Objective:To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of serological indicators and evaluate the diagnostic value of a new established combined serological model on identifying the minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in patients with compensated cirrhosis.Methods:This prospective multicenter study enrolled 263 compensated cirrhotic patients from 23 hospitals in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China between October 2021 and August 2022. Clinical data and laboratory test results were collected, and the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score was calculated. Ammonia level was corrected to the upper limit of normal (AMM-ULN) by the baseline blood ammonia measurements/upper limit of the normal reference value. MHE was diagnosed by combined abnormal number connection test-A and abnormal digit symbol test as suggested by Guidelines on the management of hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis. The patients were randomly divided (7∶3) into training set ( n=185) and validation set ( n=78) based on caret package of R language. Logistic regression was used to establish a combined model of MHE diagnosis. The diagnostic performance was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic curve, Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve. The internal verification was carried out by the Bootstrap method ( n=200). AUC comparisons were achieved using the Delong test. Results:In the training set, prevalence of MHE was 37.8% (70/185). There were statistically significant differences in AMM-ULN, albumin, platelet, alkaline phosphatase, international normalized ratio, MELD score and education between non-MHE group and MHE group (all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that AMM-ULN [odds ratio ( OR)=1.78, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 1.05-3.14, P=0.038] and MELD score ( OR=1.11, 95% CI 1.04-1.20, P=0.002) were independent risk factors for MHE, and the AUC for predicting MHE were 0.663, 0.625, respectively. Compared with the use of blood AMM-ULN and MELD score alone, the AUC of the combined model of AMM-ULN, MELD score and education exhibited better predictive performance in determining the presence of MHE was 0.755, the specificity and sensitivity was 85.2% and 55.7%, respectively. Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve showed that the model had good calibration ( P=0.733). The AUC for internal validation of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.752. In the validation set, the AUC of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.794, and Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed good calibration ( P=0.841). Conclusion:Use of the combined model including AMM-ULN, MELD score and education could improve the predictive efficiency of MHE among patients with compensated cirrhosis.

Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) is the "gold standard" for the diagnosis of portal hypertension, which could be applied in the evaluation of liver cirrhosis. Combined use of HVPG with model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scoring system may more accurately match the donors and recipients undergoing liver transplantation for liver cirrhosis, select the appropriate timing of surgery, and provide guidance for bridging treatment for patients on the waiting list for liver transplantation. Besides, HVPG may also predict clinical prognosis of liver transplant recipients, and provide evidence for early detection and intervention of potential complications. Therefore, the value of HVPG in preoperative evaluation and prognosis prediction of liver transplant recipients was reviewed, aiming to provide guidance for clinical diagnosis and treatment of liver transplant recipients before and after surgery.

Surgery is an accepted standard in the treatment of adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction (AEG), but the efficacy of surgery alone for locally advanced AEG is limited. In-depth studies concerning combined therapy for AEG have been carried out worldwide, including neoadjuvant chemotherapy (nCT), neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT), perioperative chemotherapy (pCT), postoperative chemoradiotherapy, etc. Significantly, the contribution of nCRT and pCT to improving the prognosis of locally advanced AEG patients has been shed light on. Compared with that, multimodality treatment for AEG patients is not well established in China. An attempt was thus made to take an overview of the evidence-based research advance regarding integrated therapy of AEG.

Objective:To summarize the clinical manifestation and imaging of superficial siderosis of the central nervous system and explore the potential etiology.Methods:The clinical and imaging data of 7 patients diagnosed as superficial siderosis of the central nervous system in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from May 2013 to November 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. The etiology and follow-up prognosis through phone call were analyzed.Results:There were 7 patients included (3 male and 4 female) with an average age of 53 years (41-58 years). The cardinal manifestations were sensorineural deafness (all 7 cases), cerebellar ataxia (all 7 cases) and pyramidal signs (all 7 cases). Dizziness (6 cases), bladder disturbance (5 cases), headache (3 cases), double vision (2 cases) and congnitive impairment (1 case) could also happen. Magnetic resonance imaging showed symmetrical well-defined curvilinear homogeneous low signal on T 2 or blood-sensitive sequences (T 2* gradient echo or susceptibility-weighted imaging) over the superficial surface of cerebellar, brain stem, and spinal cord or cranio-cervical junction. All the 7 patients showed cerebellar atrophy especially the upper vermis. The potential causes included trauma history in 3 cases, intraspinal fluid-filled collection which indicated dural defect or duropathologies in 3 cases, intraspinal mass in 1 case and vertebral and disc degeneration in all 7 patients. The 5 patients who successsfully got follow-up showed exacerbation of variable degree. Conclusions:Classical superficial siderosis of the central nervous system is a rare disease with cardinal manifestation of progressive ataxia, sensorineural deafness and pyramidal signs. T 2WI of magnetic resonance imaging showing low signal over the superficial surface of cerebellar, brain stem, and spinal cord could indicate the diagnosis, and blood-sensitive sequences such as T 2* gradient echo or susceptibility-weighted imaging were more sensitive. Duropathologies or dural defect may be the most probable causes of the disease and should be examined and treated carefully.

