A total of 2,574 residents in Yaeyama District of Okinawa, Japan, were investigated using real time ultrasonography to determine the real prevalence of fatty liver in the general population and to define its associated factors. Overall prevalence of fatty liver was 14.0%. Prevalence of fatty liver in persons under 19 years old was only 1.2%, and increased with age to a maximumin persons 40-49 years of age and then decreased. For persons over 20 years old, obesity index and serum levels of triglyceride and total cholesterol were measured, and alcohol consumption was asked. Prevalence of fatty liver was significantly higher in drinkers than non-drinkers (p <0.01), and increased with alcohol consumption. Furthermore, in persons not suffering from obesity prevalence of fatty liver was significantly higher in drinkers than in non-drinkers (p < 0.001). The results of logistic regression analysis indicated that obesity and elevated serum triglyceride level in both sexes, and alcohol in males were significant predictors of fatty liver. In conclusion, prevalence of fatty liver increased with age to a maximumin persons 40-49 years of age and overall was 14.0%. Obesity was the strongest associated factor in both sexes and in males alcohol was also a strong factor.

For cirrhotic patients after elimination of HCV, serum EOT-AFP level and previous HCC characteristics would be useful markers for predicting de novo HCC or recurrence.

Acute hepatitis C often progresses to chronic infection. We undertook a randomized controlled trial to determine whether short-term therapy with interferon (IFN) during acute hepatitis C is effective in preventing the development of chronic hepatitis. Thirty patients with acute hepatitis C were randomized into 1 of 2 treatment groups. IFN therapy was initiated 8 weeks after the onset of acute hepatitis in the early-intervention group and after 1 year of observation in the late-intervention group. Short-term therapy consisted of natural IFN-alfa (6 million units) administered on consecutive days for a period of 4 weeks. Any signs of recrudescence of disease were immediately followed by interval IFN therapy (3 times weekly for 20 weeks). In the early-intervention group, short-term therapy was associated with a sustained virological response in 13 of 15 patients (87%). Follow-up treatment was associated with a sustained virological response in both of the remaining 2 patients (100%). The sustained virological response rate was significantly higher in the early-intervention group (87%, 13 of 15 patients after short-term therapy alone, and 100%, 15 of 15 patients after short-term with or without follow-up therapy) than in the late-intervention group (40%, 6 of 15 patients after short-term therapy alone, and 53%, 8 of 15 patients after short-term therapy with or without follow-up therapy, P ‫؍‬ .021 and P ‫؍‬ .006, respectively). A cute hepatitis that develops after infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is often followed by chronic hepatitis, which may progress eventually to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). 1,2 In the past, the primary causes of infection with HCV were blood transfusion and various medical procedures. Today, blood products in Japan are aggressively screened for HCV and disposable medical devices are in widespread use; there has been a reduction in the incidence of HCV infection. However, patients with acute hepatitis C resulting from treatment-related accidents (needle-stick injury), intravenous drug abuse, sexual contact with HCVpositive partners and unknown causes still occasionally present. [3][4][5] Interferon (IFN) therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C has considerable potential for preventing the development of HCC, either by eradicating HCV, or by decreasing the activity of hepatitis. 6 -9 However, the therapeutic effects of IFN vary depending on the HCV genotype and viral load. 10,11 Although much research has already been undertaken on IFN therapy for acute hepatitis C, findings in trials that relate to the effectiveness of this therapy have not been particularly favorable. Possible reasons include differences in types of IFN, differences in study populations, and inclusion of patients with posttransfusion hepatitis. 12-17 However, Jaeckel et al. 3 reported that a 24-week course of IFN therapy was effective, and that the response to IFN treatment was more favorable in acute hepatitis C than in chronic hepatitis C. Although randomized controlled trials have been used t...

Aims/hypothesis Glycated albumin is a measure of the mean plasma glucose concentration over approximately 2-3 weeks. We determined reference values for glycated albumin, and assessed its utility for the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the general population. Methods We studied 1,575 men and women (mean age, 49.9 years; range, 26-78 years) who participated in a periodic health examination in a suburban Japanese town. HbA 1c and fasting plasma concentrations of glucose (FPG) and glycated albumin were measured. Participants with FPG ≥7.0 mmol/l or HbA 1c ≥6.5% (48 mmol/mol) were diagnosed as having diabetes. In our laboratory, the glycated albumin assay had intra-assay and inter-assay CVs of 1.1% and 1.6%, respectively. Results Glycated albumin levels were significantly correlated with HbA 1c levels (r=0.766, p<0.001) and FPG (r= 0.706, p<0.001). The presence of diabetes was significantly higher in participants with glycated albumin levels between 15.0% and 15.9% (five of 276, 1.81%) than in those with glycated albumin <14% (three of 672, 0.45%) (p=0.037), and was markedly increased in those with a glycated albumin level >16% (58 of 207, 28.0%). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that a glycated albumin level of ≥15.5% was optimal for predicting diabetes, with a sensitivity of 83.3% and a specificity of 83.3%. Conclusions/interpretation There is merit to further investigating the potential for glycated albumin to be used as an alternative measure of dysglycaemia for future research and clinical practice.