Severity of non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis is associated with substitution of adipose tissue in skeletal muscle
- 22 August 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
- Vol. 28 (9), 1507-1514
- https://doi.org/10.1111/jgh.12227
Abstract
The pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is now focusing on its organ cross-talk with not only adipose tissue but also systemic skeletal muscle. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies were conducted to determine the role of intramuscular adipose tissue content (IMAC) measured by computed tomography on the severity of NAFLD/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Two hundred eight Japanese patients with NAFLD/NASH diagnosed by liver biopsy were enrolled into a cross-sectional study. Twenty-one patients were enrolled in a longitudinal study and received a programmed diet and exercise intervention, in some cases the combination of pharmacotherapy. We measured IMAC in the multifidus muscle and biochemical parameters, and conducted liver histology to assess NAFLD/NASH status. Histopathological stage in terms of simple steatosis and Brunt's classification was significantly correlated with IMAC (P < 0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that risk factors associated with the severity of NASH were IMAC and aging (IMAC: odds ratio = 2.444, P < 0.05; Age: odds ratio = 2.355, P < 0.05). The interventions improved histopathological changes in 11 patients with NASH as well as IMAC. These results suggest that skeletal muscle fat accumulation may have been linked to the pathogenesis and severity of NASH.Keywords
Funding Information
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (22590741)
This publication has 47 references indexed in Scilit:
- Validation of the FIB4 index in a Japanese nonalcoholic fatty liver disease populationBMC Gastroenterology, 2012
- Age-related fat deposition in multifidus muscle could be a marker for nonalcoholic fatty liver diseaseThe Esophagus, 2009
- Aerobic exercise training reduces hepatic and visceral lipids in obese individuals without weight lossHepatology, 2009
- Hepatitis C virus infection enhances insulin resistance induced by visceral fat accumulationLiver International, 2009
- Long-Term Follow-Up of Patients With Nonalcoholic Fatty LiverClinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2008
- A randomized controlled pilot study of Pentoxifylline in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)Hepatology International, 2008
- Disruption of BCATm in Mice Leads to Increased Energy Expenditure Associated with the Activation of a Futile Protein Turnover CycleCell Metabolism, 2007
- Abdominal obesity and metabolic syndromeNature, 2006
- Development of a simple noninvasive index to predict significant fibrosis in patients with HIV/HCV coinfectionHepatology, 2006
- Design and validation of a histological scoring system for nonalcoholic fatty liver diseaseHepatology, 2005