1.Public health management strategies: A pathway to eliminating viral hepatitis threats
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(2):201-204
This article reviews the results of the 2020 national epidemiological survey of chronic viral hepatitis and its public health significance and discusses the differences in standard treatment and management rates and public health management mode between chronic viral hepatitis and AIDS/tuberculosis. Finally, it is proposed that a public health management model should be established to accelerate the elimination of the threats of viral hepatitis and related diseases.
2.Advances and challenges in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B in China
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(2):205-209
Since 1992, China has adopted a comprehensive strategy centered on universal infant hepatitis B vaccination. This approach has led to a significant reduction in the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen, particularly among younger age groups. Antiviral therapy not only improves the liver histology but also reduces the incidences of complications of cirrhosis and portal hypertension, as well as the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. Clinical guidelines for the prevention and treatment of chronic hepatitis B have been periodically updated, and the prices of antiviral drugs have been substantially lowered, enhancing treatment accessibility and affordability. However, the HBV-related disease burden remains high in China due to its large population, the considerable number of individuals already chronically infected with HBV, and the low rates of diagnosis and treatment. To meet the global goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, large-scale testing and treatment of those already infected with HBV are critical.
3.Strategies and advances in hepatitis B vaccination in China
Lin TANG ; Xia XU ; Zemei ZHOU ; Xiaoqi WANG ; Jizhen LI ; Zundong YIN ; Fuzhen WANG
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(2):210-215
Hepatitis B is a major global public health issue. Through the implementation of comprehensive prevention and control strategies centered on hepatitis B vaccination, China has achieved remarkable progress in hepatitis B prevention and control, while there are still many issues and challenges. This article reviews the development of hepatitis B vaccination strategies in China, analyzes the goal and advances in vaccination in different populations, and problems and challenges, in order to provide a reference for further optimizing vaccination strategies and improving the levels of prevention and control.
4.Advances, achievements, and challenges in action to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health threat in China
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(2):216-220
In 2016, the World Health Organization proposed the vision of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, and since then, China has actively promoted the elimination of hepatitis C as a public health threat and has made great achievements by formulating policies, clarifying main tasks, focusing on key issues, and implementing prevention and treatment measures. This article reviews the advances and achievements in China’s actions to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health threat since 2016, analyzes the existing problems and challenges, and puts forward recommendations for future prevention and control strategies, in order to provide a reference for achieving the goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030.
5.Research advances in the disease burden of viral hepatitis in China
Jian LI ; Fuzhen WANG ; Zhongdan CHEN ; Jinlei QI ; Ailing WANG ; Fanghui ZHAO ; Yuanyuan KONG ; Jing SUN ; Jiaqi KANG ; Zundong YIN ; Zhongfu LIU ; Jidong JIA ; Yu WANG
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(2):221-227
Over the past three decades, China has made significant progress in the prevention and control of viral hepatitis, and the incidence rates of new-onset pediatric hepatitis B virus infections and acute viral hepatitis in the population have reduced to a relatively low level; however, there is still a heavy disease burden of chronic viral hepatitis in China, which severely affects the health status of the population. This study systematically summarizes the achievements of viral hepatitis prevention and control in China, analyzes existing problems and challenges, and proposes comprehensive prevention and control strategies and measures to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat based on the national conditions of China, in order to provide a reference for related departments in China on how to achieve the action targets for eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030.
6.Working practices in eliminating the public health crisis caused by viral hepatitis in Hainan Province of China
Weihua LI ; Changfu XIONG ; Taifan CHEN ; Bin HE ; Dapeng YIN ; Xuexia ZENG ; Feng LIN ; Biyu CHEN ; Xiaomei ZENG ; Biao WU ; Juan JIANG ; Lu ZHONG ; Yuhui ZHANG
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(2):228-233
In 2022, Hainan provincial government launched the project for the prevention and control of viral hepatitis with the goals of a hepatitis B screening rate of 90%, a diagnostic rate of 90%, and a treatment rate of 80% among people aged 18 years and above by the year 2025, and the main intervention measures include population-based prevention, case screening, antiviral therapy, and health management. As of December 31, 2024, a total of 6.875 million individuals in the general population had been screened for hepatitis B, with a screening rate of 95.6%. A total of 184 710 individuals with positive HBsAg were identified, among whom 156 772 were diagnosed through serological reexamination, resulting in a diagnostic rate of 84.9%. A total of 50 742 patients with chronic hepatitis B were identified, among whom 42 921 had hepatitis B-specific health records established for health management, with a file establishment rate of 84.6%. A total of 31 553 individuals received antiviral therapy, with a treatment rate of 62.2%. A total of 2.503 million individuals at a high risk of hepatitis C were screened, among whom 4 870 tested positive for HCV antibody and 3 858 underwent HCV RNA testing, resulting in a diagnostic rate of 79.2%, and 1 824 individuals with positive HCV RNA were identified, among whom 1 194 received antiviral therapy, with a treatment rate of 65.5%. In addition, 159 301 individuals with negative HBsAg and anti-HBs and an age of 20 — 40 years were inoculated with hepatitis B vaccine free of charge. Through the implementation of the project for the prevention and control of viral hepatitis, a large number of hepatitis patients have been identified, treated, and managed in the province within a short period of time, which significantly accelerates the efforts to eliminate the crisis of viral hepatitis.
7.An excerpt of EASL clinical practice guidelines on the management of hepatocellular carcinoma(2024 edition)
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(2):234-239
Liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, among which hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for approximately 90% in primary liver cancer. The advances in diagnostic and treatment tools, along with a deeper understanding of their application, are transforming the treatment modality for patients. The application of these innovations in clinical practice faces challenges and requires guidance, and related clinical practice guidelines provide the latest recommendations for the management of HCC patients and conduct a comprehensive review of related data. In the 2024 EASL guidelines, a multidisciplinary team from multiple specialties conducts a multi-parameter assessment of individual risks and benefits from the perspective of patients.
8.An excerpt of EASL clinical practice guidelines on liver transplantation (2024 edition)
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(2):240-246
In July 2024, the European Association for the Study of the Liver released the latest edition of EASL Clinical Practice Guidelines on liver transplantation. The purpose of the EASL guidelines presented here is not to cover all aspects of liver transplantation, but to focus on important advances since the release of the 2016 edition of EASL guidelines. This article gives an excerpt of the recommendations in the guidelines.
9.Association of menopausal time and menopausal age with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: An analysis based on a restricted cubic spline model
Chenlu ZHAO ; Suping MA ; Dongfang SHANG ; Sutong LIU ; Xiaoyan LIU ; Yuanyuan ZHENG ; Wenxia ZHAO
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(2):247-253
ObjectiveTo investigate the association of menopausal time and menopausal age with the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and to provide a basis for the early prevention and treatment of NAFLD in clinical practice. MethodsRelated data were collected from 373 postmenopausal women who attended the outpatient service of Department of Spleen, Stomach, Liver and Gallbladder Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, from January 2017 to December 2021, including general information, menopausal age, menopausal time, and presence or absence of NAFLD. The chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data; the independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups, and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups. A Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the association intensity and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) of menopausal time and menopausal age for the risk of NAFLD, and the restricted cubic spline (RCS) method was used to investigate the dose-response relationship between menopausal time/age and the risk of NAFLD. ResultsCompared with the women with normal menopause or late menopause, the women with early menopause had a higher prevalence rate of NAFLD and a higher degree of steatosis and fibrosis (all P<0.05). After adjustment for the confounding factors such as age and age of menarche, the risk of NAFLD in women with a menopausal time of >3 years was 4.80 (95%CI: 1.93 — 11.95, P=0.001) times that in women with a menopausal time of ≤3 years, and the risk of NAFLD in women with early or late menopause was 8.14 times (95%CI: 1.77 — 37.58, P=0.007) and 0.09 times (95%CI: 0.03 — 0.32, P<0.001), respectively, that in those with a normal menopausal age. There is a dose-response relationship between menopausal time/age and the risk of NAFLD. Menopausal time is positively correlated with the association intensity of NAFLD, while menopausal age is negatively correlated with the association intensity of NAFLD. ConclusionThe longer the menopause time and the earlier the menopause age, the ligher the risk of NAFLD.
10.Mechanism of 1,25(OH)2D3 improving liver inflammation in a rat model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis induced by choline-deficient L-amino acid-defined diet
Haiyang ZHU ; Jingshu CUI ; Liu YANG ; Mengting ZHOU ; Jian TONG ; Hongmei HAN
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(2):254-262
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of 1,25(OH)2D3 on the level of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) in the liver, the phenotype of hepatic macrophages, and liver inflammation in a rat model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), as well as the mechanism of 1,25(OH)2D3 improving liver inflammation. MethodsAfter 1 week of adaptive feeding, 24 specific pathogen-free Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal group [choline-supplemented L-amino acid-defined (CSAA) diet], normal+1,25(OH)2D3 group [CSAA diet+1,25(OH)2D3], model group [choline-deficient L-amino acid-defined diet (CDAA) diet], and model+1,25(OH)2D3 group [CDAA diet+1,25(OH)2D3], with 6 rats in each group. The dose of 1,25(OH)2D3 was 5 μg/kg for intraperitoneal injection twice a week for 12 weeks. The serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were measured, liver histopathology was observed, and SAF score was assessed. M1 hepatic macrophages and M2 hepatic macrophages were measured to analyze in the change in the phenotype of hepatic macrophages, and ELISA was used to measure the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-4 (IL-4), and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in liver tissue, and qPCR was used to measure the mRNA level of PPAR-γ. The two-factor analysis of variance was use for comparison between groups, and the least significant difference t-test was used for further comparison; the Pearson method was used for correlation analysis. ResultsCompared with the normal group, the model rats with CDAA diet-induced NASH had significant increases in the serum levels of AST and ALT (P=0.019 and P<0.001), the SAF score of liver histopathology (P<0.001), the level of M1 hepatic macrophages (P<0.001), and the ratio of M1 and M2 hepatic macrophages (P<0.001), as well as a significant increase in the level of TNF-α (P<0.001) and a significant reduction in the level of IL-4 in liver tissue (P=0.025). The 1,25(OH)2D3 group had significant reductions in the serum levels of ALT (P<0.001), the SAF score of liver histopathology (P<0.001), the level of M1 hepatic macrophages (P<0.001), and the ratio of M1 and M2 hepatic macrophages (P=0.001), the level of IL-1β (P<0.001) and a significant increase in the level of M2 hepatic macrophages (P=0.017), the level of IL-10 (P=0.039), the level of IL-4 (P<0.001), the level of PPAR-γ (P=0.016). There were significant interactions between CDAA diet-induced NASH model and 1,25(OH)2D3 in serum the levels of AST and ALT (P=0.007 and P=0.008), the SAF scores of liver histopathology (P<0.001), the level of M1 hepatic macrophages (P<0.001), the level of M2 hepatic macrophages (P=0.008), the ratio of M1 and M2 of hepatic macrophages (P=0.005), the level of TNF-α (P<0.001), the level of IL-10 (P=0.038), the level of IL-4 (P<0.001) and the level of PPAR-γ (P=0.009). The correlation analysis showed that PPAR-γ was negatively correlated with the ratio of M1 and M2 hepatic macrophages (r=-0.415, P=0.044) and was positively correlated with M2 hepatic macrophages (r=0.435, P=0.033), IL-10 (r=0.433, P=0.035), and IL-4 (r=0.532, P=0.007). ConclusionThis study shows that 1,25(OH)2D3 improves liver inflammation in NASH by activating PPAR-γ to regulate the phenotypic transformation of hepatic macrophages.

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