Cardiac dysfunction as an early predictor of portal hypertension in chronic hepatitis C.

Background: Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy is characterized by a set of cardiovascular modifications observed in advanced chronic liver disease. The aim of this study was to investigate cardiovascular alterations in chronic liver disease with different stages of fibrosis and to correlate cardiac involvement with endoscopic complications of portal hypertension.

Methods: Seventy patients with chronic hepatitis C-related chronic liver disease and 20 sex- and age-matched controls underwent clinical evaluation, hepatic transient elastography, and echocardiography.

Gas6 as a putative noninvasive biomarker of hepatic fibrosis.

Aim: To evaluate serum growth arrest-specific gene 6 (Gas6) concentration as a biomarker of liver fibrosis progression.

Materials & Methods: One hundred and thirteen consecutive patients affected by chronic liver disease underwent transient elastography, Gas6 measurement and, if clinically indicated, liver biopsy.

Results: Gas6 concentration was directly correlated to liver stiffness (r = 0.