Risk factors for osteoporosis in patients with end-stage liver disease.

Patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) were evaluated and their clinical features were compared with the aim of identifying risk factors for osteoporosis. Seventy-nine patients with ESLD were enrolled in the current study. Bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and compared with clinical features in patients with ESLD. BMD was identified to be significantly correlated with body mass index (r=0.430; P=0.001) and inversely correlated with total bile acid (r=-0.228; P=0.049) and urine N-telopeptide type I collagen/creatinine ratio (r=-0.280; P=0.024). Patients with osteoporosis were significantly older (osteoporosis vs. no osteoporosis, 63.0 vs. 56.0 years; P<0.05) and had higher values for total bile acid (osteoporosis vs. no osteoporosis, 306.0 vs. 129.1 µmol/l; P<0.05) and corrected calcium [osteoporosis vs. no osteoporosis, 9.85 (8.7-10.7) vs. 9.70 (8.8-10.6) mg/dl; P<0.05]. In multivariate analysis, age (ß=-0.015±0.06; P=0.009) and total bile acid (ß=-0.001±0.0001; P=0.041) were identified as independent factors for osteoporosis. Finally, the risk score for osteoporosis was defined as follows: Risk score=1.78-0.001 × total bile acid-(0.16 × age). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve risk score for osteoporosis is 0.778. Thus, the risk scores calculated in the present study may be used to predict osteoporosis in patients with ESLD.

Rapid Increase in Serum Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Concentration during Hepatitis C Interferon-Free Treatment.

BACKGROUND & AIM: We performed lipid analyses at the early period of therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C who underwent interferon (IFN)-free direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment, and we attempted to identify the factors that contributed to a rapid increase in the patients' serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentration. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the cases of 100 consecutive patients with HCV infection treated at the National Hospital Organization Nagasaki Medical Center: 24 patients underwent daclatasvir (DCV) and asunaprevir (ASV) combination therapy (DCV/ASV) for 24 weeks, and the other 76 patients underwent ledipasvir and sofosbuvir combination therapy (LDV/SOF) for 12 weeks. ΔLDL-C was defined as the changed in LDL-C level at 28 days from the start of therapy. To determine whether ΔLDL-C was associated with several kinds of factors including viral kinetics, we performed a stepwise multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The LDL-C levels in patients treated with LDV/SOF were markedly and significantly elevated (87.45 to 122.5 mg/dl; p<10-10) compared to those in the DCV/ASV-treated patients (80.15 to 87.8 mg/dl; p = 0.0056). The median levels of ΔLDL-C in the LDV/SOF and DCV/ASV groups were 33.2 and 13.1, respectively. LDV/SOF combination therapy as an IFN-free regimen (p<0.001) and ΔHCV core antigen (0-1 day drop) (p<0.044) were identified as independent factors that were closely related to the ΔLDL-C. CONCLUSIONS: A rapid increase in the serum LDL-C concentration during the IFN-free treatment of hepatitis C was associated with the type of HCV therapy and a decline of HCV core protein.

Relationship of α-fetoprotein levels and development of hepatocellular carcinoma in hepatitis C patients with liver cirrhosis.

α-fetoprotein (AFP) is a tumor marker of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and has also been reported to reflect the effectiveness of long-term low-dose interferon (IFN) therapy in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients with chronic liver disease. The correlation between AFP levels and the incidence of HCC has been discussed over a long period. We investigated whether high levels of AFP at the time of diagnosis were associated with an increased incidence of HCC in patients with HCV. A total of 107 HCV patients with liver cirrhosis without other risks were evaluated for the predictive value of non-invasive risk factors for HCC, including age, gender, alcohol intake, aspartate and alanine aminotransferase levels, bilirubin, albumin, platelet count and AFP levels at study entry, as well as the IFN therapy received. During the follow-up period, HCC developed in 68 (63.6%) patients. Kaplan-Meier estimates were made to assess the cumulative risk of HCC. The 10-year cumulative incidence rate of HCC was 80%. Cox regression analysis was performed on several variables, including age, gender, alcohol consumption, experience of IFN therapy and biochemical parameters. The following factors were identified as exhibiting an increased risk of HCC by univariate analysis: aspartate transaminase (AST) ≥71 IU/l, alanine transaminase (ALT) ≥60 IU/l, AFP ≥6 ng/ml and IFN therapy. Multivariate analysis identified that the AFP level [6-19 ng/ml: hazard ratio (HR), 2.22; P=0.006 and ≥20 ng/ml: HR, 2.09; P=0.003] was an independent and significant risk factor for the development of HCC. A slightly elevated (6-19 ng/ml) AFP level may be a risk factor for HCC in certain cases. By contrast, AFP levels <6 ng/ml indicate a low risk of HCC development in HCV patients with liver cirrhosis.