological as well as the therapeutic potential of hepatocyte transplantation.

This volume details the most updated concepts and experimental protocols developed by leading researchers in the field. Chapters guide readers through methods on bioinformatics tools, hepatitis c virus(HCV) cloning, culture, and purification, HCV life cycle, host immune responses, and small animal models. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Hepatitis C Virus Protocols aims to ensure successful results in the further study of this vital field.

This book provides a comprehensive view of the methodologies used for the study of liver toxicity encountered throughout the whole life cycle of a drug, from drug discovery, to clinical trial, post-marketing, and even clinical practice. Organized into six sections, the first section introduces the mechanisms contributing to drug-induced liver toxicity. The second and third section explore in silico and in vitro approaches used to help mitigate hepatotoxicity liability at the early stages of drug development. The fourth section describes methodologies applied in regulatory processes, including preclinical studies, clinical trials, and post-marketing surveillance. The fifth section discusses clinical hepatotoxicity. Emerging technologies are examined in the final section. As a volume in the Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology series, chapters include the kind of expert advice that will lead to optimal results. Authoritative and practical, Drug-Induced Liver Toxicity serves all those who aim to improve assessment and understanding of hepatotoxic potentials of new medications and marketed drugs. Chapter 30 is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license via link.springer.com.

Leading researchers are specially invited to provide a complete understanding of a key topic within the multidisciplinary fields of physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology. In a form immediately useful to scientists, this periodical aims to filter, highlight and review the latest developments in these rapidly advancing fields.

This volume is a complete manual of operative techniques for battling a severe liver injury. It provides an easy pre-operative and intra-operative reference with clear illustrations, line drawings as well as actual intra-operative color pictures, supplemented by online video segments. The early sections of the book deal with the fundamentals of surgical anatomy and critical maneuvers in the resuscitation of the patient in extremis. The various technical maneuvers for manual control of hemorrhage, debridement-resection as well as formal lobectomy of the liver, the identification of biliary tract injuries and other miscellaneous techniques, such as balloon tamponade of missile tracts, are discussed in complete detail. The book also sketches the role of liver transplantation surgeons in the acute trauma setting. The final chapters focus on the urgent problem of teaching operative techniques to young trauma surgeons in an era of dwindling surgical experience. Written by authors who are world- renowned experts in trauma management, often termed "master-surgeons," Operative Techniques for Severe Liver Injury is required preparation for all surgeons who are likely to face a massive crush injury of the liver.

For volume 1:
A broad-ranging collection of core techniques for the study of HBV and HDV infections and for the development of therapies to treat them. In this first of two volumes Detection, Genotypes, and Characterization, the authors focus on readily reproducible molecular methods for the identification and quantification of viral markers, the detection and impact of viral variants, and the study of the viral life cycle. Each fully tested protocol is described in step-by-step detail by an established expert in the field and includes a background introduction outlining the principle underlying the technique, equipment and reagent lists, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. An accompanying second volume, Immunology, Model Systems, and Clinical Studies, contains user-friendly protocols for the study of host immune responses to infection, in vitro and in vivo models of infection, and the development of antivirals.
For both volumes:
A broad-ranging collection of core techniques for the study of HBV and HDV infections and for the development of therapies to treat them. The first volume Detection, Genotypes, and Characterization, the authors focus on readily reproducible molecular methods for the identification and quantification of viral markers, the detection and impact of viral variants, and the study of the viral life cycle. The second volume, Immunology, Model Systems, and Clinical Studies, contains user-friendly protocols for the study of host immune responses to infection, in vitro and in vivo models of infection, and the development of antivirals. Each fully tested protocol is described in step-by-step detail by an established expert in the fieldand includes a background introduction outlining the principle underlying the technique, equipment and reagent lists, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. The set offers both new and experienced investigators an encyclopedic collection of powerful tools for studying HBV and HDV infections, an essential resource for finding new therapies to treat chronically infected patients.

This volume has gathered together some of the world's experts on cell death in liver diseases, covering topics on a variety of types of liver injury. Specifically, the chapters of this volume describe drug and virus-mediated hepatocyte injury, alcohol, lipid and bile acid-induced hepatocyte injury in addition to ischemia-reperfusion-mediated liver injury. The authors link these different types of liver injury to the commonly associated liver inflammation, fibrosis and tumorigenesis. Other topics explored include the various forms of cell death and cell survival pathways that have been identified in the liver, such as apoptosis, necroptosis, pryoptosis and autophagy. This book, along with its companion volume, Molecules, Systems and Signaling in Hepatic Cell Death, provides a thorough and comprehensive discussion on the topic of cell death and liver disease. Cellular Injury in Liver Diseases is an essential addition to the Cell Death in Biology and Diseases series and will appeal to scientists, clinicians and those doing research for drug discovery.

