Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Koshigaya Hospital, Dokkyo Medical University, Koshigaya, Saitama, Japan.
Hepatol Res. 2008 Mar;38(3):267-72. doi: 10.1111/j.1872-034X.2007.00268.x. Epub 2007 Nov 16.
In patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated chronic liver diseases, especially in those with liver cirrhosis, accurate evaluation of their protein nutrition status is very important to improve their quality of life. Whereas the serum albumin level is commonly used to evaluate patients' protein nutrition status, in the present study, the serum amino acid levels were measured, as they also provide valuable information.
Serum albumin levels and branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) to tyrosine ratio (BTR) were determined in 447 patients with HCV-associated chronic liver diseases (313 with chronic hepatitis and 134 with liver cirrhosis).
Chronic hepatitis progressed to liver cirrhosis, serum albumin and serum BTR levels decreased significantlyas chronic hepatitis progressed to liver cirrhosis. Hypoalbuminemia was significantly more common in patients with liver cirrhosis than in those with chronic hepatitis; however, the incidence of an amino acid imbalance was significantly higher than that of hypoalbuminemia in patients with liver cirrhosis. The presence of an amino acid imbalance was associated with a reduction in the serum albumin level 1 year later.
It is important to evaluate serum albumin levels and the BTR in patients with HCV-associated chronic liver diseases.
在丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）相关慢性肝病患者中，特别是在肝硬化患者中，准确评估其蛋白质营养状况对于提高生活质量非常重要。虽然血清白蛋白水平常用于评估患者的蛋白质营养状况，但在本研究中，还测量了血清氨基酸水平，因为它们也提供了有价值的信息。
测定了 447 例 HCV 相关慢性肝病患者（313 例慢性肝炎，134 例肝硬化）的血清白蛋白水平和支链氨基酸（BCAA）与酪氨酸比值（BTR）。
慢性肝炎进展为肝硬化时，血清白蛋白和血清 BTR 水平显著下降。与慢性肝炎患者相比，肝硬化患者低白蛋白血症更为常见；然而，肝硬化患者的氨基酸失衡发生率明显高于低白蛋白血症。氨基酸失衡的存在与 1 年后血清白蛋白水平降低有关。
评估 HCV 相关慢性肝病患者的血清白蛋白水平和 BTR 非常重要。
