AIM: To examine whether hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients who carry hypercoagulable mutationssuffer from increased rates of liver fi brosis. METHODS: We analyzed DNA samples of 168 HCV patients for three commo...AIM: To examine whether hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients who carry hypercoagulable mutationssuffer from increased rates of liver fi brosis. METHODS: We analyzed DNA samples of 168 HCV patients for three common hypercoagulable gene mutations: prothrombin 20210 (PT20210), factor V Leiden (FV Leiden) and methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR). The patients were consecutively recruited as part of the prospective "Fibroscore Study" in France. The effect of the various mutations on the rate of fi-brosis was analyzed statistically and was correlated with epidemiological, clinical and biochemical data such as grade and stage of liver biopsies, patients' risk factors for liver cirrhosis, and timing of infection. RESULTS: Fifty two of the patients were categorized as "fast fi brosers" and 116 as "slow fi brosers"; 13% of the "fast fi brosers" carried the PT20210 mutation as compared with 5.5% of the "slow fi brosers", with an odds ratio of 4.76 (P = 0.033; 95% CI: 1.13-19.99) for "fast" liver fibrosis. Carriage of MTHFR or FV Leiden mutations was not associated with enhanced liver fi brosis. CONCLUSION: Carriage of the PT20210 mutation is related to an increased rate of liver fi brosis in HCV patients.展开更多
AIM:To construct and evaluate a new non-invasive fibrosis index for assessment of the stage of liver f ibrosis. METHODS:A new f ibrosis index (Fibro-Stiffness index) was developed in 165 of 285 patients with chronic h...AIM:To construct and evaluate a new non-invasive fibrosis index for assessment of the stage of liver f ibrosis. METHODS:A new f ibrosis index (Fibro-Stiffness index) was developed in 165 of 285 patients with chronic hepatitis C, and was validated in the other 120 patients where liver biopsy was performed. Its usefulness was compared with liver stiffness (LS) measured by FibroScan, the aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index, the Forns index and the FibroIndex. RESULTS: The Fibro-Stiffness index consists of LS,platelet count and prothrombin time. The values of the Fibro-Stiffness index differed signif icantly between neighboring f ibrosis stages except F0-F1. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curves of the Fibro-Stiffness index for prediction of F≥2 (0.90), F≥ 3 (0.90) and F= 4(0.92) in the estimation group and those for F≥ 3 (0.93) and F =4 (0.97) in the validation group were the highest among the 5 methods examined. The accuracy of the Fibro-Stiffness index had highest values for F≥2, F≥3 and F=4 in both the estimation and validation groups. The diagnostic performance for F= 4 was improved by a combination of the Fibro-Stiffness index with serum hyaluronic acid level. CONCLUSION: The Fibro-Stiffness index was constructed and validated. It showed superior diagnostic performance to other indices for F ≥ 2,3 and 4.展开更多
文摘AIM: To examine whether hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients who carry hypercoagulable mutationssuffer from increased rates of liver fi brosis. METHODS: We analyzed DNA samples of 168 HCV patients for three common hypercoagulable gene mutations: prothrombin 20210 (PT20210), factor V Leiden (FV Leiden) and methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR). The patients were consecutively recruited as part of the prospective "Fibroscore Study" in France. The effect of the various mutations on the rate of fi-brosis was analyzed statistically and was correlated with epidemiological, clinical and biochemical data such as grade and stage of liver biopsies, patients' risk factors for liver cirrhosis, and timing of infection. RESULTS: Fifty two of the patients were categorized as "fast fi brosers" and 116 as "slow fi brosers"; 13% of the "fast fi brosers" carried the PT20210 mutation as compared with 5.5% of the "slow fi brosers", with an odds ratio of 4.76 (P = 0.033; 95% CI: 1.13-19.99) for "fast" liver fibrosis. Carriage of MTHFR or FV Leiden mutations was not associated with enhanced liver fi brosis. CONCLUSION: Carriage of the PT20210 mutation is related to an increased rate of liver fi brosis in HCV patients.
文摘AIM:To construct and evaluate a new non-invasive fibrosis index for assessment of the stage of liver f ibrosis. METHODS:A new f ibrosis index (Fibro-Stiffness index) was developed in 165 of 285 patients with chronic hepatitis C, and was validated in the other 120 patients where liver biopsy was performed. Its usefulness was compared with liver stiffness (LS) measured by FibroScan, the aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index, the Forns index and the FibroIndex. RESULTS: The Fibro-Stiffness index consists of LS,platelet count and prothrombin time. The values of the Fibro-Stiffness index differed signif icantly between neighboring f ibrosis stages except F0-F1. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curves of the Fibro-Stiffness index for prediction of F≥2 (0.90), F≥ 3 (0.90) and F= 4(0.92) in the estimation group and those for F≥ 3 (0.93) and F =4 (0.97) in the validation group were the highest among the 5 methods examined. The accuracy of the Fibro-Stiffness index had highest values for F≥2, F≥3 and F=4 in both the estimation and validation groups. The diagnostic performance for F= 4 was improved by a combination of the Fibro-Stiffness index with serum hyaluronic acid level. CONCLUSION: The Fibro-Stiffness index was constructed and validated. It showed superior diagnostic performance to other indices for F ≥ 2,3 and 4.