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Abstract

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver injury. Elevated uric acid (UA) is an important factor in the development of NAFLD. Both combined result in apoptosis which is an important mechanism in pathogenesis of NAFLD, where it leads to activation of caspase family of intracellular proteases which then cleave different intracellular proteins including cytokeratin 18 (CK18) which can be used as a key marker in NAFLD. Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of treating hyperuricemia by allopurinol on NAFLD patients by blood markers as CK18, liver enzymes (GOT, GPT), cholesterol (Chol) and triglyceride (TG). Methods: In this study, 31 hyperuricemic patients with NAFLD diagnosed by ultrasound were enrolled in the study and divided into two groups; Group A (14 patients): Placebo group who received starch based tablets for 3 months and Group B (17 patients): Treatment group who received allopurinol (300 mg) for 3 months. UA, CK 18, GPT, GOT, Chol and TG were measured before and after treatment. Results: The study showed a significant decline in CK18 levels after treatment (P=0.006), improvement in GPT and GOT levels after treatment (P<0.001 and P=0.013, respectively), also there was an improvement in Chol and TG levels after treatment (P=0.01 and 0.038, respectively). Conclusion: Allopurinol may play a role in improvement of patients with NAFLD associated with hyperuricemia and CK18 may be used as a good marker in assessing patients� improvement.

Biography

Email: dr_sylvia_samir@hotmail.com