Evaluation of portal pressure by doppler ultrasound in patients with cirrhosis before and after simvastatin administration - a randomized controlled trial

Management of the liver transplant candidate with high cardiac risk: Multidisciplinary best practices and recommendations

In a setting characterized by a growing prevalence of patients with alcohol-associated and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver diseases, coupled with an aging patient demographic, the incidence of cardiac comorbidities in liver transplant candidates is on the rise. These comorbidities not only pose barriers to transplant eligibility but also impact the intraoperative course and affect posttransplant outcomes. As such, there is a significant need to optimize the clinical management of these cardiac comorbidities. However, there is a scarcity of evidence regarding the best practices for managing cardiac comorbidities such as coronary and valvular heart diseases, arrhythmia, and cardiomyopathy in this population, both before and during transplant surgery. These conditions necessitate a coordinated and multidisciplinary approach to care. In this manuscript, we conduct a comprehensive review of the most recent evidence pertaining to the preoperative and intraoperative management of these cardiac comorbidities in liver transplant candidates. Our aim is to provide recommendations that improve and standardize their clinical care.

Statins in Cirrhosis: Hope or Hype?

In recent years, studies have demonstrated the benefits of statins in a range of chronic diseases separate from cardiovascular outcomes. Early studies in the context of chronic liver disease have suggested favorable effects of statins leading to slowed fibrosis progression, reduced portal pressures, decreased rates of hepatic decompensation, and improved survival. This has increased interest in the potential role that statins may have in the management of chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, though many questions remain unanswered, including concerns regarding the safety of higher dose statins in patients with advanced decompensated cirrhosis. In this review, we provide an update on the current literature addressing the use of statins in patients with cirrhosis and highlight areas in which additional studies are needed.

Simvastatin is Efficacious in Treating Cirrhosis: A Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Statins can improve prognosis of patients with liver cirrhosis by suppressing inflammation and lowering portal pressure. Here, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the clinical efficacy of simvastatin in liver cirrhosis patients.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane library databases for randomized controlled trials targeting simvastatin in patients with liver cirrhosis. The primary and secondary outcomes were the efficacy of simvastatin on clinical outcomes and its safety, respectively.

RESULTS

A total of 554 relevant articles were downloaded, of which 9 (comprising 648 participants) were eligible and were finally included in the analysis. Four studies revealed the impact of simvastatin on patient mortality, with the overall death rate found to be significantly lower in the simvastatin relative to the control group [risk ratio (RR): 0.46; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.29 to 0.73; P <0.01]. Further analysis of the cause of death showed that simvastatin significantly reduces incidence of fatal bleeding (RR: 0.35; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.95; P =0.04), as well as cholesterol [mean difference (MD): -31.48; 95% CI, -52.80 to -10.15; P <0.01] and triglyceride (MD: -25.88; 95% CI, -49.90 to -1.86; P =0.03) levels. At the same time, simvastatin did not significantly elevate levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (MD: 2.34; 95% CI, -31.00 to 35.69; P =0.89) and was not associated with incidence of other side effects.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of simvastatin in cirrhotic patients lowers mortality rates by suppressing incidences of fatal bleeding.

Multiscale biomechanics and mechanotransduction from liver fibrosis to cancer

A growing body of multiscale biomechanical studies has been proposed to highlight the mechanical cues in the development of hepatic fibrosis and cancer. At the cellular level, changes in mechanical microenvironment induce phenotypic and functional alterations of hepatic cells, initiating a positive feedback loop that promotes liver fibrogenesis and hepatocarcinogenesis. Tumor mechanical microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma facilitates tumor cell growth and metastasis, and hinders the drug delivery and immunotherapy. At the molecular level, mechanical forces are sensed and transmitted into hepatic cells via allosteric activation of mechanoreceptors on the cell membrane, leading to the activation of various mechanotransduction pathways including integrin and YAP signaling and then regulating cell function. Thus, the application of mechanomedicine concept in the treatment of liver diseases is promising for rational design and cell-specific delivery of therapeutic drugs. This review mainly discusses the correlation between biomechanical cues and liver diseases from the viewpoint of mechanobiology.

