Noninvasive Serum Fibrosis Markers are Associated with Coronary Artery Calcification in Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Advanced hepatic fibrosis is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We investigated the association between noninvasive serum fibrosis markers and the coronary artery calcium score (CACS) in subjects with NAFLD. METHODS: We analyzed 665 NAFLD subjects without chronic liver disease or heart disease between 2011 and 2015. The noninvasive fibrosis markers that were used to evaluate the severity of hepatic fibrosis included the NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS), fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score, Forn's index, and the aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI). RESULTS: The areas under the receiver operating characteristics curves for the NFS, FIB-4 score, Forn's index and APRI for predicting CACS >100 were 0.689, 0.683, 0.659, and 0.595, respectively. According to the multivariate analysis, older age, increased body mass index (BMI), and decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were significant factors associated with CACS >100. The NFS, FIB-4 score and APRI were significantly associated with CACS >100 after adjusting for age and gender (p=0.006, p=0.012, and p=0.012, respectively) and after adjusting for age, gender, BMI and eGFR (p=0.013, p=0.022, and p=0.027, respectively). Scores integrating noninvasive fibrosis markers and other risk factors improved the predictive accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: The NFS and FIB-4 score were associated with coronary atherosclerosis in subjects with NAFLD. Furthermore, scores integrating these noninvasive scores and risk factors for CVD showed good discriminatory power in predicting CACS >100. Therefore, noninvasive serum fibrosis markers may be useful tools for identifying NAFLD subjects at a high risk for CVD.

Liver Fibrosis Markers Reflect the Quality of Fontan Circulation / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

<b>Background</b> : Several studies have shown that Fontan circulation may lead to liver congestion and possible structural liver alteration. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationships between biochemical fibrosis markers and hemodynamic parameters in the long term after the Fontan operation.<br><b>Methods</b> : The study enrolled 51 patients who underwent total cavopulmonary connection between March 1994 and July 2010. We analyzed the relationships between the 5 liver fibrosis markers (hyaluronic acid, retinol-binding protein, procollagen type III peptide, type IV collagen 7S, type IV collagen) and the 6 hemodynamic parameters (pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary artery index, pulmonary vascular resistance, ejection fraction, atrioventricular valve regurgitation, cardiac index).<br><b>Results</b> : Hyaluronic acid and type IV collagen 7S positively correlated with pulmonary artery pressure. Hyaluronic acid negatively correlated with ejection fraction, and type IV collagen 7S positively correlated with atrioventricular valve regurgitation in patients followed up for more than 8 years after Fontan completion. Pulmonary artery pressure was significantly higher in patients in whom type IV collagen 7S was elevated. Hyaluronic acid correlated with pulmonary vascular resistance (<i>p</i>=0.0035) and ejection fraction (<i>p</i>=0.014), as well as type IV collagen 7S with pulmonary artery pressure (<i>p</i>=0.0001) by multiple regression analysis.<br><b>Conclusion</b> : Hyaluronic acid and type IV collagen 7S reflected the degree of hepatic congestion, and cardiac function, in the long term after the Fontan operation.

Effects of ?-1bIFN on Hepatitis Gravis Reconvalescent / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To probe into the effects of ?-1bIFN on the development process from the hepatitis gravis to postnecrotic cirrhosis.METHODS:The change of serum liver fibrosis markers and hepatic function were observed in treatment group and control group before and after treatment.RESULTS:(1)In treatment group,all the serum liver fibrosis markers were decreased after treatment and were significantly different from those in control group(P0.05).(2)After treatment,the levels of serum albumin,globulin and count of platelet reverted to normal in treatment group and the levels were significantly different from those in control group(P