title: Usefulness of serum hepatic fibrosis markers in the diagnosis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In the present study, we examined the usefulness of serum hepatic fibrosis markers for the diagnosis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects were 16 patients with NASH and 9 patients with fatty liver (FL). All were negative for serum HBsAg, HCVAb, antibodies related with autoimmune diseases, alcohol intake, and drug abuse. We measured the biochemical markers for liver function, hepatic fibrosis markers such as type III procollagen N-peptide (PIIIP), type IV collagen (TyIV), hyaluronic acid (HA) and leptin, and compared these data with histological findings of biopsy specimens. In addition, we examined the diagnostic efficiency of fibrosis markers and leptin for NASH using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Body mass index (BMI), fasting blood sugar, triglyceride, and degree of fat droplets, inflammation, iron deposition and fibrosis were significantly higher in the NASH group compared with the FL group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The diagnostic efficiencies of NASH% (cut-off value) were 68% (100ng/mL) for TyIV, 68% (10ng/mL) for HA, 64% (0.62U/mL) for PIIIP and 56% (8pg/mL) for leptin.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  From these results, it is suggested that the serum hepatic fibrosis markers such as TyIV, in addition to liver biopsy, may be useful for the diagnosis of NASH.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Nozomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Takato
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.forename: Yasuyo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: Eisuke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nagata
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sata
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D024141:Collagen Type IV / Q000097:blood*; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D005355:Fibrosis; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood*; D011347:Procollagen / Q000097:blood*; D012372:ROC Curve; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D024141:Collagen Type IV; D020738:Leptin; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011347:Procollagen; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; C041876:procollagen Type III-N-terminal peptide; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid