Patients with NAFLD-HCC had worse survival after OLT but favourable survival after resection, particularly in the absence of cirrhosis, as compared with non-NAFLD-HCC aetiologies.

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Aim This study aimed to examine the accuracy of the estimated portion size (EPS) of foods required to reach satiation, and how food characteristics influence food portion estimation in healthy adults. Methods This was a randomised, cross‐over feeding trial with eight test sessions. The visual, olfactory and rheological characteristics of common foods were manipulated. Participants determined the portion sizes of eight test foods that need to be consumed to reach satiation, which were then compared with the actual intake (AI) of the same foods. During each session, participants also rated their appetite before and after food consumption, as well as the palatability and acceptability of the test foods. Results Thirty‐five healthy young adults completed the study. The EPSs were not significantly different from AI of test foods, although there was a tendency to overestimate the amount required to reach satiation. AI of test foods correlated with energy density but not food palatability or acceptance. Hunger and desire‐to‐eat reduced, and fullness increased significantly after test food ingestion. Significant differences were found in hunger (P = 0.041) and desire‐to‐eat (P = 0.007) suppression between test foods. Apple juice suppressed desire‐to‐eat less than solid apple, albeit ingestion of these foods were isoenergetic. Food forms were used to guide portion selection of apple and apple juice. Conclusion Although the mean predicted portion was not different from AI, individual discrepancies were large, and a tendency to over‐portion foods may pose a challenge in body weight maintenance.

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The obesity epidemic has increased type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) across developed countries. Cardiac T2DM risks include ischemic heart disease, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, intolerance to ischemia‐reperfusion (I‐R) injury, and refractoriness to cardioprotection. While opioids are cardioprotective, T2DM causes opioid receptor signaling dysfunction. We tested the hypothesis that sustained opioid receptor stimulus may overcome diabetes mellitus‐induced cardiac dysfunction via membrane/mitochondrial‐dependent protection. In a murine T2DM model, we investigated effects of morphine on cardiac function, I‐R tolerance, ultrastructure, subcellular cholesterol expression, mitochondrial protein abundance, and mitochondrial function. T2DM induced 25% weight gain, hyperglycemia, glucose intolerance, cardiac hypertrophy, moderate cardiac depression, exaggerated postischemic myocardial dysfunction, abnormalities in mitochondrial respiration, ultrastructure and Ca2+‐induced swelling, and cell death were all evident. Morphine administration for 5 days: (1) improved glucose homeostasis; (2) reversed cardiac depression; (3) enhanced I‐R tolerance; (4) restored mitochondrial ultrastructure; (5) improved mitochondrial function; (6) upregulated Stat3 protein; and (7) preserved membrane cholesterol homeostasis. These data show that morphine treatment restores contractile function, ischemic tolerance, mitochondrial structure and function, and membrane dynamics in type II diabetic hearts. These findings suggest potential translational value for short‐term, but high‐dose morphine administration in diabetic patients undergoing or recovering from acute ischemic cardiovascular events.

Introduction: Brugada syndrome is a genetic disorder of the heart’s electrical system that increases a patient’s risk of sudden cardiac death. It is a syndrome most prevalent in Southeast Asians and is found 36 times more commonly in Asians than in Hispanics. Case Report: We report and discuss a case of a 68-year-old Hispanic male who presented with clinical and electrocardiogram abnormalities consistent with Brugada syndrome. Discussion: The patient’s age and ethnicity represents an atypical presentation of this rare syndrome and the lack of reported studies in the literature pertaining to these demographics reflect this. Conclusion: Further studies and characterizations are necessary as manifestations continue to be unearthed. As such, Brugada Syndrome should be considered in the differential diagnosis for a myriad of patient populations.

BACKGROUND Cocaine is a synthetic alkaloid initially viewed as a useful local anesthetic, but which eventually fell out of favor given its high addiction potential. Its predominantly sympathetic effects raise concern for cardiovascular, respiratory, and central nervous system complications in patients undergoing procedures. Peri-procedural cocaine use, often detected via a positive urine toxicology test, has been mostly addressed in the surgical and obstetrical literature. However, there are no clear guidelines on how to effectively risk stratify patients found to be positive for cocaine in the pre-operative setting, often leading to costly procedure cancellations. Within the field of gastroenterology, there is no current data available regarding safety of performing esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) in patients with recent cocaine use. AIM To compare the prevalence of EGD related complications between active (≤ 5 d) and remote (> 5 d) users of cocaine. METHODS In total , 48 patients who underwent an EGD at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County from October 2016 to October 2018 were found to have a positive urine drug screen for cocaine (23 recent and 25 remote). Descriptive statistics were compiled for patient demographics. Statistical tests used to analyze patient characteristics, procedure details, and preprocedural adverse events included t -test, chi-square, Wilcoxon rank sum, and Fisher exact test. RESULTS Overall, 20 periprocedural events were recorded with no statistically significant difference in distribution between the two groups (12 active vs 8 remote, P = 0.09). Pre- and post-procedure hemodynamics demonstrated only a statistically, but not clinically significant drop in systolic blood pressure and increase in heart rate in the active user group, as well as drop in diastolic blood pressure and oxygen saturation in the remote group ( P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in overall hemodynamics between both groups. CONCLUSION Our study found no significant difference in the rate of periprocedural adverse events during EGD in patients with recent vs remote use of cocaine. Interestingly, there were significantly more patients (30%) with active use of cocaine that required general anesthesia as compared to remote users (0%).