WHO Probes Mystery Hepatitis in Kids; Liver Disease & COVID; Atkins Diet Changes Gut

The World Health Organization is investigating the unexplained cases of acute severe hepatitis in young children, suggesting that adenoviruses or SARS-CoV-2 may be to blame, but also examining “other infectious and non-infectious factors.”

Multiple cases of the liver disease have now been reported in U.S. kids as well. (NBC News)

At one U.S. transplant center, patient and graft survival rates at 1 year were similar whether livers were transplanted from donors after circulatory death or after brain death, though nationally 1-year graft survival was lower after circulatory death. (Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery)

In other liver transplant news, artificial intelligence identified factors that predict which patients with alcohol-associated hepatitis might seek out harmful alcohol use following a transplant. (American Journal of Transplantation)

And an Israeli study showed that a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine significantly improved immune responses among liver transplant recipients. (Journal of Hepatology)

In patients hospitalized with COVID-19, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were associated with worse outcomes. (Hepatology Communications)

Brian Austin Green, a star of the nineties television series “90210,” discussed his recent ulcerative colitis diagnosis. (ABC News)

In a screening study, nearly two-thirds of HIV patients at risk for NAFLD were found to have steatosis and over 10% had advanced fibrosis on MRI-PDFF and transient elastography. (Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology)

The Atkins diet altered gut microbiota in individuals with obesity, according to findings from a randomized trial. (Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases)

Diets with high inflammatory index scores were associated with increased Crohn’s disease activity and a higher risk for the disease itself, a Chinese study found. (Clinical Nutrition)

After elective colon surgery, high adherence to an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol was linked to fewer complications and a shorter hospital stay; potential risk factors for failed ERAS included being male and having open surgery, among others. (Surgery in Practice and Science)