Serum YKL-40 is increased in patients with hepatic fibrosis
Section snippets
Patients
The study included 129 biopsies from consecutive patients (82 men and 47 women with a median age of 49 years (range 24–80 years)) referred to the Department of Gastroenterology between December 1992 and November 1994 with suspicion of liver disease. A blood sample and a liver biopsy were taken simultaneously from each patient. Diagnosis of the liver disease was based on histology and accepted biochemical and clinical criteria. Four subjects did not have any signs of liver disease or other
Results
The individual concentrations of serum YKL-40, PIIINP and hyaluronan in relation to the various liver diseases, determined by histopathological and clinical criteria, are illustrated in Fig. 1 (a, b and c) and the median levels are given in Table 2. The serum YKL-40 levels were highest in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis (median 532 μg/l and 5-fold increased compared with the median level of healthy age-matched controls), posthepatitic cirrhosis (425 μg/l) and noncirrhotic fibrosis (330
Discussion
Our present findings confirm that serum YKL-40 concentration is increased in patients with chronic liver disease. Most of the patients with alcoholic cirrhosis or posthepatitic cirrhosis had elevated serum YKL-40, and the highest levels were found in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis in combination with alcoholic hepatitis. These patients had a median level of serum YKL-40 which was 3-fold higher than the upper normal level, and many had more than 5-fold elevated serum YKL-40. Patients with
Acknowledgements
The expert technical assistance of Margit Bech and Vibeke Karlsen, Department of Pathology, Hvidovre Hospital, Denmark and Birgitte Olsen, Institute of Medical Anatomy Section A, The Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark is gratefully acknowledged. We also appreciate helpful support from Hanne Hansen, Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Hvidovre Hospital, Denmark in the statistical calculations and the preparation of the figures, and from Lene Theil Skovgaard,
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