الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract NAFLD affects a substantial portion of the general population and is associated with metabolic syndrome, which includes obesity, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. Patients with NAFLD not only frequently suffer from insulin resistance but also have increased overall mortality. Although simple fatty liver seems to be a benign condition, it can progress to NASH and ultimately to cirrhosis in some patients. Because of the consequences of the disease, we emphasize the importance of the detection of NAFLD in high-risk groups, including obese patients, as well as those with evidence of insulin resistance or other components of metabolic syndrome. The diagnosis of NAFLD should prompt management of metabolic risk factors. Weight loss regimens are believed to be helpful, and numerous drugs have been investigated in small studies. Large randomized clinical trials are necessary to determine the real benefit of these agents. Finally, studies on the pathogenesis of NAFLD may not only improve our understanding of the mechanisms involved in NAFLD progression but also may lead to novel therapeutic strategies to treat this condition. Three groups were included in this study (NASH, NAFLD and controls) each group were subjected to history taking, physical ex, taking lab investigations (including CK18) and liver biopsy to evaluate histological stage and compare to our results. Histological NASH score was defined as the sum of steatosis, lobular inflammation, ballooning and fibrosis; patients with score of 5 or greater were diagnosed as NASH. CK18 was strikingly higher in NASH than NAFLD or controls which prove the usefulness and strong predictive value of this test. It is noteworthy that HCV patients had high CK18 level which explained by cytopathic effect of HCV on the hepatocytes. |