Published in Journal of Gastroenterology
Nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) are the main drug category used in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) treatment. Despite the fact that NAs have a favourable safety profile, undesired adverse events (AEs) may occur during the treatment of CHB. Given the eminent number of patients currently receiving NAs, even a small risk of any of these toxicities can represe...
Published in Journal of Gastroenterology
During the natural course of chronic hepatitis B virus infection, immune-tolerant phase is characterized by high viral replication, the presence of HBV e antigen (HBeAg), and normal or minimally elevated serum alanine aminotransferase. Immune-tolerant phase is usually regarded as a benign course of the disease. International guidelines recommend ob...
Published in Journal of Gastroenterology
The prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer continues to remain dismal, even though numerous trials have been conducted to establish more effective therapies in Japan and throughout the world. Recent advances in treatment have been characterized by the use of novel combinations of conventional cytotoxic chemotherapies. Especially in Japan, S-1...
Published in Journal of Gastroenterology
Primary biliary cholangitis is an uncommon cholestatic liver disease predominantly affecting middle-aged women. Left untreated, there is a high risk of progression to end-stage liver disease. Few treatment options exist. To date, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and obeticholic acid (OCA) are the only medical therapies approved for use, other than sympt...
Published in Journal of Gastroenterology
Recent advances in small-bowel endoscopy such as capsule endoscopy have shown that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) frequently damage the small intestine, with the prevalence rate of mucosal breaks of around 50% in chronic users. A significant proportion of patients with NSAIDs-induced enteropathy are asymptomatic, but some patients d...
Published in Journal of Gastroenterology
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the hepatic manifestation of dysregulated lipid and glucose metabolism, which is often associated with obesity, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance. In view of the high morbidity and health risks of NAFLD, the lack of effective cure has drawn great attention. In recent years, a line of evidence has sugge...
Published in Journal of Gastroenterology
Background Vedolizumab is a gut-selective humanized antibody that binds the α4β7 integrin. We evaluated efficacy and safety of vedolizumab in Japanese patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease (CD). Methods In this Phase 3, double-blind study (NCT02038920), 157 patients were randomized to receive intravenous vedolizumab 300 mg ( n = 79) or p...
Published in Journal of gastroenterology
The long-term safety of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) is increasingly questioned. The aim of our study was to assess the risk of pancreatic cancer among long-term PPI users in Sweden. This population-based nationwide Swedish cohort study including 796,492 adult long-term PPI users has been used to calculate the standardized incidence rate ratios (S...
Published in Journal of Gastroenterology
Background To assess the recent real-world changes in the etiologies of liver cirrhosis (LC) in Japan, we conducted a nationwide survey in the annual meeting of the Japan Society of Hepatology (JSH). Methods We investigated the etiologies of LC patients accumulated from 68 participants in 79 institutions ( N = 48,621). We next assessed changing tre...
Published in Journal of Gastroenterology
Background Continuous regional arterial infusion (CRAI) of protease inhibitor nafamostat mesilate (NM) is used in the context of predicted severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) to prevent the development of pancreatic necrosis. Although this therapy is well known in Japan, its efficacy and safety remain unclear. Methods This investigator-initiated and -d...
