SummaryThe liver is one of the principal organs involved in glucose metabolism together with skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. A link between diabetes and chronic liver disease (CLD) was first observed in the early half of the last century, but to date several questions remain unsolved. Altered glucose tolerance has been well described in alcoholic CLD, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, chronic hepatitis C and portal hypertension. Moreover, insulin resistance is assuming an ever-growing importance in CLD; chronic hepatitis C has recently been proposed as a metabolic disease and insulin sensitivity as a predictive factor for liver fibrosis.CLD is also complicated by acquired growth hormone (GH) resistance, characterized by low concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) with respect to normal or elevated GH levels. GH resistance in CLD is determined by several factors, including malnutrition, impaired liver function and reduced expression of hepatic GH receptors. We recently described the possible role of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in blunting the hepatic response to GH in patients with chronic hepatitis C. The role of GH in impaired glucose metabolism is well known, and recent evidence suggests a receptor and/or post-receptor modulation of insulin signalling. Moreover, as in other chronic inflammatory conditions, pro-inflammatory cytokines may directly modulate the signal cascade that follows insulin binding to its receptor in the course of CLD.In this review, the proposed links between impaired glucose tolerance and CLD are analysed, special emphasis being focussed on the most recent findings concerning the interplay of chronic inflammation, GH resistance and insulin resistance.

TLR4 expression by regenerating and inflammatory cells at the porto-septal and interface level, favoured by increased LPS activity, is associated with activation of fibrogenic cells and the degree of fibrosis.

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Due to the progressive aging of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) population which have acquired the infection during its maximum spread after the Second World War, the management of the elderly HCV-infected patient is emerging as a hot topic. Unfortunately, although it is recognized that the progression of HCV-related liver disease gets faster with aging, and that even extra-hepatic manifestations of HCV infection are probably worse in the elderly, till now, treatment attempts in this population have been significantly limited by the well-known contraindications and side effects of interferon (IFN). The arrival of several new anti-HCV drugs, and the possibility to combine them in safe and effective anti-viral regimens, is relighting the hope of a cure for many elderly patients who had been cut out of IFN-based treatments. However, although these new regimens will be certainly more manageable, it should be underscored that IFN-free doesn't mean free from any contraindication or side-effect. Moreover, one issue which promises to become central is that of the possible interactions between antiviral therapy and the multiple drugs frequently assumed by elderly patients because of comorbidities. In this review, we will revise the epidemiology pointing to HCV as an infection of the elderly, the evidences that HCV harms the health of the aged patient more than that of the young one, and the available experiences of HCV treatment in the elderly with the "old" IFN-based regimens and with the newer drugs. We will conclude that the availability of IFN-free regimens should prompt us to change our mind and consider a significantly larger number of possible candidates among elderly patients, who would take significant advantage from viral eradication. Rather than the anagraphic age, drug-drug interactions and, mainly in case of economic restrictions, an evaluation of life expectancy dependent on liver disease with respect to that dependent on comorbidities, are likely to be the key issues guiding treatment indication in the next future. The sooner we will change our mind with respect to an a priori obstacle for anti-HCV treatment in the elderly, the sooner we will begin to spare many aged HCV patients from avoidable liver-related complications.

Since the liver plays a key metabolic role, volatile organic compounds in the exhaled breath might change with type and severity of chronic liver disease (CLD). In this study we analysed breath-prints (BPs) of 65 patients with liver cirrhosis (LC), 39 with non-cirrhotic CLD (NC-CLD) and 56 healthy controls by the e-nose. Distinctive BPs characterized LC, NC-CLD and healthy controls, and, among LC patients, the different Child-Pugh classes (sensitivity 86.2% and specificity 98.2% for CLD vs healthy controls, and 87.5% and 69.2% for LC vs NC-CLD). Moreover, the area under the BP profile, derived from radar-plot representation of BPs, showed an area under the ROC curve of 0.84 (95% CI 0.76–0.91) for CLD, of 0.76 (95% CI 0.66–0.85) for LC, and of 0.70 (95% CI 0.55–0.81) for decompensated LC. By applying the cut-off values of 862 and 812, LC and decompensated LC could be predicted with high accuracy (PPV 96.6% and 88.5%, respectively). These results are proof-of-concept that the e-nose could be a valid non-invasive instrument for characterizing CLD and monitoring hepatic function over time. The observed classificatory properties might be further improved by refining stage-specific breath-prints and considering the impact of comorbidities in a larger series of patients.