Infection is a common cause of death in patients with cirrhosis. We investigated the association between the innate immune response and death within 3 months of hospitalization. Plasma samples were collected on days 1, 5, 10, and 15 from participants recruited into the albumin to prevent infection in chronic liver failure feasibility study. Patient...
We aimed to identify biomarkers that might be used to predict responses of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) to vedolizumab therapy. We obtained biopsies from inflamed colon of patients with IBD who began treatment with vedolizumab (n = 31) or tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists (n = 20) and performed RNA-sequencing analyses. We c...
Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are the major causes for nonviral liver cirrhosis in the population. Whereas the typical NAFLD patient is one with abdominal obesity, metabolic syndrome (MetS), and no or minimal alcohol use, the patient with pure alcoholic liver cirrhosis has, according to cohort studies, t...
The ability of a colonoscopist to detect colon polyps is commonly measured by the adenoma detection rate (ADR). The outcome of colonoscopy varies based on ADR, and the relationship between decreasing provider ADR and the increased risk of subsequent fatal colorectal cancer has been clearly established.1 Despite the importance of provider ADR, it is...
We performed a randomized trial to determine whether albumin should be administered to patients with infections unrelated to spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). We performed a multicenter, open-label trial in which 118 patients with cirrhosis, non-SBP infections, and additional risk factors for poor outcome were randomly assigned to receive an...
Military veterans have been reported to have higher odds of hepatitis B virus (HBV) exposure after adjustment for demographic factors, family income, and birthplace. It is not clear whether military-related exposures are associated with risk of HBV exposure in veterans. A random sample of veterans receiving care from 1998 through 2000 in the nation...
Studies in mice have shown that the intestinal microbiota can contribute to obesity via the anorexigenic gut hormone glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1) and bile acids, which affect lipid metabolism. We performed a randomized, placebo-controlled, pilot study of the effects of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in obese, metabolically uncompromised p...
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is now one of the most common diagnoses made in a gastroenterology practice. From a conventional pathophysiological perspective, GERD is conceptualized as incompetence of the antireflux barrier at the esophagogastric junction; the more severe that incompetence, the worse the disease. However, it is increasingl...
