Table 1 Results in the two groups; group A had primitive non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease and group B had hepatitis C virus (HCV) related chronic hepatitis C in combination with NAFLD, all HCV genotype 1b, and were non‐responders to previous antiviral treatment.
| Treated | Not treated | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basal | 6 months | 12 months | Basal | 6 months | 12 months | |
| Group A | ||||||
| ALT (nv <40 U/l) | 79 (51) | 40 (15)** | 59 (5)** | 54.2 (20) | 55.2 (24) | 45.2 (34) |
| γGT (nv <50 U/l) | 75 (112) | 59 (100)** | 60 (33)** | 64 (20) | 72 (24) | 64 (35) |
| Insulinaemia (nv 5–25 μU/ml) | 41.5 (34) | 29.6 (26.4)* | 30.6 (15.4)* | 48.3 (17) | 45.2 (12) | 40.2 (11) |
| HOMA | 12.3 (6.4) | 6.2 (3.9)** | 6.4 (3.2)** | 13 (6) | 11 (4) | 11 (5) |
| Hyaluronic acid (nv <120 ng/ml) | 383 (627) | 176 (184)* | 331.1 (293,2) | 422 (504) | 517 (283) | 498 (145) |
| MMP‐2 (nv 117–410 ng/ml) | 151 (132) | 141 (84)* | 158.2 (165.5) | 160 (183) | 173 (102) | 183 (97) |
| TGF‐β (nv 34.7–63.9 ng/ml) | 45.3 (17.3) | 32.9 (24.3)* | 42.9 (22) | 41.2 (22) | 43.3 (27.3) | 44.7 (31) |
| US score (median (range)) | 2 (2–3) | 1 (1–2)** | 1 (1–2)** | 2 (2–3) | 2 (2–3) | 2 (2–3) |
| Group B | ||||||
| ALT (U/l) | 69 (28) | 45 (18)** | 62 (16) | 47.8 (30) | 50.3 (32) | 60.3 (33) |
| γGT (U/l) | 118 (70) | 56 (20)** | 83 (24) | 115 (60) | 100 (53) | 150 (13) |
| Insulinaemia (μU/ml) | 36.2 (1.5) | 27.4 (1.5)* | 28.9 (6.5)* | 35.4 (3) | 34.2 (5.7) | 38.2 (4.7) |
| HOMA | 8.4 (7.3) | 6 (4.8)* | 6.2 (5.1)* | 9.8 (5.6) | 8.4 (5.1) | 8.2 (4.8) |
| Hyaluronic acid (ng/ml) | 1295 (259) | 625 (122)* | 586.7 (496.2)* | 1180 (703) | 1372 (806) | 1332 (452) |
| MMP‐2 (ng/ml) | 292 (201) | 137 (53)* | 196.6 (94.2)* | 280 (300) | 311 (278) | 299 (123) |
| TGF‐β (ng/ml) | 54.1 (21.7) | 27 (12.2)* | 21.2 (17.4)* | 53.3 (18.3) | 45.2 (28.5) | 49.6 (30) |
| US score (median (range)) | 2 (2–3) | 2 (2–3) | 2 (2–3) | 2 (2–3) | 2 (2–3) | 2 (2–3) |
*p<0.05, **p<0.01 versus basal values.
Values are reported as the mean (SD).
ALT, alanine aminotransferase; γGT, gamma‐glutamyl‐transpeptidase; MMP‐2, metalloproteinase 2; TGF‐β, transforming growth factor β; US, ultrasonography; nv, normal value.