Background: The reversibility of alcoholic fatty liver is well-known. The present study aims to investigate whether sonographic controls can document this reversibility under abstinence therapy with respect to inter-observer variability.
Methods: 59 male patients with alcohol dependency were examined by ultrasound at the beginning and the end of a long-term in-patient withdrawal therapy. Fatty liver was graded qualitatively (no, slight, moderate and severe fatty liver). The sonographic liver sections were registered digitally per examination and were subsequently evaluated by means of the PC by two independent experts. Additionally, a digital texture analysis of representative hepatic and renal regions was performed. The pixel intensity ratio of liver and kidney was used as a measure of liver echogenicity.
Results: In the ultrasound examination, the 59 patients had the following severity grade of fatty liver initially: 18 (31 %) severe, 19 (32 %) moderate, 22 (37 %) slight. 37 patients (63 %) showed sonographically an improvement of the initial severity grade within 79 +/- 26 days (p < 0.0001, 95 % confidence interval: 50 - 74 %). The evaluation by the independent experts revealed 47 and 54 % improvement, respectively. The overall degree of agreement between the 3 ratings concerning grading and course was high (intraclass coefficient = 0.896). However, there was a marked deviation between the several grading levels (agreement 15 - 86 %). The categorical differentiation between no/slight versus moderate/severe fatty liver revealed an agreement of between 81 and 91 %. The mean pixel intensity ratio showed an improvement of 17 % (p < 0.0001).
Conclusions: After 3 months abstinence an improvement of alcoholic fatty liver can be consistently documented in about 50 % of the cases by sonography. The interobserver variability on differentiating no/slight versus moderate/severe fatty liver was low. The digital texture analysis confirmed the range of reversibility and could play a role in quantifying the sonographic degree of fatty infiltration.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-2007-963229 | DOI Listing |
Diabetol Metab Syndr
January 2025
Department of Radiology, Shanghai Health and Medical Center, No. 67 Dajishan, Binhu District, Wuxi, 214065, China.
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Methods: This study analyzed 7,507 participants aged ≥ 40 who underwent comprehensive health evaluations at the Shanghai Health and Medical Center.
Sci Rep
January 2025
Department of Emergency, the Eighth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a predominant cause of cancer-related mortality globally, noted for its propensity towards late-stage diagnosis and scarcity of effective treatment modalities. The process of metabolic reprogramming, with a specific emphasis on lipid metabolism, is instrumental in the progression of HCC. Nevertheless, the precise mechanisms through which lipid metabolism impacts HCC and its viability as a therapeutic target have yet to be fully elucidated.
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Microbe Interactomics Group, Dept. Animal Sciences, Wageningen University & Research (WUR), Wageningen, the Netherlands. Electronic address:
This study investigates the impact of maternal gestation diets with varying fiber contents on gene expression and chromatin accessibility in fetuses and piglets fed a low fiber diet post weaning. High-fiber maternal diets, enriched with sugar beet pulp or pea internal fiber, were compared to a low-fiber maternal diet to evaluate their effects on liver and muscle tissues. The findings demonstrate that maternal high-fiber diets significantly alter chromatin accessibility, predicted transcription factor activity and transcriptional landscape in both fetuses and piglets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Biol Chem
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Hypertension and Vascular Research Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI, 48202; Department of Physiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA 48202. Electronic address:
The storage and release of triacylglycerol (TAG) in lipid droplets (LDs) is regulated by dynamic protein interactions. α/β hydrolase domain-containing protein 5 (ABHD5; also known as CGI-58) is a membrane/LD bound protein that functions as a co-activator of Patatin Like Phospholipase Domain Containing 2 (PNPLA2; also known as Adipose triglyceride lipase, ATGL) the rate-limiting enzyme for TAG hydrolysis. The dysregulation of TAG hydrolysis is involved in various metabolic diseases such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExp Cell Res
January 2025
Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang City, 421001, Hunan province, China; Department of Gastroenterology, Ningyuan County People's Hospital, Yongzhou City, 425600, Hunan province, China. Electronic address:
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic disease characterized by hepatocyte steatosis, which excludes alcohol, drugs and other definite liver damage-related factors. It has been reported that OTUB1 serves a significant role in the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism. The present study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism underlying the effect of OTUB1 on regulating NAFLD.
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