FROM LIVER INTERNATIONAL
Primary biliary cholangitis patients who had concomitant nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) experienced no worse disease progression than patients who had PBC alone, according to Gerald Yosel Minuk, MD, and his associates.
At baseline, the 168 patients in the PBC-only group had higher serum alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyl transferase values than the 68 patients in the NAFLD/PBC group, as well as having higher FIB-4 scores . The percentage of patients with aspartate aminotransferase/platelet ratio indexes (APRI) greater than 1.5 was slightly higher in the PBC-only group, but the difference was not significant.
After follow-up periods averaging 6.7 years in the PBC-only group and 6.4 years in the NAFLD/PBC group, yearly increases in FIB-4 and prevalence of APRI greater than 1.5 were greater in the PBC-only group, though the difference did not reach significance. PBC-only patients were more likely to have developed radiologic evidence of cirrhosis during the follow-up period (42% vs. 19%, P less than .001).
“Were the results of the present study to be confirmed by others, the question arises as to why NAFLD does not adversely and may favorably impact on PBC. Here, it is tempting to speculate that because PBC livers are associated with a paucity of immunosuppressive regulator T cells (Tregs) whereas in NAFLD, Tregs are recruited to the liver in increased numbers, a restoration of the immune balance in PBC livers might explain these findings,” the investigators noted.
Find the full study in Liver International ( doi: 10.1111/liv.13644 ).
