ABSTRACT
Proper management of uninvestigated dyspepsia is a challenging task for any clinician. Efficient and cost-effective management of such patients requires careful history taking and awareness of the available options.
Subject(s)
Dyspepsia/diagnosis , Dyspepsia/therapy , Anti-Ulcer Agents/therapeutic use , Diagnosis, Differential , Dyspepsia/microbiology , Endoscopy, Digestive System , Helicobacter Infections/complications , Helicobacter Infections/diagnosis , Helicobacter Infections/therapy , Helicobacter pylori , Histamine H2 Antagonists/therapeutic use , Humans , Peptic Ulcer/diagnosis , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Proton Pump Inhibitors , Randomized Controlled Trials as TopicABSTRACT
There is conflicting evidence regarding inheritance of hemochromatosis gene (HFE) mutations and influence of hepatic iron deposition as cofactors for development of fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We studied hepatic iron content (Perls' stain grade), frequency of HFE mutations, and serum iron indices in 93 patients with NASH from a multiethnic background; 59 (63%) were of Anglo-Celtic origin. Data on C282Y mutations were available for all 93 patients and on H63D for 69 patients. Respective controls were 206 (for C282Y, 141 [69%] of whom were Anglo-Celtic) and 180 (for H63D) blood donors. Hyperferritinemia was present in 38 patients (40%) with NASH, but transferrin saturation was increased (>55%) in only 5 (5%). Liver biopsy specimens showed advanced fibrosis in 31 (33%) (cirrhosis in 20%). Altogether, 9 biopsy specimens (10%) showed increased iron: 7 (8%) with grade 2 and 2 (2%) with grade 3 iron staining. Only 1 biopsy specimen with increased iron showed advanced fibrosis. The frequency of C282Y heterozygosity was increased in Anglo-Celtic patients with NASH compared with ethnic blood donor controls (22% vs. 9.2%; P =.035); there were no C282Y homozygotes in the NASH cohort. Although there was a trend toward higher serum ferritin levels among C282Y heterozygotes with NASH, there were no differences in histologic grades of steatosis, inflammation, or fibrosis between individuals with and without C282Y. The frequencies of compound C282Y/H63D heterozygotes (n = 1) or H63D heterozygotes (n = 10) were not increased in NASH. Multivariate analysis identified female sex, diabetes mellitus, and more severe liver inflammation but not HFE mutations, serum ferritin, iron saturation, or hepatic iron staining as independent predictors of hepatic fibrosis. In conclusion, hepatic iron is not a factor linked to hepatic fibrogenesis in patients with NASH. HFE mutations do not confer an additional risk of hepatic fibrosis in this disorder.
Subject(s)
Fatty Liver/ethnology , Fatty Liver/genetics , HLA Antigens/genetics , Histocompatibility Antigens Class I/genetics , Iron/metabolism , Liver Cirrhosis/genetics , Liver/metabolism , Membrane Proteins , Adult , Aged , Australia , Biopsy , Cohort Studies , Ethnicity , Fatty Liver/complications , Female , Ferritins/blood , Hemochromatosis Protein , Heterozygote , Homozygote , Humans , Liver/pathology , Liver Cirrhosis/etiology , Liver Cirrhosis/pathology , Male , Middle Aged , Mutation , Prospective Studies , Transferrin/metabolismABSTRACT
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is often linked with disorders that are clearly associated with insulin resistance (IR): obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hypertriglyceridemia. We tested the hypotheses that (1) IR is an essential requirement for the development of NASH and (2) a high association between IR and liver disease is relatively specific for NASH. We measured body mass index (BMI), waist/hip ratio, and fasting serum lipid, insulin, C-peptide, and glucose levels in 66 patients with NASH (21 with advanced fibrosis and 45 with mild fibrosis). IR was determined by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA). We also determined the strength of the association of NASH with insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) as defined by World Health Organization criteria. To assess whether the finding of IR was relatively specific to NASH rather than simply to obesity or liver disease, we compared the results of a subset of 36 patients with less-severe NASH with 36 age- and sex-matched patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) of comparable fibrotic severity. IR was confirmed in 65 patients (98%) with NASH, and 55 (87%) fulfilled minimum criteria for IRS. IR was found in lean as well as in overweight and obese patients. The IR values and the prevalence of IRS (75% vs. 8.3%) were significantly higher in those with NASH than in comparable cases of HCV. Hyperinsulinemia was attributable to increased insulin secretion rather than decreased hepatic extraction. In conclusion, most patients with NASH have IRS, and there is a near-universal association between NASH and IR irrespective of obesity. IR is present in mild as well as advanced cases of NASH but is unusual in chronic HCV of similar fibrotic severity.