Research Article Details

Article ID: A23342
PMID: 23858556
Source: Hepatogastroenterology
Title: Blood urea nitrogen is elevated in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Abstract: BACKGROUND/AIMS: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is strongly associated with many predictors of cardiovascular disease such as hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, insulin resistance, central obesity and the metabolic syndrome. Activation of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) has been proved in patients with NAFLD. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) elevation is a high risk factor and biomarker of RAAS activation of heart failure and coronary heart disease. The aim of the current study was to investigate BUN in patients with NAFLD. METHODOLOGY: BUN and creatinine (Cr) values of 85 patients with NAFLD and of 30 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals were compared prospectively. Liver/spleen ratios of computed tomography (CT) values were used to determine fatty liver and to evaluate fatty deposition. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were employed to estimate inflammation. We analyzed the correlation between BUN and fatty deposition or inflammation. RESULTS: NAFLD patients had significantly higher BUN compared to the control cases (5.0353&#177;1.1271 vs. 4.1263&#177;1.0095 mmol/L; t=3.898, p<0.001). However, there was no difference in Cr (84.0941&#177;14.4062 vs. 79.4667&#177;16.7120 &#956;mol/L; t=1.45, p=0.15). BUN was negatively correlated with liver/spleen ratio of CT values (r=0.009, p=0.1974), ALT (r=-0.012, p=0.941) and AST (r=-0.009, p=0.592). CONCLUSIONS: We have shown for the first time in the literature, that patients with NAFLD have higher BUN. It may have prognostic value in NAFLD patients indicating a possible cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk increase.
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Strategy ID Therapy Strategy Synonyms Therapy Targets Therapy Drugs
S01 Improve insulin resistance insulin sensitizer; insulin resistance; glucose tolerance Biguanide: increases 5-AMP activated protein kinase signaling; SGLT-2 inhibitor; Thiazalidinedione: selective PPAR-γ agonists; GLP-1 agonist Metformin; Empagliflozin; Canagliflozin; Rosiglitazone; Pioglitazone; Liraglutide Details

Target ID Target Name GENE Action Class UniProtKB ID Entry Name

Diseases ID DO ID Disease Name Definition Class
I13 3146 Lipid metabolism disorder An inherited metabolic disorder that involves the creation and degradation of lipids. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipid_metabolism disease of metabolism/ inherited metabolic disorder Details
I05 9352 Type 2 diabetes mellitus A diabetes that is characterized by chronic hyperglycaemia with disturbances of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. A diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes_mellitus_type_2 disease of metabolism/inherited metabolic disorder/ carbohydrate metabolic disorder/glucose metabolism disease/diabetes/ diabetes mellitus Details
I14 9970 Obesity An overnutrition that is characterized by excess body fat, traditionally defined as an elevated ratio of weight to height (specifically 30 kilograms per meter squared), has_material_basis_in a multifactorial etiology related to excess nutrition intake, decreased caloric utilization, and genetic susceptibility, and possibly medications and certain disorders of metabolism, endocrine function, and mental illness. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity disease of metabolism/acquired metabolic disease/ nutrition disease/overnutrition Details

Drug ID Drug Name Type DrugBank ID Targets Category Latest Progress
D316 S-adenosyl-L-methionine Chemical drug DB00118 GNMT cofactor Antiviral Under clinical trials Details
D182 Insulin Biological drug DB00030 INSR agonist; CPE modulator&product of -- Under clinical trials Details
D199 L-alanine Chemical drug DB00160 KYNU -- Failed in clinical trials Details