Sarcopenia is associated with significant fibrosis in subjects with chronic hepatitis B, specifically those with obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and liver steatosis.

In CHB patients undergoing regular surveillance with ultrasonography and alpha-foetoprotein (AFP) analysis every 6 months, the HCC detection failure rate was not high (0.8% per person; 0.1% per test). However, careful attention should be paid in patients with advanced liver fibrosis (clinical cirrhosis or LS value >11.7 kPa), high AFP levels, or diabetes mellitus, who are prone to surveillance failure.

Reports detailing the response of hypertensive patients to renal denervation (RDN) in Asian patients are limited. We evaluated 6- and 12-month outcomes after RDN in an Asian population and compared outcomes to a primarily Caucasian population. The Global SYMPLICITY Registry (GSR) is a prospective, all-comer, worldwide registry that evaluates the safety and effectiveness of RDN and includes the Korean registry substudy (GSR Korea) and a Caucasian subset (GSR Caucasian). Given differences in baseline characteristics among GSR Korea (n=93) as compared with GSR Caucasian (n=169) patients, including lower baseline office systolic blood pressure (SBP), lower body mass index and differences in medications, propensity score adjustment was performed when comparing the change in SBP between subsets. The 6- and 12-month change in SBP in GSR Korea was -19.4±17.2 and -27.2±18.1 mm Hg, respectively (P<0.001 for both vs baseline). GSR Caucasian had a SBP change similar to GSR Korea at 6 months (-20.9±21.4 mm Hg, unadjusted P=0.547, adjusted P=0.998), whereas at 12 months the change was significantly less pronounced (-20.1±23.9 mm Hg, unadjusted P=0.004, adjusted P=0.002). There were no protocol-defined procedure-related adverse events and no chronic adverse events associated with the device in an Asian population. RDN provided a significant reduction in 6- and 12-month office SBP among Asian patients, with a favorable safety profile. The 12-month SBP reduction was larger than that observed in Caucasian patients.