Study of Retinoic Acid Level in Accessing Degree of NAFLD

Abstract

SUMMARY N on-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is defined as the presence of hepatic steatosis in the absence of other causes of hepatic fat accumulation. NAFLD includes simple steatosis, steatosis accompanied by varying degrees of inflammation and fibrosis which is called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Simple steatosis usually follows a benign clinical course, while NASH is considered to be a potentially health-threatening that may progress to cirrhosis, liver cell failure and hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, physicians are required to accurately differentiate NASH from simple steatosis and evaluate the severity of liver fibrosis in order to determine the prognosis and optimal treatment. Retinoic acid (RA) is a major active metabolite of vitamin A and it is obtained from diet as retinyl esters and from ß-carotene from plants. Up to 80% of the entire body retinoid is stored in hepatic stellate cells.