Most hepatocellular carcinoma are diagnosed at an advanced stage and thereby have a high mortality rate. Thus, the key to improving patient prognosis is early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. In recent years, Asian scholars have summarized a series of hepatocellular carcinoma risk score model for population with chronic hepatitis B, which can help to identify high-risk groups early and improve the early diagnosis rate. This paper briefly analyzes the risk factors and validated risk model for early prediction of hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma, and further reviews the effect of antiviral therapy on the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of independent and combined subtests of the psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES) in mild hepatic encephalopathy(MHE) of patients with liver cirrhosis, so as to optimize the PHES.Methods:This was a prospective, multicenter and real-world study which was sponsored by the National Clinical Research Center of Infectious Diseases and the Portal Hypertension Consortium. Twenty-six hospitals from 13 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities countrywide participated in this study, induding Tianjin Third Central Hospital, the Fourth People′s Hospital of Qinghai Province, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Baotou Medical College, the Third People′s Hospital of Taiyuan, the Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital and so on. From October 2021 to February 2022, outpatients and hospitalized patients with liver cirrhosis and no obvious hepatic encephalopathy were consecutively enrolled. All patients received 5 PHES subjects in the same order: number connection test(NCT)-A, NCT-B, digit symbol test(DST), line tracing test(LTT) and serial dotting test(SDT), and the scores were calculated. The total score of PHES <-4 was taken as the cut-off value for diagnosing MHE. Compare the differences in each subtest between MHE group and non-MHE group. Receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC) and area under the curve(AUC) was performed to assess the diagnostic value of independent and combined subtests in MHE. Mann-Whitney U test and DeLong test were used for statistical analysis. Results:A total of 581 patients with liver cirrhosis were enrolled, 457 were diagnosed as MHE, and the incidence of MHE was 78.7%. The results of NCT-A, NCT-B, SDT, LTT, DST of MHE group were 60.00 s(47.01 s, 88.00 s), 90.45 s(69.32 s, 125.35 s), 74.00 s(57.65 s, 96.60 s), 74.72(60.00, 98.61) and 27.00(20.00, 36.00), respectively. Compared those of non-MHE group(34.00 s(29.15 s, 44.48 s), 50.00 s(40.98 s, 60.77 s), 50.00 s(41.07 s, 63.03 s), 46.23(38.55, 59.42) and 42.00(34.00, 50.75)), the differences were statistically significant( Z=12.37, 12.98, 9.83, 11.56, 10.66; all P<0.001). The AUC(95% confidence interval(95% CI)) of subtests of PHES NCT-B, NCT-A, LTT, DST and SDT alone in MHE diagnosis were 0.880(0.849 to 0.910), 0.862(0.828 to 0.896), 0.838(0.799 to 0.877), 0.812(0.772 to 0.851) and 0.788(0.743 to 0.832), respectively. The combination of 2 PHES subtests significantly increased the diagnostic efficacy. Among them the diagnostic efficacy of the combination of NCT-B and LTT was the best, the AUC(95% CI) was 0.924(0.902 to 0.947), the specificity was 91.9% and the sensitivity was 79.2%, which was better than a single PHES subtest (NCT-A, NCT-B, SDT, LTT and DST) and the combination of NCT-A and DST(AUC was 0.879, 95% CI0.847 to 0.910) which was recommended by guidelines on the management of hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis, the differences were statistically significant ( Z=3.78, 3.83, 5.57, 5.51, 5.38, 2.93; all P<0.01). Furthermore, compared between the combination of NCT-B and LTT and the combination of 3 subests of PHES, only the diagnostic efficacy of combination of NCT-B, LTT and SDT (AUC was 0.936, 95% CI 0.916 to 0.956) was better than that of the combination of NCT-B and LTT, the difference was statistically significant( Z=2.32, P=0.020). Conclusion:Based on the diagnostic efficacy and clinical feasibility of PHES subtests and their combinations, the combination of NCT-B and LTT is recommended for the diagnosis of MHE.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a clinicopathological syndrome with similar hepatic histological changes to alcoholic liver disease, but without a history of excessive alcohol intake. Obesity, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, hypertension and other metabolic disorders are closely related to its occurrence and development, and its core mechanism is insulin resistance. In addition, there are also non-metabolic-related factors for the occurrence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, such as pancreatoduodenectomy. Pancreatoduodenectomy is the standard procedure for the treatment of tumor around the head of pancreas and ampulla. Postoperative pancreatic malfunction induced by pancreatic exocrine function after pancreatoduodenectomy is associated with the occurrence and development of secondary non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Objective: To explore the relationship among self-regulatory focus and depression, anxiety symptoms and suicidal risks of medical college students. Methods: A total of 2 251 freshmen were recruited from a medical university by convenienee sampling methood. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey using Regulatory Focus Questionnaire (RFQ), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Psychache Scale (PAS), and Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R) was conducted. Results: The prevalence rate of freshmen’s depression symptoms was as high as 20.4%, the prevalence rate of anxiety symptoms was 11.2%, and the risk of suicide increased by 5.85 times among students with depression-anxiety comorbid symptoms. Girls reported higher prevention focused scores than boys, as well as higher anxiety symptoms and suicidal risks(t=4.84,2.18,5.57,P<0.05). College students with a prevention focused self-regulation style had significantly higher scores on depression, anxiety symptoms and suicidal risks than those with a promotion focused regulatory style, the effect sizes of the differences were moderate or large (Cohen’s d>0.50). Conclusion Self-regulatory focus plays an important role in emotional health. The pursuit of promotion goals is beneficial to mental health, while the pursuit of prevention goals is more likely to be associated with depression, anxiety symptoms and a higher risk of suicide.

