Alcohol Drinking Impacts on Adiposity and Steatotic Liver Disease: Concurrent Effects on Metabolic Pathways and Cardiovascular Risks

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This integrative search aimed to provide a scoping overview of the relationships between the benefits and harms of alcohol drinking with cardiovascular events as associated to body fat mass and fatty liver diseases, as well as offering critical insights for precision nutrition research and personalized medicine implementation concerning cardiovascular risk management associated to ethanol consumption.

RECENT FINDINGS

Frequent alcohol intake could contribute to a sustained rise in adiposity over time. Body fat distribution patterns (abdominal/gluteus-femoral) and intrahepatic accumulation of lipids have been linked to adverse cardiovascular clinical outcomes depending on ethanol intake. Therefore, there is a need to understand the complex interplay between alcohol consumption, adipose store distribution, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), and cardiovascular events in adult individuals. The current narrative review deals with underconsidered and apparently conflicting benefits concerning the amount of alcohol intake, ranging from abstention to moderation, and highlights the requirements for additional robust methodological studies and trials to interpret undertrained and existing controversies. The conclusion of this review emphasizes the need of newer multifaceted clinical approaches for precision medicine implementation, considering epidemiological strategies and pathophysiological mechanistic. Newer investigations and trials should be derived and performed particularly focusing both on alcohol's objective consequences as putatively mediated by fat deposition, including associated roles in fatty liver disease as well as to differentiate the impact of different levels of alcohol consumption (absence or moderation) concerning cardiovascular risks and accompanying clinical manifestations. Indeed, the threshold for the safe consumption of alcoholic drinks remains to be fully elucidated.

Influence of epidemiological and clinical factors in the reactogenicity to Comirnaty® vaccine in health care workers of a Spanish university teaching hospital (COVIVAC study)

OBJECTIVE

Comirnaty® is an mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 which has been administered to millions of people since the end of 2020. Our aim was to study epidemiological and clinical factors influencing reactogenicity and functional limitation after the first two doses of the vaccine in health care workers (HCWs).

METHODS

Prospective post-authorization cohort study to monitor safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.

RESULTS

Local side effects were mild and presented both with first and second dose of Comirnaty. Systemic side effects were more frequent after 2nd dose. Nevertheless, previous SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with systemic effects after the first dose of the vaccine (OR ranging from 2 to 6). No severe adverse effects were reported. According to multivariate analysis, the degree of self-reported functional limitation after the first dose increased with age, female sex, previous COVID-19 contact, previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). After the second dose, the degree of functional limitation observed was lower in those with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, and it was positively associated to the degree of functional limitation after the first dose.

CONCLUSIONS

Systemic adverse effects were more frequent after the second dose of Comirnaty. Previous SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with systemic effects after the first dose. Age, female sex, previous COVID-19, previous isolation due to COVID-19 contact, and CCI showed to be independent predictors of the degree of functional limitation after the 1st dose of Comirnaty®. After the 2nd dose, the degree of functional limitation was lower in those who previously had SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Epidemiology of Herpes Zoster in the pre-vaccination era: establishing the baseline for vaccination programme's impact in Spain

BackgroundHerpes zoster (HZ) affects 1 in 3 persons in their lifetime, and the risk of HZ increases with increasing age and the presence of immunocompromising conditions. In Spain, vaccination guidelines were recently updated to include the recommendation of the new recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) for certain risk groups.AimTo describe the epidemiology of HZ-related hospitalisations in Spain in order to prioritise vaccination recommendations and define a baseline to monitor the effectiveness of vaccination policies.MethodsRetrospective study using the National Health System's Hospital Discharge Records Database, including all HZ-related hospitalisations from 1998 to 2018.ResultsThe 65,401 HZ-related hospitalisations, corresponded to an annual mean hospitalisation rate of 6.75 per 100,000 population. There was an increasing trend of HZ hospitalisations over the study period. This rate was higher in males and older age groups, particularly over 65 years. Comorbidities with higher risk of readmission were leukaemia/lymphoma (RR 2.4; 95% CI: 2.3-2.6) and solid malignant neoplasm (RR 2.2; 95% CI: 2.1-2.4). Comorbidities associated with higher risk of mortality were leukaemia/lymphoma (RR 2.9; 95% CI: 2.7-3.2), solid malignant neoplasm (RR 2.9; 95% CI: 2.7-3.1) and HIV infection (RR 2.2; 95% CI: 1.8-2.7).ConclusionOf all patients hospitalised with HZ, those with greater risk of mortality or readmission belonged to the groups prioritised by the current vaccination recommendations of the Spanish Ministry of Health. Our study provided relevant information on clinical aspects of HZ and established the base for future assessments of vaccination policies.

