International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Jan 2014)

Evaluation of Hepatic Tissue Blood Flow Using Xenon Computed Tomography with Fibrosis Progression in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Comparison with Chronic Hepatitis C

  • Ryuta Shigefuku,
  • Hideaki Takahashi,
  • Masaki Kato,
  • Yoshihito Yoshida,
  • Keigo Suetani,
  • Yohei Noguchi,
  • Moriaki Hatsugai,
  • Kazunari Nakahara,
  • Hiroki Ikeda,
  • Minoru Kobayashi,
  • Kotaro Matsunaga,
  • Nobuyuki Matsumoto,
  • Chiaki Okuse,
  • Fumio Itoh,
  • Shiro Maeyama,
  • Shigeru Sase,
  • Michihiro Suzuki

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms15011026
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 1
pp. 1026 – 1039

Abstract

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Aims: The present study evaluated the utility of xenon computed tomography (Xe-CT) as a noninvasive diagnostic procedure for the measurement of hepatic tissue blood flow (TBF) in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or chronic hepatitis C (CH-C). Methods: Xe-CT was performed in 93 patients with NAFLD and in 109 patients with CH-C. Subjects were classified into one of three groups, based on fibrosis stage: group 1, no bridging fibrosis; group 2, bridging fibrosis; and group 3, liver cirrhosis. Correlations between hepatic TBFs in each fibrosis stage were examined. Results: In group 1, portal venous TBF (PVTBF), hepatic arterial (HATBF), and total hepatic TBF (THTBF) were significantly lower in patients with in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) than in those with CH-C (p < 0.001, p < 0.05, p < 0.001, respectively). In group 2, PVTBF and THTBF were significantly lower in patients with in NASH than in those with CH-C (p < 0.001, p < 0.05, respectively). In group 3, hepatic TBFs were not significantly different when comparing patients with NASH and those with CH-C. Conclusions: PVTBF decreased due to fat infiltration. Therefore, hemodynamic changes occur relatively earlier in NAFLD than in CH-C. Patients with NASH should be monitored carefully for portal hypertensive complications in the early fibrosis stage.

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