“Starry liver”-Von Meyenburg complex clinical case presentation and differential diagnosis discussion:A case report

BACKGROUND Von Meyenburg complex(VMC)(i.e.,biliary hamartoma)is a rare congenital disorder characterized by multiple dilated cystic bile ducts,without clear trends in sex or age predominance.Due to the low number of published cases and the lack of recognized guidelines,the management of such patients remains a clinical challenge.CASE SUMMARY We present a case of symptomatic VMC that was diagnosed after imaging and histopathological examinations.Considering the patient’s condition,a conservative treatment strategy was chosen.Instrumental,laboratory,and clinical follow-up demonstrated the stable condition of the patient receiving conservative treatment.CONCLUSION VMC is a potentially non-life threatening condition,but its recognition is crucial for the management of patients.

Focus on emerging drugs for the treatment of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)has become the most common liver disorder in Western countries and is increasingly being recognized in developing nations.Fatty liver disease encompasses a spectrum of hepatic pathology,ranging from simple steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis,cirrhosis,hepatocellular carcinoma and end-stage liver disease.Moreover,NAFLD is often associated with other metabolic conditions,such as diabetes mellitus type 2,dyslipidemia and visceral obesity.The most recent guidelines suggest the management and treatment of patients with NAFLD considering both the liver disease and the associated metabolic co-morbidities.Diet and physical exercise are considered the first line of treatment for patients with NAFLD,but their results on therapeutic efficacy are often contrasting.Behavior therapy is necessary most of the time to achieve a sufficient result.Pharmacological therapy includes a wide variety of classes of molecules with different therapeutic targets and,often,little evidence supporting the real efficacy.Despite the abundance of clinical trials,NAFLD therapy remains a challenge for the scientific community,and there are no licensed therapies for NAFLD.Urgently,new pharmacological approaches are needed.Here,we will focus on the challenges facing actual therapeutic strategies and the most recent investigated molecules.

Liver failure in an obese middle-aged woman after biliointestinal bypass

Obesity is considered an emerging epidemic that is often associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Among the therapeutic options for morbid obesity, bariatric surgery plays an important role when conventional therapies fail. The effects of bariatric surgery on liver function and morphology are controversial in the literature. Liver failure has been reported after jejunoileal bypass(JIB), biliopancreatic diversion and gastric bypass. Biliointestinal bypass(BIB) is considered an effective procedure among recently introduced bariatric surgery techniques. It is a clinically safe, purely malabsorptive operation in which the blind intestinal loop of the JIB is anastomosed to the gallbladder, allowing a portion of bile to transit into excluded intestinal tract. BIB is the only procedure, to our knowledge, to have no liver side effects reported in the literature. We report the case of a young obese woman who developed liver failure 8 mo after BIB. She had a rapid weight loss(70 kg) with a reduction in body mass index of 41% from January to September 2012. Because of a severe hepatic decompensation, she was referred to a transplantation centre. We strongly believe that the most important pathogenetic mechanism involved in the development of liver injury is the rapid weight loss that produced a signif icant fatty liver inf iltration.

Asymptomatic portal vein aneurysm:Three case reports

BACKGROUND Portal vein aneurysm(PVA)is an uncommon vascular dilatation,showing no clear trend in sex or age predominance.Due to the low number of published cases and the lack of management guidelines,treatment of this condition remains a clinical challenge.CASE SUMMARY We present three cases of asymptomatic PVA;the first and second involve an extrahepatic manifestation,of 48 mm and 42.3 mm diameter respectively,and the third involves an intrahepatic PVA of 27 mm.All were diagnosed incidentally during routine check-up,upon ultrasonography scan.Since all patients were asymptomatic,a conservative treatment strategy was chosen.Follow-up imaging demonstrated no progression in the aneurysm dimension for any case.CONCLUSION As PVA remains asymptomatic in many cases,recognition of its imaging features is key to favourable outcomes.