Randomized phase II clinical trial of ruxolitinib plus simvastatin in COVID19 clinical outcome and cytokine evolution

Background

Managing the inflammatory response to SARS-Cov-2 could prevent respiratory insufficiency. Cytokine profiles could identify cases at risk of severe disease.

Methods

We designed a randomized phase II clinical trial to determine whether the combination of ruxolitinib (5 mg twice a day for 7 days followed by 10 mg BID for 7 days) plus simvastatin (40 mg once a day for 14 days), could reduce the incidence of respiratory insufficiency in COVID-19. 48 cytokines were correlated with clinical outcome.

Participants

Patients admitted due to COVID-19 infection with mild disease.

Results

Up to 92 were included. Mean age was 64 ± 17, and 28 (30%) were female. 11 (22%) patients in the control arm and 6 (12%) in the experimental arm reached an OSCI grade of 5 or higher (p = 0.29). Unsupervised analysis of cytokines detected two clusters (CL-1 and CL-2). CL-1 presented a higher risk of clinical deterioration vs CL-2 (13 [33%] vs 2 [6%] cases, p = 0.009) and death (5 [11%] vs 0 cases, p = 0.059). Supervised Machine Learning (ML) analysis led to a model that predicted patient deterioration 48h before occurrence with a 85% accuracy.

Conclusions

Ruxolitinib plus simvastatin did not impact the outcome of COVID-19. Cytokine profiling identified patients at risk of severe COVID-19 and predicted clinical deterioration.

Trial registration

https://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier NCT04348695.

One-year longitudinal association between changes in dietary choline or betaine intake and cardiometabolic variables in the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea-Plus (PREDIMED-Plus) trial

BACKGROUND

Choline and betaine intakes have been related to cardiovascular health.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to explore the relation between 1-y changes in dietary intake of choline or betaine and 1-y changes in cardiometabolic and renal function traits within the frame of the PREDIMED (PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea)-Plus trial.

METHODS

We used baseline and 1-y follow-up data from 5613 participants (48.2% female and 51.8% male; mean ± SD age: 65.01 ± 4.91 y) to assess cardiometabolic traits, and 3367 participants to assess renal function, of the Spanish PREDIMED-Plus trial. Participants met ≥3 criteria of metabolic syndrome and had overweight or obesity [BMI (in kg/m2) ≥27 and ≤40]. These criteria were similar to those of the PREDIMED parent study. Dietary intakes of choline and betaine were estimated from the FFQ.

RESULTS

The greatest 1-y increase in dietary choline or betaine intake (quartile 4) was associated with improved serum glucose concentrations (-3.39 and -2.72 mg/dL for choline and betaine, respectively) and HbA1c levels (-0.10% for quartile 4 of either choline or betaine intake increase). Other significant changes associated with the greatest increase in choline or betaine intake were reduced body weight (-2.93 and -2.78 kg, respectively), BMI (-1.05 and -0.99, respectively), waist circumference (-3.37 and -3.26 cm, respectively), total cholesterol (-4.74 and -4.52 mg/dL, respectively), and LDL cholesterol (-4.30 and -4.16 mg/dL, respectively). Urine creatinine was reduced in quartile 4 of 1-y increase in choline or betaine intake (-5.42 and -5.74 mg/dL, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Increases in dietary choline or betaine intakes were longitudinally related to improvements in cardiometabolic parameters. Markers of renal function were also slightly improved, and they require further investigation.This trial was registered at https://www.isrctn.com/ as ISRCTN89898870.