Hepatitis B virus (-HBV) infection is the most common cause ofhepatocellular carcinoma in China.Epidemiological surveys show that male have a much higher incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma than female.Studies have shown that estrogen and its receptors are associated to gender disparity in hepatocellular carcinoma,but the underlying molecular mechanisms has not yet been fully elucidated.This article reviews the possible mechanisms of estrogen and its receptors in the occurrence and progression of hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: To explore the risk factors for prognosis in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), and to establish a prognostic model. Methods: A total of 193 patients diagnosed with HBV-ACLF who were admitted to the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University were collected from 1st January 2013 to 1st November 2018 as a derivation cohort. Thirty-five patients diagnosed with HBV-ACLF who were admitted to the Fifth Hospital of Shijiazhuang during the period from 1st July 2017 to 1st November 2018 were collected as a validation cohort. The survival condition of all patients at week 12 of admission was observed. The risk factors associated with short-term prognosis were analyzed by using multivariate logistic regression analysis, and a logistic regression equation prediction model was established and verified. The diagnostic performance of the prognostic model was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and was compared with model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scoring system, Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) scoring system, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scoring system and chronic liver failure (CLIF)-SOFA scoring system. Results: Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age (odds ratio(OR)=2.133, 95% confidence interval(CI)1.033-4.405), total bilirubin (OR=3.371, 95%CI 1.610-7.060), serum creatinine (OR=4.448, 95%CI 1.697-11.661), hepatic encephalopathy (OR=5.313, 95%CI 2.463-11.461), and ascites (OR=2.959, 95%CI 1.410-6.210) were independent risk factors for predicting the short-term prognosis of patients with HBV-ACLF. The newly established logistic regression model (LRM)=-1.726+ 0.757×age+ 1.215×total bilirubin+ 1.049 2×serum creatinine+ 1.670×hepatic encephalopathy (with=1, without=0) + 1.085×ascites (with=1, without=0). The area under the ROC curve of the LRM for predicting the short-term prognosis of patients with HBV-ACLF was 0.82 (95%CI 0.76-0.88). Furthermore, the areas under the ROC curve of the models of MELD, CTP, SOFA, CLIF-SOFA were 0.67 (95%CI 0.60-0.75), 0.73 (95%CI 0.66-0.80), 0.77 (95%CI 0.70-0.83) and 0.72 (95%CI 0.65-0.80), respectively. The ROC-area under curve of the validation cohort was 0.81 (95%CI 0.65-0.97). Conclusions Age, total bilirubin, serum creatinine, hepatic encephalopathy, and ascites are independent risk factors for the prognosis of HBV-ACLF. The prognostic model established based on these factors can accurately predict the patients′ short-term prognosis, which is superior to MELD, CTP, SOFA and CLIF-SOFA.