This book provides a comprehensive, state-of-the art review of intestinal polyposis syndromes. The book reviews the most up-to-date clinical, management, and genetic information regarding the continually evolving colorectal condition that manifests as a polyposis condition. It provides a reference for clinicians and researchers in understanding the complexity of intestinal polyposis and the importance of utilizing multiple modalities for the diagnosis, management and control of these conditions. It also provides an overview of what should alert a care provider to the possibility of a polyposis syndrome. Written by experts in their fields, Intestinal Polyposis Syndromes: Diagnosis and Management is a valuable resource for physicians and researchers who deal with the challenges of diagnosing and managing colorectal cancer and intestinal polyposis syndromes.

Cardio-Hepatology: Connections Between Hepatic and Cardiovascular Disease provides a direct relationship between the cardiac and hepatic pathologies providing the link between the heart and liver and showing how liver diseases predispose to impairment in heart functioning and vice versa. Considering the growing number of patients living (and living longer) with heart failure and/or congenital heart disease, it is important to know when and how to test for liver disease in this population, how to interpret abnormal test results, and what management is appropriate. Coverage includes what should be done for patients to limit, avoid, or postpone the impairment in the liver functioning induced by heart diseases and the impairment in the heart functioning induced by liver diseases, on the basis of scientific-exposed evidence and pathophysiology knowledge. This comprehensive, extended review of the medical literature is perfect for researchers interested in the connection between cardiology and hepatology as well as clinicians making therapeutic decisions for patients suffering from heart or liver chronic diseases.

Chronic Hepatitis C Virus: Lessons from the Past, Promise for the Future documents the monumental advances that have been made in our understanding of chronic HCV during the past decade. The first section reviews the natural history of chronic HCV, how this virus can affect other organs in addition to the liver, and whether treating chronic HCV alters the natural history of this disease. Section 2 reviews the advances that have been made in the treatment of chronic HCV during the past decade with interferon based therapy. Separate chapters on response guided therapy and how to manage the adverse events associated with these medications provide the physician with the concepts required to more effectively treat chronic HCV now and in the future. As the genetics of virologic response have recently been elucidated, a chapter is devoted to helping the clinician understand how genes that modulate disease processes and their treatment are identified and utilized in clinical care. Section 3 deals with the future of HCV treatment and specific inhibitors of HCV. Specific chapters explain how targets for drugs are identified and how drugs are then developed and tested; how mutations of HCV develop and how anti-viral agents will affect this process; the most up to date data regarding the treatment of chronic HCV with peginterferon, ribavirin and anti-viral agents; and the potential to treat chronic HCV with just oral anti-viral agents and without peginterferon and ribavirin in the future. The final section of this book covers issues related to liver transplantation in patients with chronic HCV. Separate chapters review the natural history of chronic HCV in liver transplant recipients and the impact of utilizing HCV positive donors. The volume concludes with chapters that cover the treatment of chronic HCV both prior to and after liver transplantation with potent anti-viral agents. Chronic Hepatitis C Virus: Lessons from the Past, Promise for the Future is a valuable resource for all physicians caring for patients with chronic HCV.

Alcohol and other drugs of abuse are major contributing factors to liver disease and its pathology. Alcoholic cirrhosis causes thousands of deaths each year in the United States, and encourages liver replacement. A better understanding of the mechanisms of liver pathology will significantly aid basic researchers and physicians in treating and preventing liver damage. This book is designed especially for those researchers wishing to understand alcoholic liver disease. Therefore the role of alcohol in changing nutrition and its nutritional effects on liver disease are reviewed. The generation of free radicals during alcohol use has been found to be an important cause of membrane changes, of cancer development, and of lipid alterations-and thus of liver pathology. In addition to alcohol, other drugs of abuse, including morphine, cocaine, marijuana, and caffeine have also been shown to be significant contributors to liver pathology. The prevalence of drug and alcohol use and abuse today means that liver disease will continue as a major social and medical problem. The explanation of its biological origins cannot fail to help us better understand and treat the disease in the years to come.

This book helps scientists, clinicians and other interested individuals understand recent clinical advances and challenges for the future. It covers many basic aspects of the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C, HCV infections in particular populations, approaches to therapy, and prevention and control of HCV Infection. The book provides a succinct review of the large amount of data generated by multiple groups over the past two decades that has revealed the natural history of HCV infection. Similarly, it summarizes current understanding of the origins of HCV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma, cirrhosis and hepatic fibrosis. Extra-hepatic manifestation and metabolic disorders related to HCV infection are described. In this volume, these clinically important aspects of HCV infection are comprehensively described. Highlights are description of newly developed direct- acting antivirals. The authors represent a worldwide distribution of leaders in the field reflecting the global nature of HCV infection. Based on recent data concerning the genetic- and geographical diversity of HCV, and increased global disease burden of HCV infection, challenges for global control of HCV infections are described.