Polskie Archiwum Medycyny Wewnętrznej
-
Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Apr 2024
ReviewAlcohol, health loss and mortality: can wine really save the good name of moderate alcohol consumption?
It is estimated that one‑third of the world's population consumes alcohol. At the same time, it is well‑known that excessive alcohol consumption in one of the leading causes of premature mortality. The history of production of alcoholic beverages, especially wine, dates back as long as 8000 years. ⋯ Wine, together with abundance of plant‑based foods, olive oil, and fish, is an important part of the Mediterranean diet. There are both observational and randomized studies documenting a wide spectrum of health‑promoting effects of such a diet, especially a reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events. People who want to drink alcohol should be advised to limit their consumption to a minimum, and should consider choosing red wine.
-
Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Apr 2024
ReviewRecent advances in noninvasive assessment of liver steatosis.
Due to the steatosis epidemic, noninvasive quantification of liver fat content is of great interest. Magnetic resonance (MR) techniques, including proton MR spectroscopy (MRS) and MR chemical shift imaging can quantify liver fat by measuring, directly or indirectly (the latter), the proton density fat fraction (PDFF). They have shown excellent diagnostic accuracy and are currently the reference standard for the noninvasive assessment of liver steatosis and are used in clinical trials for evaluating the change in liver fat over time. ⋯ Controlled attenuation parameter (CAP), which estimates the attenuation of the US beam, was the first algorithm available and is performed with a non-imaging system. Currently, several other algorithms are available on B-mode imaging ultrasound systems, and they have shown an accuracy similar to or higher than the CAP. This article reports the current knowledge about their application in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.