Most patients with HBeAg seroconversion became inactive carriers with very good prognosis. The risk of liver-related mortality in Caucasian adults with CH is strongly related with sustained disease activity and ongoing high level of HBV replication independently of HBeAg status.

aims to review the history, recent advances, evidence, and challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) in colonoscopy. Although it is mainly focused on polyp detection and characterization, it also considers other potential applications (i.e., inflammatory bowel disease) and future perspectives. Some of the most recent algorithms show promising results that are similar to human expert performance. The integration of AI in routine clinical practice will be challenging, with significant issues to overcome (i.e., regulatory, reimbursement). Medico-legal issues will also need to be addressed. With the exception of an AI system that is already available in selected countries (GI Genius; Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA), the majority of the technology is still in its infancy and has not yet been proven to reach a sufficient diagnostic performance to be adopted in the clinical practice. However, larger players will enter the arena of AI in the next few months. Clin Endosc 2021 Jan 13. [Epub ahead of print]

Little is known about the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of anti-viral therapy on the regression of liver inflammation and fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of interferon alpha and ribavirin in combination therapy on the tissue expression of nuclear-factor kB (NF-jB) (a transcription factor coordinating the expression of stress genes involved in immune response and inflammation), of the polypeptide transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-b1) and matrix metalloproteinases 1 (MMP-1) (both of which play an important part in the pathological process of liver fibrogenesis), and on the serum levels of soluble TGF-b1, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP)-1, and active endogenous MMP-2 and MMP-9 in paired (pre-and post-treatment) liver biopsy and serum samples of subjects with chronic hepatitis C. Serum levels of TGF-b1, TIMP-1, MMP-2, and MMP-9 were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Liver expression of muscle-specific a-actin, NF-jB, TGF-b1, and MMP-1 was studied immunohistochemically using commercially available mono-and polyclonal antisera in an avidin-biotin complex method. Combination therapy induced a reduction in the liver expression of TGF-b and NF-jB and an increased expression of MMP-1, regardless of the virological response to the treatment. The greater expression of MMP-1 and lesser expression of NF-jB were both associated with an improvement in fibrosis score. These effects paralleled the significant increase in soluble MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio in post-therapy sera. Combination therapy with interferon and ribavirin affects the tissue expression of TGF-b-1 and NF-jB and favors metalloproteinase activity, and may thereby modulate hepatic fibrogenetic events.

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