title: Vascular impairment in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.
abstract: Experimental and clinical observation suggest that patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) have endothelial dysfunction. Postischemic digital blood flow, nailfold capillaroscopy, von Willebrand factor (vWf) and tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) plasma levels were examined in 59 PBC patients. Forty-six subjects (15 with liver diseases other than PBC, 11 hypercholesterolemics, 20 healthy subjects) served as controls. PBC versus healthy controls (209.8 +/- 1.4% and 16.54 +/- 1.44 ng/ml vs. 120.2 +/- 1.4% and 9.91 +/- 1.49 ng/ml; p<0.001) and related to bilirubin (r = 0.38, p<0.02; r = 0.47, p<0.0005, respectively). vWf was also increased in other liver diseases (249.9 +/- 1.7%; p<0.001) and related to bilirubin (r = 0.59, p<0.05). Postischemic finger blood flow negatively correlated with vWf(p<0.05 or less). Our data indicate that PBC patients have microvascular disease. Whether vessels other than those of the fingers were involved remained unclear. vWf and t-PA might reflect a dysfunction of teh hepatic vascular endothelium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, University of Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marasini
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pipia
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: DeValle
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Crosignani
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Petroni
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cugno
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zeni
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bruno
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bassani
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000098:blood supply; D006801:Humans; D006940:Hyperemia / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology; D008099:Liver / Q000098:blood supply*; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator / Q000097:blood; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014841:von Willebrand Factor / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014841:von Willebrand Factor; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator