Hepatic Inflammation and Fibrosis Flashcards
Histological Scoring System: Metavir
- **Inflammation **(reversible)
- Grade 0: No activity
- Grade 1: Minimal
- Grade 2: Mild
- Grade 3: Moderate
- Grade 4: Severe
-
Fibrosis (irreversible)
- Grade 0: No fibrosis
- Grade 1: Portal fibrosis
- Grade 2: Periportal fibrosis
- Grade 3: Septal fibrosis
- Grade 4: Cirrhosis
Hepatic Necrosis
- Definition:
- Can lead to ….
- Most common causes ….
-
Acute cell death
- Fibrosis in most cases takes years
- Can lead to acute liver failure (or fulminant liver failure)
- Most common causes are medications (acetaminophen) and viral hepatitis
What is fulminant liver failure?
acute liver failure that is complicated by coagulopathy and encephalopathy
Alcohol Content of Various Beverages:
Alcohol Drinking Pattern Definitions:
- Binge Drinking
- Heavy Drinking
- Excessive Drinking
-
Binge Drinking:
- For women, 4 or more drinks during a single occasion
- For men, 5 or more drinks during a single occasion
-
Heavy Drinking:
- For women, more than 1 drink per day on average
- For men, more than 2 drinks per day on average
-
Excessive Drinking:
- includes heavy drinking, binge drinking or both
- Whta catalyzes this reaction: Ethanol ⇒ Acetaldehyde
- What catalyzes this reaction: Acetaldehyde ⇒ Acetic acid
- What is the other function of CYP2E1?
- Ethanol ⇒ Acetaldehyde
- Alcohol Dehydrogenase (75-80%)
- Microsomal Ethanol Oxidizing System** **(20-25%), CYP2E1
- Acetaldehyde ⇒ Acetic acid
- Aldehyde Dehydrogenase
- Other function of CYP2E1:
- metabolism of acetaminophen
Effects Of:
- Increased NADH
- Increased acetaldehyde
-
Increased NADH
- inhibition of TCA cycle; reduced gluconeogenesis
- reduced fatty acid oxidation
-
Increased acetaldehyde
- activates stellate cells to form collagen
- Microfilaments that maintain intracellular skeleton are sheared (ballooning)
- Kupffer cells produce tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF α)
ALD: Spectrum of Disease
Risk Factors for ALD
-
Quantity of Alcohol
- >30 g/day in men
- > 20 g/day in women
- Outside of meals
- Binge drinking
- Hepatitis C
Lab Abnormalities for ALD:
- Biochemistry
- Hematology
-
Biochemistry
-
AST/ALT ratio > 2-3
- If > 3, it is ALD (put your $ on it)
- ALT usually <300 IU/ml
- Rarely raised Alk Phos
- Low Albumin
- Bilirubin
-
AST/ALT ratio > 2-3
-
Hematology
- Prolonged INR (advanced disease)
- Macrocytosis / anemia
- Thrombocytopenia (advanced disease)
How is alcoholic hepatitis treated?
-
Abstinence and lifestyle modification
- nutritional support
- 8-12 weeks to see improvement
-
Anti-inflammatory drugs
- glucocorticoids
- Pentoxifylline (inhibits TNFα)
- both are only used for alcoholic hepatitis
How do you decide who to treat for alcoholic hepatitis?
-
Discriminant function
- 4.6 * (PT - PT CONTROL) + T BILI
- Patients with values > 32 have a 1-month mortality from 30%-50%
What is the most common cause of elevated transaminases in the U.S.?
**Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease **(NAFLD)
What is needed in order to diagnose NAFLD?
must obtain a history
How is Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease categorized? (2)
-
Non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL)
- Presence of hepatic steatosis without inflammation or hepatocellular injury (ballooning of hepatocytes)
-
Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)
- Presence of hepatic steatosis and inflammation with hepatocellular injury (ballooning of hepatocytes) with or without fibrosis
What are the stages of NAFLD?
- Fatty Liver (Hepatosteatosis) ⇒ (10% progress)
- Steatohepatitis (NASH) ⇒
- Steatohepatitis with Fibrosis (35% OF NASH) ⇒
- Cirrhosis (15% OF NASH)
What is are the associated metabolic syndromes with NAFLD?
- Obesity (30-100%)
- Diabetes (15-50%)
- Hypertriglyceridemia (15-80%)
NAFLD correlations:
- Prevalence
- Severity of disease
- Gender
- Race/Ethnicity
- Prevalence increases with age
- Severity of disease (including advanced fibrosis/cirrhosis) increases with age
- Males > Females
- Hispanics > Caucasians > African Americans
Note: Odds for NAFLD increase with higher BMI (obesity)
_____ is the most common liver disease in children in the US
**NAFLD **the most common liver disease in children in the US
- NASH is present in 18% of these children
What type of hyperlipedemia has the most impact on increased risk for NAFLD diagnosis?
- Hypertriglyceridemia rather than hypercholesteremia increases risk
- 3-fold greater risk with triglycerides > 200
What are causes of steatosis and steatohepatitis?
- Alcohol
- Medications
- Nutritional
- Insulin resistance (IR)
- Abetalipoproteniemia
- Weight changes
What medications cause steatosis and steatohepatitis?
- Amiodarone
- Steroids
- HAART
- Tamoxifen
- Diltiazem
What are nutritional causes of steatosis and steatohepatitis?
- TPN
- Severe starvation
- Refeeding syndrome
Development and Progression of NAFLD
What do you look for on ultrasound, when looking for a fatty liver?
- fat is bright
- normal tissue is dark
What are the therapeutic strategies for NAFLD?
-
Lifestyle Modifications:
- decrease oral intake
- active lifestyle
- Prevent/Treat Insulin Resistance
- Reduce Oxidative Stress
What was the AASLD statement on weight loss for NAFLD patients?
-
Loss of at least 3-5% of body weight necessary to improve steatosis
- up to 10% may be needed to improve inflammation
What were the results for Pioglitazone vs. Vitamin E or Placebo for NASH?
- RESULTS (primary endpoint)
- vitamin E vs placebo; 43% vs 19% (p=0.001)
- pioglitazone vs placebo; 34% vs 19% (p=0.04)
- Both reduced transaminases
- Both reduced inflammation
- Neither reduced fibrosis
- Patients receiving pioglitazone gained more weight (4.7 kg)