News in brief: Noninvasive tests for liver fibrosis in haemochromatosis; IBD patients have ‘pro-inflammatory’ diet; Doctor wins $450k damages for malicious reviews

18 Aug 2021

Noninvasive tests for liver fibrosis in haemochromatosis

Early diagnosis of advanced hepatic fibrosis in people with HFE hemochromatosis (HH) can be achieved with noninvasive blood tests and transient elastography (TE) rather than liver biopsy, Australian researchers have shown.

Hepascore and TE were able to detect cases of advanced fibrosis in people with  HH who had serum ferritin levels > 1000 µg/L, according to a team from Edith Cowan University, WA.

They said Hepascore, which combines clinical variables of sex and age with blood-based markers such as bilirubin, GGT, hyaluronic acid and alpha2-macroglobulin, may allow HH patients with a high iron count to avoid the need to undergo a liver biopsy to test for advanced liver fibrosis.

“This work provides a simple tool to risk profile patients with haemochromatosis for those most at risk of developing liver scarring which leads to liver disease,” said study investigator Professor John Olynyk, who is gastroenterologist at Fiona Stanley Hospital, Perth.

The findings are published in Nature Scientific Reports.


IBD  patients have ‘pro-inflammatory’ diet

The dietary habits of people with IBD may be contributing to inflammation because they appear to be eating too little fibre, vitamins and other essential nutrients, a review by Australian researchers has concluded.

Dieticians at the University of Wollongong conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 19 studies of the dietary of people with IBD and found that they had a suboptimal intake of fibre, protein and important nutrients such as folate, vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6, calcium potassium, magnesium and phosphorus.

The dietary patterns seen in people with IBD would contribute to result in increased inflammation, poorer recovery from illness and decreased quality of life, the researchers wrote in Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

“Intake of major food groups considered core to a healthy diet such as breads and cereals, legumes, fruit, vegetables and dairy were determined to be inadequate in people with IBD,” they concluded.


Doctor wins $450k damages for malicious reviews

A Sydney surgeon has been awarded $450,000 in defamation damages from a woman who mounted a campaign of online abuse and false claims against him after he refused to operate on her.

Dr Warwick Nettle, a Bondi-based plastic and reconstructive surgeon, became the target of virulent abuse, falsehoods and negative reviews from Catherine Cruse in 2018 when he declined to perform surgery on her, based on warnings from another surgeon who had previously treated her.

Dr Nettle took his case to the Federal Court of Australia, which found that his behaviour was professionally appropriate and justifiable, and that the online comments and maliciously false reviews reviews had seriously damaged both his professional reputation and his thriving practice.

As a results of Ms Cruse posting negative reviews, Dr Nettle’s “Google rating” fell from 5 to 3.5 stars and his workload declined significantly.

The court awarded damages of $450,000 to Dr Nettle and granted permanent injunctions barring Ms Cruse from posting further false and defamatory material about him. However Ms Cruse did not take part in the proceedings and could not be traced, having apparently deliberately concealed her whereabouts, the court was told.

 

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