title: Selenium deficiency is associated with insulin resistance in patients with hepatitis C virus-related chronic liver disease.
abstract: The relationship between selenium (Se) deficiency and insulin resistance has not much been established in persistent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, although Se deficiency is often observed in patients with liver cirrhosis. We hypothesized that the decreased serum Se levels were associated with the severity of hepatic fibrosis or insulin resistance in patients with HCV-related chronic liver disease (CLD). To test the hypothesis, 52 patients with HCV-related CLD including chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis were enrolled in this study. The severity of hepatic fibrosis was divided into 4 categories (F(1) through F(4)) according to the new Inuyama classification. Insulin resistance was defined by the homeostasis model for assessment of insulin resistance value. Serum Se levels significantly declined in proportion to the severity of hepatic fibrosis and were positively correlated with serum albumin (r = 0.372, P = .0065) and zinc (r = 0.403, P = .0081) concentrations. Serum Se levels were also linked to glutathione peroxidase activities in the sera of the enrolled patients (r = 0.374, P = .0148). By contrast, serum Se levels were inversely correlated with the homeostasis model for assessment of insulin resistance values (r = -0.304, P = .0338). However, serum Se levels were independent of HCV genotype and loads of HCV-RNA. These findings suggest that Se deficiency was associated with the severity of hepatic fibrosis in patients with HCV-related CLD and that Se deficiency was likely to be one of the factors contributing to insulin resistance in those patients.
authors: Department of Integrated Medicine, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa, Japan. thimoto@med.kagawa-u.ac.jp
authors: Takashi
authors: T
authors: Himoto
authors: Hirohito
authors: H
authors: Yoneyama
authors: Kazukata
authors: K
authors: Kurokohchi
authors: Michio
authors: M
authors: Inukai
authors: Hisashi
authors: H
authors: Masugata
authors: Fuminori
authors: F
authors: Goda
authors: Reiji
authors: R
authors: Haba
authors: Seishiro
authors: S
authors: Watababe
authors: Satoru
authors: S
authors: Kubota
authors: Shoichi
authors: S
authors: Senda
authors: Tsutomu
authors: T
authors: Masaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000097:blood; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000502:physiology*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D012643:Selenium / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency*; D019562:Viral Load; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D012643:Selenium; D015032:Zinc