Ki Sup Chung

Hepatic Fibrosis Scan for Liver Stiffness Score Measurement: A Useful Preendoscopic Screening Test for the Detection of Varices in Postoperative Patients With Biliary Atresia

Objective:Even after successful Kasai portoenterostomy, progressive hepatic fibrosis in postoperative patients with biliary atresia (BA) can be associated with portal hypertension and esophageal or gastric varices. Therefore, early diagnosis and close follow-up of varices are important. We investigated the correlation between the liver stiffness scores measured by FibroScan and the presence of esophageal or gastric varices to examine the usefulness of FibroScan as a preendoscopic screening test for varices. Patients and Methods:A total of 49 of 81 children with BA following successful Kasai operations were enrolled in this study. FibroScan and endoscopic examination were performed prospectively. Results:There were 22 males (44.9%) and the mean age of the patients was 3.8 ± 2.7 years. Esophageal or gastric varices were present in 30 patients (Vx group) and absent in 19 (nVx group). The mean liver stiffness score was significantly higher in the Vx group (21.35 ± 10.31 kPa in the Vx group versus 9.75 ± 8.61 kPa in the nVx group, P < 0.001). The optimal cutoff value of the liver stiffness score for the prediction of a varix was 9.7 kPa with a sensitivity of 0.97 and a specificity of 0.80. Conclusions:Liver stiffness scores measured by FibroScan correlate well with the presence of esophageal or gastric varices. FibroScan is a novel, noninvasive, and useful screening method for the preendoscopic detection of varices in postoperative patients with BA.

Photoelectrochemical effects of BaTiO3 thin film electrodes prepared by the sol‐gel method

The photoelectrochemical properties of La3+‐doped BaTiO3 thin film electrodes prepared by the sol‐gel method have been investigated as a function of the amount of La3+ content, film thickness, heating atmosphere (air/H2), and optical absorption. In the air‐heated electrodes doped with 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 mol % La3+, the maximum quantum efficiencies have been obtained when the film thicknesses were 10 000, 8000, and 3000 A, respectively. When the film thicknesses are over certain absorption depths, whose calculated values are over 10 000, 8000, and 6500 A, respectively, their quantum efficiencies decrease. In the hydrogen‐heated electrodes, the depletion layer decreases as the donor concentration increases, and the optical absorption edge moves to longer wavelength by 0.07 eV. Also, the quantum efficiency decreases as the film thickness increases due to the bulk recombination.

Living Donor Liver Transplantation in a Korean Child with Glycogen Storage Disease Type IV and a GBE1 Mutation

Glycogen storage disease type IV (GSD-IV) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by a deficient glycogen branching enzyme (GBE), encoded by the GBE1 gene, resulting in the accumulation of abnormal glycogen deposits in the liver and other tissues. We treated a 20-month-old girl who presented with progressive liver cirrhosis and was diagnosed with GSD-IV, as confirmed by GBE1 gene mutation analysis, and underwent living related heterozygous donor liver transplantation. Direct sequencing of the GBE1 gene revealed that the patient was compound heterozygous for a known c.1571G>A (p.Gly264Glu) mutation a novel c.791G>A (Arg524Gln) mutation. This is the first report of a Korean patient with GSD-IV confirmed by mutation analysis, who was treated successfully by liver transplantation.

Concurrent reactivation of latent EBV with hepatitis A can affect clinical feature of childhood hepatitis

Aims:  Some children with acute hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection have concurrent Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) reactivation serologically. We studied the frequency of EBV reactivation during HAV infection and determined whether simultaneous occurrence of EBV reactivation and HAV infection affected the clinical features of HAV infection.