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(Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2005;25:2687.)
© 2005 American Heart Association, Inc.

Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor

Associations Between Liver Histology and Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Patients With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Giovanni Targher; Lorenzo Bertolini; Roberto Padovani

Division of Internal Medicine "Sacro Cuore" Hospital, Negrar (VR)

Giacomo Zoppini

Division of Endocrinology University of Verona, Italy

Luciano Zenari; Giancarlo Falezza

Division of Internal Medicine, "Sacro Cuore" Hospital, Negrar (VR)

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

To the Editor:

NAFLD is a clinicopathological syndrome that is closely associated with visceral obesity, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes, thus suggesting that NAFLD is another feature of the metabolic syndrome (MetS).¹ Recent cross-sectional studies^2–4 have shown that NAFLD is associated with increased carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) as a reliable marker of early atherosclerosis.⁵ However, in these studies the NAFLD diagnosis was exclusively based on ultrasound imaging, but was not confirmed by liver biopsy, which is the best diagnostic tool for confirming NAFLD.¹ The aim of this study was to assess whether patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD had greater carotid IMT than control subjects and to evaluate whether there were significant associations between liver histopathology and carotid IMT among NAFLD patients.

Fifty consecutive patients with NAFLD were recruited from clinics. All patients had chronically elevated liver enzymes. The NAFLD diagnosis was based on liver biopsy and exclusion of known etiologic factors of chronic liver disease. Seven men and 4 women had preexisting type 2 diabetes, 8 managed their diabetes with diet alone, and 3 were taking metformin. The control group, recruited from hospital staff member and relatives, consisted of 40 healthy volunteers with normal liver function tests and normal liver ultrasonography, who were comparable for age, sex, and body mass index (BMI). The protocol was approved by the local Ethical Committee.

Plasma liver function tests and other biochemical blood measurements were determined by standard laboratory procedures. Insulin resistance was estimated by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR score).⁶ The presence . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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				G. Targher, L. Bertolini, R. Padovani, S. Rodella, G. Zoppini, L. Zenari, M. Cigolini, G. Falezza, and G. Arcaro Relations Between Carotid Artery Wall Thickness and Liver Histology in Subjects With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Diabetes Care, June 1, 2006; 29(6): 1325 - 1330. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]