Adipocytokine Imbalance and Ghrelin in the Development of Insulin Resistance in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the role of the most informative indicators of adipocytokine status and ghrelin in insulin resistance (IR) formation in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients at different stages of liver fibrosis (LF). Materials and Methods: This study included 205 CHC patients with HCV genotypes 1 and 3. A comparative analysis of the laboratory parameters was carried out in a group of patients with IR (n=110) and without IR (n=95) and in patients depending on the stage of LF. The serum levels of adipocytokines and ghrelin were determined using Bachem Group (USA) and Immundiagnostik AG (Germany) test systems with microplate reader Elx800 (FinBio, Finland). Diagnosis and assessment of the degree of fibrosis was performed by liver biopsy, liver elastometry and calculation test FibroTest. Results: Obtained data allow us to regard the decreased secretion of ghrelin, and increased production of leptin, resistin and TNF-α as a component involved in the formation of IR in CHC patients.

Keywords

• : chronic hepatitis C;
• adipocytokines;
• ghrelin;
• insulin resistance;