Machine learning insights concerning inflammatory and liver-related risk comorbidities in non-communicable and viral diseases

The liver is a key organ involved in a wide range of functions, whose damage can lead to chronic liver disease (CLD). CLD accounts for more than two million deaths worldwide, becoming a social and economic burden for most countries. Among the different factors that can cause CLD, alcohol abuse, viruses, drug treatments, and unhealthy dietary patterns top the list. These conditions prompt and perpetuate an inflammatory environment and oxidative stress imbalance that favor the development of hepatic fibrogenesis. High stages of fibrosis can eventually lead to cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Despite the advances achieved in this field, new approaches are needed for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of CLD. In this context, the scientific com-munity is using machine learning (ML) algorithms to integrate and process vast amounts of data with unprecedented performance. ML techniques allow the integration of anthropometric, genetic, clinical, biochemical, dietary, lifestyle and omics data, giving new insights to tackle CLD and bringing personalized medicine a step closer. This review summarizes the investigations where ML techniques have been applied to study new approaches that could be used in inflammatory-related, hepatitis viruses-induced, and coronavirus disease 2019-induced liver damage and enlighten the factors involved in CLD development.

Diagnostic scores and scales for appraising Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and omics perspectives for precision medicine

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a rising epidemic burden affecting around 25% of the global population. Liver biopsy remains the reference for NAFLD. However, the application of several scales and clinical algorithms have been proposed to diagnose NAFLD using prediction questions and blood biomarkers. This review presents a summarized of the currently available and emerging diagnostic biomarkers and scores used to assess NAFLD.

RECENT FINDINGS

The limitations of liver biopsy have fostered the development of alternative noninvasive strategies, which have been an area of intensive investigation over the past years. Diagnostic scores for NAFLD have shown to be a good alternative for disease diagnosis and prognosis due to a suitable applicability, good inter-laboratory reproducibility and widespread potential availability with reasonable costs.

SUMMARY

The growing NAFLD pandemic urges clinicians to seek alternatives for screening, early diagnosis, and follow-up, especially for those with contraindications for liver biopsy. New promising noninvasive biomarkers and techniques have been developed, evaluated and assessed, including diagnostic biomarkers scores. Moreover, multiomics markers panels involving phenotype, genotype, microbiome and clinical characteristics from patients will facilitate the diagnosis, stratification and prognosis of NAFLD patients with precision medicine approaches.

Liver status and outcomes in patients without previous known liver disease receiving anticoagulant therapy for venous thromboembolism

The association between elevated liver enzymes or FIB-4 (fibrosis index 4) and outcome in patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) has not been evaluated. Data from patients in RIETE (Registro Informatizado Enfermedad TromboEmbólica) were used to assess the association between elevated liver enzymes or FIB-4 levels and the rates of major bleeding or death in apparent liver disease-free patients with acute VTE under anticoagulation therapy. A total of 6206 patients with acute VTE and without liver disease were included. Of them, 92 patients had major bleeding and 168 died under anticoagulation therapy. On multivariable analysis, patients with elevated liver enzymes were at increased mortality risk (HR: 1.58; 95% CI: 1.10-2.28), while those with FIB-4 levels > 2.67 points were at increased risk for major bleeding (HR: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.04-2.74). Evaluation of liver enzymes and FIB-4 index at baseline in liver disease-free patients with VTE may provide additional information on the risk for major bleeding or death during anticoagulation.

Role of NAFLD on the Health Related QoL Response to Lifestyle in Patients With Metabolic Syndrome: The PREDIMED Plus Cohort

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) status in the impact of lifestyle over Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS).

METHODS

Baseline and 1 year follow up data from the PREDIMED-plus cohort (men and women, 55-75 years old with overweight/obesity and MetS) were studied. Adherence to an energy-restricted Mediterranean Diet (er-MeDiet) and Physical Activity (PA) were assessed with a validated screeners. Hepatic steatosis index (HSI) was implemented to evaluate NAFLD while the SF-36 questionnaire provided HRQoL evaluation. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the influence of baseline NAFLD on HRQoL as affected by lifestyle during 1 year of follow up.

RESULTS

Data from 5205 patients with mean age of 65 years and a 48% of female participants. Adjusted linear multivariate mixed regression models showed that patients with lower probability of NAFLD (HSI < 36 points) were more responsive to er-MeDiet (β 0.64 vs β 0.05 per er-MeDiet adherence point, p< 0.01) and PA (β 0.05 vs β 0.01 per MET-h/week, p = 0.001) than those with high probability for NAFLD in terms Physical SF-36 summary in the 1 year follow up. 10 points of er-MeDiet adherence and 50 MET-h/week were thresholds for a beneficial effect of lifestyle on HRQoL physical domain in patients with lower probability of NAFLD.

