title: Impaired Gallbladder Motility and Increased Gallbladder Wall Thickness in Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently the most common chronic liver disease worldwide. Along with the increase in the incidence of NAFLD and associated obesity, an increase in gallbladder disease (GD) has been noted. This has led to the identification of a new disease entity called fatty GD. There is a gap in the literature on the dynamics of gallbladder function in patients with NAFLD.
  
  
  METHODS
  An observational case-control study, a total of 50 patients with biopsy proven NAFLD without gallbladder stone/sludge and 38 healthy comparison subjects were enrolled. Fasting, postprandial gallbladder volumes (PGV), gallbladder ejection fraction (GEF), and fasting gallbladder wall thickness (FGWT) were measured by real-time 2-dimensional ultrasonography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fasting gallbladder wall thickness, fasting gallbladder volumes and PGV were significantly higher in patients with NAFLD than control subjects (P < 0.001, P = 0.006, and P < 0.001, respectively). Gallbladder ejection fraction was significantly lower in the NAFLD group than the controls (P = 0.008). The presence of NAFLD was an independent predictor for GEF, PGV, and FGWT. Also, steatosis grade was an independent predictor for GEF, and GEF was significantly lower in the nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) subgroup than the controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gallbladder dysfunction and increase in gallbladder wall thickness exists in asymptomatic (without stone/sludge and related symptoms) patients with NAFLD and are useful in identifying fatty GD. Measurement of these variables in NAFLD patients may be useful in identifying those at higher risk for GD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Istanbul Medeniyet University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.|Department of Gastroenterology, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Yasar
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Colak
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Istanbul Medeniyet University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gulcin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bozbey
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Tolga
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Erim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Istanbul Medeniyet University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ozge Telci
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Caklili
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Istanbul Medeniyet University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Celal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ulasoglu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Istanbul Medeniyet University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ebubekir
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Senates
authors.affiliation: Department of Family of Medicine, Istanbul Medeniyet University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hasan Huseyin
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Mutlu
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Istanbul Medeniyet University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Banu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mesci
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Erciyes University, School of Medicine, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet Sait
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Doğan
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Istanbul Medeniyet University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Guralp
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tasan
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Istanbul Medeniyet University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Feruze Yilmaz
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Enc
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Istanbul Medeniyet University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ilyas
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tuncer
keywords: Gallbladder; Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; Physiopathology