Hanafy AS, Basha MAK, Wadea FM. Novel markers of endothelial dysfunction in hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis: More than a mere prediction of esophageal varices. World J Hepatol 2020; 12(10): 850-862 [PMID: 33200022 DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v12.i10.850]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Amr Shaaban Hanafy, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division, Zagazig University Hospital, 40- Elzohour treet, Zagazig 44519, Egypt. amrhanafy@zu.edu.eg
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Observational Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Hepatol. Oct 27, 2020; 12(10): 850-862 Published online Oct 27, 2020. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v12.i10.850
Novel markers of endothelial dysfunction in hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis: More than a mere prediction of esophageal varices
Amr Shaaban Hanafy, Mohamed Abdel Khalik Basha, Fady Maher Wadea
Amr Shaaban Hanafy, Fady Maher Wadea, Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division, Zagazig University Hospital, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
Mohamed Abdel Khalik Basha, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
Author contributions: Hanafy AS was the guarantor; Hanafy AS, and Wadea FM were involved in the study concept and design; Hanafy AS, Basha MAK, and Wadea FM participated in the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of the data, and drafted the initial manuscript; Hanafy AS performed the statistical analysis; Basha MAK was responsible for radiological investigations; all authors revised the article critically for important intellectual content.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by Zagazig Faculty of Medicine Ethical Committee.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided written informed consent before study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There are no conflicts of interest to report.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—a checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—a checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Amr Shaaban Hanafy, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division, Zagazig University Hospital, 40- Elzohour treet, Zagazig 44519, Egypt. amrhanafy@zu.edu.eg
Received: April 29, 2020 Peer-review started: April 29, 2020 First decision: July 5, 2020 Revised: July 15, 2020 Accepted: August 24, 2020 Article in press: August 24, 2020 Published online: October 27, 2020 Processing time: 177 Days and 4.8 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection may affect lipid metabolism by enhancing the circulating levels of inflammatory cytokines. HCV may induce endothelial dysfunction.
Research motivation
We believe that there is a potential correlation between the changes in lipid profile, carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and ankle-brachial index with the severity of fibrosis, grades of esophageal varices (EVs), and fibrosis indices.
Research objectives
To identify predictive markers of vascular changes and endothelial dysfunction in HCV-related cirrhosis
Research methods
HCV infected cirrhotic patients with and without EVs were evaluated by routine laboratory tests, including lipid profile assay, abdominal ultrasonography, carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) by carotid Doppler, bedside ankle-brachial index (ABI), liver stiffness measurement, and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and compared to the healthy control group. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify variables independently associated with advanced fibrosis and endothelial dysfunction.
Research results
CIMT, low-density lipoproteins (LDL)/platelet ratio, ABI, and very LDL (VLDL) were predictive of advanced fibrosis, EVs and endothelial dysfunction. They were effective at cutoff values of 1.1 mm, 1, 0.94, and 16.5 mg/dL, respectively.
Research conclusions
CIMT, ABI, VLDL, and LDL/platelet count ratio are good non-invasive predictors of advanced fibrosis, presence of EVs, and endothelial dysfunction in liver cirrhosis.
Research perspectives
The proposed markers serve as non-invasive predictors of cirrhosis, EVs and endothelial dysfunction, and patients with advanced fibrosis and larger varices had higher CIMT and lower ABI consequently, they bear an increased cardiovascular risk added to the risk of variceal bleeding. The study was designed and validated in a single-center. External, prospective validation is required to determine the widespread applicability and utility of this model.