Survival benefits of adding simvastatin to standard therapy for secondary prevention of bleeding esophageal varices in patients with hepatitis C-related liver cirrhosis

Background

The combination of endoscopic band ligation and beta-blockers is the standard of care treatment for secondary prevention of variceal bleeding; however, rebleeding still occurs with associated high mortality. Simvastatin (a lipid-lowering agent) was found to reduce portal hypertension and decrease hepatic fibrosis. This study aimed to assess the effect of adding simvastatin to the standard therapy to prevent variceal rebleeding and its impact on survival in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Results

This single-center randomized controlled clinical trial included 80 patients with cirrhosis receiving the standard secondary prophylaxis for variceal bleeding composed of endoscopic variceal ligation and non-selective β-blockers (either propranolol or carvedilol). Two weeks after the first attack of hematemesis, patients were randomized into two groups: group I who received the standard therapy (40 patients) and group II who administered simvastatin (20 mg daily for 2 weeks and 40 mg daily after that). Patients were followed up for 1 year. The primary endpoints were rebleeding and overall survival. Thirty patients of group I completed the study while ten patients died during the follow-up period. The simvastatin group showed a significantly better overall 1-year survival (3 deaths during follow-up) compared to the control group (37/40, 92.5% vs. 30/40; 75%) (p-value 0.034); however, this was lacking in Child C patients. No similar difference was present in rebleeding rates between the two groups (5/40, 12.5% vs. 3/40, 7.5%) (p-value 0.456) in groups I and II, respectively.

Conclusions

Adding simvastatin to the standard therapy in secondary prevention of variceal bleeding could be associated with survival benefits in patients with Child A and B cirrhosis, while was incapable of reducing rebleeding.

Novel Anti-inflammatory Treatments in Cirrhosis. A Literature-Based Study

Liver cirrhosis is a disease characterised by multiple complications and a poor prognosis. The prevalence is increasing worldwide. Chronic inflammation is ongoing in liver cirrhosis. No cure for the inflammation is available, and the current treatment of liver cirrhosis is only symptomatic. However, several different medical agents have been suggested as potential healing drugs. The majority are tested in rodents, but few human trials are effectuated. This review focuses on medical agents described in the literature with supposed alleviating and curing effects on liver cirrhosis. Twelve anti-inflammatory, five antioxidative, and three drugs with effects on gut microflora and the LPS pathway were found. Two drugs not categorised by the three former categories were found in addition. In total, 42 rodent studies and seven human trials were found. Promising effects of celecoxib, aspirin, curcumin, kahweol, pentoxifylline, diosmin, statins, emricasan, and silymarin were found in cirrhotic rodent models. Few indices of effects of etanercept, glycyrrhizin arginine salt, and mitoquinone were found. Faecal microbiota transplantation is in increasing searchlight with a supposed potential to alleviate cirrhosis. However, human trials are in demand to verify the findings in this review.

Statins for treatment of chronic liver disease

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Statins are a class of lipid lower medications used primarily in patients with high-risk cardiovascular disease. Since their development, statins have been considered to be harmful in patients with liver disease, and many of the prescribing information labels consider them to be contraindicated in patients with active liver disease. However, recent studies have shown the contrary, warranting further investigation and discussion. This review aims to describe the latest literature on the mechanism, safety profile and potential benefits of statins use on the natural history of chronic liver disease (CLD) progression and its complications.

RECENT FINDINGS

A number of recently published studies have added to the existing body of literature supporting the concept that statins are safe and likely to be beneficial for treating patients with CLD. Patients with CLD including hepatitis B virus infection, hepatitis C virus infection, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and alcohol on statins have been shown to have a lower rate of decompensating events, lower incidence of hepatocellular cancer, a lower rate of infections, and increased survival. However, the majority of the available literature supporting statin use in patients with liver disease comes from retrospective observational studies with high potential for bias.

SUMMARY

Statins appear to be safe in patients with compensated cirrhosis, and evidence suggests that they may reduce fibrosis, even in patients with advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. Further high-quality research on this topic is needed to fully delineate the effect of statins in patients with liver disease.

A systematic review on pharmacokinetics, cardiovascular outcomes and safety profiles of statins in cirrhosis

Background/Aims

There is increased interest in the therapeutic use of statins in cirrhosis, but preferred statin and safety outcomes are still not well known. In this systematic review we aimed to address pharmacokinetics (PK), safety, and effects on cardiovascular (CV) outcomes of statins in cirrhosis.

Methods

Our systematic search in several electronic databases and repositories of two regulatory bodies up to 2020-06-11 yielded 22 articles and 2 drug monographs with relevant data.

