Affiliations 

  • 1 Kharkiv National Medical University, Kharkiv, Ukraine
  • 2 Kharkiv National Medical University, Kharkiv, Ukraine - ka.lapshyna@knmu.edu.ua
  • 3 GI "National Institute of Therapy named by L.T. Malaya NAMNU, " Kharkiv, Ukraine
Minerva Gastroenterol (Torino), 2022 Dec;68(4):415-420.
PMID: 34929996 DOI: 10.23736/S2724-5985.21.02982-X

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is an inflammatory subtype of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and recent non-invasive test, MACK-3, demonstrated good diagnostic characteristics for fibrosis in several studies. The aim of our study was to assess the liver state using the non-invasive MACK-3 Test, and its link with liver fibrosis stage, inflammatory activity, steatosis, and metabolic markers in NAFLD patients with hypertension (HT).

METHODS: Thirty adult NAFLD patients with HT, aged 30 to 60 years (mean age 46.36±5.1 years) were included in our study. The control group consisted of 20 healthy volunteers. In addition to basic laboratory tests and ultrasonographic examination, validated non-invasive fibrosis test were performed. MACK-3 was calculated using the online calculator with the following variables: fasting glucose, fasting insulin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and cytokeratin 18 (CK18).

RESULTS: All NAFLD patients with HT were characterized with increased liver enzymatic activity, lipid profile, increased levels of insulin and HOMA-IR˂0.001. MACK-3 parameters were positively correlated with thymol test = 0.45 (P<0.013), with aspartataminotransferase (AST) = 0.38 (P<0.03) and alanineaminotransferase (ALT) - =0.38 (P<0.03), with the stage of Fibrotest activity = 0.25 (P<0.018) and steatosis = 0.76 (P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: MACK-3 parameters associations with hepatic enzymatic activity, steatosis and activity stage suggest this test as a promising for screening use in such patients and requires further studies.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.