Quantitative assessment of liver fibrosis reveals a nonlinear association with fibrosis stage in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

ABSTRACT: Accurate staging of liver fibrosis is crucial to guide therapeutic decisions for patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Digital image analysis has emerged as a promising tool for quantitative assessment of fibrosis in chronic liver diseases. We sought to determine the relationship of histologic fibrosis stage with fiber amounts quantified in liver biopsy specimens for the better understanding of NAFLD progression. We measured area ratios of collagen and elastin fibers in Elastica van Gieson-stained biopsy tissues from 289 patients with NAFLD from four hospitals using an automated computational method and examined their correlations with Brunt's fibrosis stage. As a secondary analysis, we performed multivariable logistic regression analysis to assess the associations of the

SUBMITTER: Masugi Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5776870 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature