Assessment of chronic kidney disease in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); A single center experience

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents a considerable percentage of chronic liver diseases worldwide. The liver is not the only organ affected by NAFLD but also affects other organs such as the cardiovascular system and the kidney. In recent decades, there has been a growing body of evidence linking NAFLD to kidney function. So, the current study aims to assess the percentage of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in NAFLD patients and its link to different stages of hepatic fibrosis. Patients and Methods: A case-control study evaluated 62 non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patients and a control group of 38 volunteers with apparently healthy livers (normal echo pattern by ultrasound). All participants underwent serum creatinine measurement, albumin creatinine ratio in urine, calculation of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), abdominal ultrasound, and fibroScan examination. Results: The authors showed that the percentage of patients with chronic kidney diseases (patients with GFR less than 60 ml or micro-albuminuria) were significantly higher among NAFLD groups than in healthy controls. There was a significant positive correlation between the albumin creatinine ratio and subcutaneous fat thickness, BMI, and steatosis degrees. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and the age of the patients had a significant negative correlation. In comparison, the eGFR and AST levels had a significant positive correlation. Conclusions: Our results showed that NAFLD substantially raises the risk of getting CKD

Suppressive Effects of Antioxidant DA-9601 on Hepatic Fibrosis in Rats / 대한간학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Oxidative stress is one of the important underlying mechanisms of hepatic fibrosis. DA-9601, the ethanol extracts of Artemisia asiatica, has been reported to possess strong antioxidative and cytoprotective actions. We tried to evaluate whether antioxidant can ameliorate dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced hepatic fibrosis. METHODS: Rat hepatic fibrosis was induced by intraperitoneal administrations of 10 mg DMN six times. Additionally, rats of one group were started daily with DA-9601 30 mg/kg containing diets and another group was fed a pellet diet containing DA-9601 100 mg/kg. The immunohistochemical studies for collagen, alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA), and fibronectin, the measurements of hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) and collagens, and the changes of liver function profiles were performed. Hepatic stellate cells (HSC) were isolated and in vitro effects of DA-9601 on HSC activations were measured. RESULTS: DA-9601 significantly attenuated the loss of body weights (p<0.05), the reduction of liver wet weights (p<0.05), and the elevation of liver enzymes provoked by DMN administrations. DMN injections caused the severe fibrosis of portal tract, hepatic inflammation, and significant oxidative damages, but DA-9601 treatment significantly reduced the mean scores of hepatic fibrosis, the amounts of hepatic collagens, and hepatic MDA levels. The prominent decreases in the expressions of collagens type I and III, alpha-SMA, and fibronectin or hepatic inflammations were observed in DA-9601-treated groups dose-dependently and similar efficacy was also proven in in vitro HSC experiment. CONCLUSIONS: DA-9601 effectively protected rat liver tissues against the DMN-induced hepatic fibrosis. Antioxidant could be considered as a supplementary therapeutic for alleviating the hepatic fibrosis.

Hepatoprotective effects of recombinant human growth hormone in rats with thioacetamide-induced cirrhosis / 中国普通外科杂志

Objective To explore the mechanism by which recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) protects liver function and alleviates portal hypertension in rats with liver cirrhosis. Methods Male S.D. rats with thioacetamide-induced liver cirrhosis were randomly assigned to receive separately normal saline (NS, 0.5 ml) or rhGH(333 ng/kg body weight) daily by subcutaneous injection for up to 7 days. After the respective treatments, changes of GH-binding capacity (R T), GHRmRNA, relative content of collagen (RCC), malon-dialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) in liver tissue, serum albumin and ALT and portal vein pressure (PVP) were examined. Results R T (fmol/mg protein) of GHR was respectively 31?4, 40?7(P