CONCLUSION

The evaluation of NAFLD by the HSI index in patients with MetS might identify subjects with different prospective sensitivity to lifestyle changes in terms of physical HRQoL (http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN89898870).

Corrigendum: Role of NAFLD on the health related QoL response to lifestyle in patients with metabolic syndrome: The PREDIMED plus cohort

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.868795.].

Prevention and treatment of complications of selective internal radiation therapy: Expert guidance and systematic review

Selective internal radiation therapy (or radioembolization) by intra-arterial injection of radioactive yttrium-90-loaded microspheres is increasingly used for the treatment of patients with liver metastases or primary liver cancer. The high-dose beta-radiation penetrates an average of only 2.5 mm from the source, thus limiting its effects to the site of delivery. However, the off-target diversion of yttrium-90 microspheres to tissues other than the tumor may lead to complications. The most prominent of these complications include radiation gastritis and gastrointestinal ulcers, cholecystitis, radiation pneumonitis, and radioembolization-induced liver disease, which may occur despite careful pretreatment planning. Thus, selective internal radiation therapy demands an expert multidisciplinary team approach in order to provide comprehensive care for patients. This review provides recommendations to multidisciplinary teams on the optimal medical processes in order to ensure the safe delivery of selective internal radiation therapy. Based on the best available published evidence and expert opinion, we recommend the most appropriate strategies for the prevention, early diagnosis, and management of potential radiation injury to the liver and to other organs. (Hepatology 2017;66:969-982).

Real-World Multicenter Experience of Immunosuppression Minimization Among 661 Liver Transplant Recipients

BACKGROUND Long-term morbidity and mortality in liver transplant recipients is frequently secondary to immunosuppression toxicity. However, data are scarce regarding immunosuppression minimization in clinical practice. MATERIAL AND METHODS In this cross-sectional, multicenter study, we reviewed the indications of immunosuppression minimization (defined as tacrolimus levels below 5 ng/mL or cyclosporine levels below 50 ng/mL) among 661 liver transplant recipients, as well as associated factors and the effect on renal function. RESULTS Fifty-three percent of the patients received minimized immunosuppression. The median time from transplantation to minimization was 32 months. The most frequent indications were renal insufficiency (49%), cardiovascular risk (19%), de novo malignancy (8%), and cardiovascular disease (7%). The factors associated with minimization were older age at transplantation, longer post-transplant follow-up, pre-transplant diabetes mellitus and renal dysfunction, and the hospital where the patients were being followed. The patients who were minimized because of renal insufficiency had a significant improvement in renal function (decrease of the median serum creatinine level, from 1.50 to 1.34 mg/dL; P=0.004). Renal function significantly improved in patients minimized for other indications, too. In the long term, glomerular filtration rate significantly decreased in non-minimized patients and remained stable in minimized patients. CONCLUSIONS Immunosuppression minimization is frequently undertaken in long-term liver transplant recipients, mainly for renal insufficiency. Substantial variability exists regarding the use of IS minimization among centers.

Perioperative hemoglobin area under the curve is an independent predictor of renal failure after cardiac surgery. Results from a Spanish multicenter retrospective cohort study

Perioperative anemia is an important risk factor for cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI). Nonetheless, the severity of the anemia and the time in the perioperative period in which the hemoglobin level should be considered as a risk factor is conflicting. The present study introduces the concept of perioperative hemoglobin area under the curve (pHb-AUC) as a surrogate marker of the evolution of perioperative hemoglobin concentration. Through a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data, we assessed this new variable as a risk factor for the development of acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery in 966 adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, at twenty-three academic hospitals in Spain. Exclusion criteria were patients on renal replacement therapy, who needed a reoperation because of bleeding and/or with missing perioperative hemoglobin or creatinine values. Using a multivariate regression analysis, we found that a pHb-AUC <19 g/dL was an independent risk factor for CSA-AKI even after adjustment for intraoperative red blood cell transfusion (OR 1.41, p <0.05). It was also associated with mortality (OR 2.48, p <0.01) and prolonged hospital length of stay (4.67 ± 0.99 days, p <0.001)