LCAT activity, APO A1 and HDL-C in staging patients with hepatosplenic bilharziasis

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to assess the lipids and lipoproteins abnormalities as indicators of hepatic dysfunction in hepatosplenic bilharziasis. Patients with different clinical stages of hepatosplenic affection were involved in this study. 15 patients were in the hepatic phase [stage I], 25 in the phase of shrunken liver and splenomegaly [stage III] and 30 patients were in the terminal phase of shrunken liver and ascites [stage IV]. 25 healthy subjects were carefully selected as a control group. In addition to the routine liver function tests, serum total, free and esterified cholesterol, triglycerides, low and high density lipoproteins-cholesterol, apolipoprotein Al levels and lecithin cholesterol acyl transferase [LCAT] activity were estimated. From the present study, unlike the routine liver function tests, direct assessment of LCAT activity or indirect assessment of this activity by measuring apolipoprotein Al and/or HDL-C are sensitive markers of hepatic affection from the early stages of hepatosplenic bilharziasis. They also reflect the degree of hepatic affection as the disease progress