@article{3109200,
    title = "Serum levels of vascular endothelial growthfactor in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease",
    author = "Papageorgiou, M.-V. and Hadziyannis, E. and Tiniakos, D. and Georgiou, A. and Margariti, A. and Kostas, A. and Papatheodoridis, G.V.",
    journal = "Annals of Gastroenterological Surgery",
    year = "2017",
    volume = "30",
    number = "2",
    pages = "209-216",
    publisher = "Hellenic Society of Gastroenterology",
    doi = "10.20524/aog.2016.0107",
    keywords = "alanine aminotransferase;  gamma glutamyltransferase;  vasculotropin, adult;  age distribution;  alanine aminotransferase blood level;  Article;  body mass;  controlled study;  disease severity;  enzyme linked immunosorbent assay;  fatty liver;  female;  gamma glutamyl transferase blood level;  histopathology;  human;  human tissue;  liver biopsy;  major clinical study;  male;  nonalcoholic fatty liver;  protein analysis;  protein blood level;  protein function;  sex difference;  transient elastography",
    abstract = "Background this study aimed to assess the significance of serum levels of vascular endothelial growthfactor (VEGF) in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods Sixty-seven consecutive NAFLD patients and 47 healthy controls who visited our liver clinics between May 2008 and December 2010 were included. the NAFLD diagnosis required elevated alanine aminotransferase and/or gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase levels, evidence of hepatic steatosis on ultrasound and/or liver histology, and exclusion of other causes of liver injury. Serum VEGF levels were determined by an enzyme immunoassay. Liver biopsy was obtained in 34 NAFLD patients. Histological lesions were scored by a liver histopathologist. Results Serum VEGF levels tended to be lower in matched NAFLD patients than in healthy controls (296±146 vs. 365±186 pg/mL, P=0.092); levels in patients withnon-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) also tended to be lower than in those withsimple fatty liver (FL) (279±149 vs. 359±190 pg/mL, P=0.095); while VEGF levels were significantly lower in NASH patients than in healthy controls (279±149 vs. 365±186 pg/mL, P=0.041). VEGF levels offered poor predictability for the differentiation between NAFLD patients and controls or between NASH and flpatients. However, patients withhigh VEGF levels (≥300 pg/mL) were significantly more likely to have FL, either in the total NAFLD population (67% vs. 35%, P=0.019) or in the 34 NAFLD patients withliver biopsy (57% vs. 15%, P=0.023), while those withhigh VEGF levels also had a significantly lower mean fibrosis score (0.7±0.9 vs. 1.6±1.0, P=0.017). Conclusion Our data suggest that serum VEGF levels are equally high in healthy controls and in patients withsimple fatty liver, but tend to decrease when NASH develops. © 2017 Hellenic Society of Gastroenterology."
}