hepatitis

A chain of events possibly triggered by unrecognized Covid-19 infection could be causing the mysterious cases of severe hepatitis reported in kids around the world, researchers suggest. Children with COVID-19 are at significantly increased risk for liver dysfunction afterward, according to a report posted on Saturday on medRxiv ahead of peer review. “We performed a retrospective cohort study on a nation-wide database of patient electronic health records (EHRs) in the US. The…

The recent spike in cases of sudden, severe hepatitis in children around the world has been widely reported. Recently, several news outlets have highlighted a possible link between cases and contacts with pet dogs.  However, the data suggesting this link is extremely weak – in fact, probably a lot weaker than most of the alternative hypotheses that have been proposed.The spike in hepatitis cases in children was first noticed in the UK, but has now been reported in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Although the numbers…

Illustration of the two 3D conformations adopted by NTCPs. Left: ‘open’ conformation to which HBV and HDV can bind. Right: ‘closed’ conformation that prevents recognition by the viruses. Credit: © Kapil Goutam/Nicolas Reyes/CNRSThough it is an essential gateway to the liver, NTCP had not been well described before now. Na+-taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP) is a protein located exclusively in the membrane of liver cells that enables recycling of bile <span class="glossaryLink"…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating 109 cases of severe hepatitis in children, including five deaths, to determine a cause, with adenovirus infection as a primary line of inquiry, the public health agency said Friday.More than 90% of the children were hospitalized and 14% required liver transplants, according to the CDC. The cases under investigation occurred over the past seven months across 25 states and territories. A majority of the patients have fully recovered and have been discharged…