Results

Rosuvastatin and pitavastatin showed minimal PK changes in Child–Pugh A cirrhosis. Only rosuvastatin was assessed in a repeated dosing PK study. Atorvastatin showed pronounced PK changes in cirrhosis. No PK data was found for simvastatin, the most commonly used statin in cirrhosis trials. There was insufficient data to assess CV effects of statins in cirrhosis. Clinical trials in cirrhosis were limited to simvastatin, atorvastatin, and pravastatin. In patients taking simvastatin 40 mg, pooled frequency of rhabdomyolysis was 2%, an incidence 40-fold higher than that reported in non-cirrhosis patients, while this was no rhabdomyolysis observed in patients on simvastatin 20 mg, atorvastatin 20 mg, or pravastatin 40 mg. Drug-induced liver injury was of difficult interpretation due to co-existence of muscle damage. No overt liver failure was reported.

Conclusions

Simvastatin 40 mg should be avoided in decompensated cirrhosis. Safety data on simvastatin 20 mg or other statins are based on small study sample size. This rarity of evidence combined with lack of data in dose adjustment methods in cirrhosis is a barrier for using statins for CV indications or for investigational use for liver indications.

Supplementary information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12876-021-01704-w.

[Experimental studies for noninvasive assessment of portal vein pressure based on contrast enhanced subharmonic sonographic imaging]

Portal hypertension (PHT) is a common complication of liver cirrhosis, which could be measured by the means of portal vein pressure (PVP). However, there is no report about an effective and reliable way to achieve noninvasive assessment of PVP so far. In this study, firstly, we collected ultrasound images and echo signals of different ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) concentrations and different pressure ranges in a low-pressure environment based on an in vitro simulation device. Then, the amplitudes of the subharmonics in the echo signal were obtained by ultrasound grayscale image construction and fast Fourier transform (FFT). Finally, we analyzed the relationship between subharmonic amplitude (SA) and bionic portal vein pressure (BPVP) through linear regression. As a result, in the pressure range of 7.5-45 mm Hg and 8-20 mm Hg, the linear correlation coefficients (LCC) between SA and BPVP were 0.927 and 0.913 respectively when the UCA concentration was 1∶3 000, and LCC were 0.737 and 0.568 respectively when the UCA concentration was 1∶6 000. Particularly, LCC was increased to 0.968 and 0.916 respectively while the SAs of two UCA concentrations were used as the features of BPVP. Therefore, the results show a good performance on the linear relationship between SA and BPVP, and the LCC will be improved by using SAs obtained at different UCA concentrations as the features of BPVP. The proposed method provides reliable experimental verification for noninvasive evaluation of PVP through SA in clinical practice, which could be a guidance for improving the accuracy of PVP assessment.

Comprehensive evaluation of effects and safety of statin on the progression of liver cirrhosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Statin has been more and more widely used in chronic liver disease, however, existed studies have attained contradictory results. According to the present study, we aimed to test the efficacy and safety of statin via a meta-analysis.

Methods

Different databases were searched for full-text publication based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. For data-pooling, fixed-effect model was applied if heterogeneity wasn’t detected. Otherwise, random-effect model was adopted. Heterogeneity was detected by I squire (I²) test. All results of analysis were illustrated as forest plots. Publication bias was assessed using the Begg’s adjusted rank correlation test. Standard mean difference (SMD) was calculated in continuous variables. Pooled hazard ratio or odds ratio was calculated in catergorical variables.

Results

Seventeen clinical studies were finally included. Hepatic portal hemodynamic parameters were improved in statin users for a short-term response. For a long-term follow-up, statin treatment surprisingly decreased mortality rate (HR = 0.782, 95% CI: 0.718–0.846, I² > 50%) and lower the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.64–0.86, I² > 50%) in liver cirrhosis. Statin seemed not to decrease the risk of esophageal variceal bleeding and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. However, statin was proved to decrease the risk of hepatic encephalopathy and ascites. Incidence of drug related adverse events didn’t increase in statin users. Dose-dependent effects of statin on hepatocellular carcinoma development, decompensated cirrhosis events occurrence, and liver cirrhosis progression.

Conclusion

Statin influenced parameters of hepatic portal vessel pressure in short-term treatment. Prognosis of liver cirrhosis benefited from statin treatment in long term follow-up. The efficacy and safety of statin in liver cirrhosis treatment is confirmed. To date, similar study is hardly seen before.