title: Are hepatic steatosis and carotid intima media thickness associated in obese patients with normal or slightly elevated gamma-glutamyl-transferase?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hepatic steatosis (HS) has been associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome (MS), conditions carrying a high risk of coronary artery disease. We aimed to determine whether HS was an independent factor of atherogenic risk beyond its association with MS and its components.
  
  
  METHODS
  We assessed the circulating levels of the heat shock protein-70 (HSP-70), a chaperone involved in inflammation, endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptosis at liver and endothelial level and the gamma-glutamyl transferase activity (γ-GT) correlating them to carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), along with lipid profile, HOMA, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, ferritin, adiposity type as well as spleen volume in 52 obese pts with grade 1, 128 with grade 2, and 20 with grade 3 of HS evaluated by sonography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with different grade of HS demonstrated overlapping HSP-70 levels; similarly performed obese subjects regarding IMT. Using multiple regression analysis, IMT was predicted by age, visceral adiposity and by HOMA (β = 0.50, p < 0.0001, β = 0.30, p = 0.01 and β = 0.18, p = 0.048 respectively, while the severity of HS was predicted by visceral and subcutaneous adiposity and HOMA (β = 0.50, p < 0.0001 and β = 0.27, p = 0.001 and β = 0.18, p = 0.024, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our series of patients with normal or mild elevation of γ-GT, the severity of HS does not entail higher IMT, which may be linked to MS stigmata.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Federico II University Medical School of Naples, Naples, Italy. tarantin@unina.it
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tarantino
authors.forename: Carmine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Finelli
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Colao
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Capone
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tarantino
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grimaldi
authors.forename: Donato
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chianese
authors.forename: Saverio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gioia
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pasanisi
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Contaldo
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Scopacasa
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Savastano
mesh_terms: D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000150:complications* / Q000201:enzymology*; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000201:enzymology*; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase