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Alteration of Micronutrient Status in Compensated and Decompensated Liver Cirrhosis

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Abstract

Decompensation followed by death is the most serious outcome in patients suffering from cirrhosis of the liver. Alteration of trace elements may play a vital role in the process of decompensation. To examine the change in status of trace elements during the decompensation process, we analysed the zinc, copper, iron, magnesium, bilirubin and albumin levels in the serum of compensated (n = 34) and decompensated (n = 31) liver cirrhosis patients and compared them with healthy control group (n = 36) by post hoc ANOVA. We observed significant alteration in the selected micronutrients in the diseased group relative to healthy controls (P < 0.05). Moreover, mean serum zinc and iron levels were significantly lower with a higher level of serum copper in decompensated cirrhosis group than in compensated group (P < 0.05). However, no significant decrease of serum magnesium was found between the two diseased groups. Our findings imply that the trace elements like zinc, copper and iron might exert important contributory roles in decompensation process in liver cirrhosis and hence, may be utilized as important biomarkers for these patients. Furthermore, we propose that replacements of those micronutrients at an early stage can delay or prevent the severe outcomes like hepatic encephalopathy, gastrointestinal bleeding, severe jaundice or ascites in these patients.

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  1. Kaushik Kar

    Present address: Department of Biochemistry, Calcutta National Medical College, CE 184 Salt Lake City, Sector 1, Kolkata, 700064, West Bengal, India

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Mamata Medical College, Khammam, Andhra Pradesh, India

    Kaushik Kar, M. Vijaya Bhaskar & K. Sudhakar

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Calcutta National Medical College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

    Anindya Dasgupta

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  1. Kaushik Kar
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Correspondence to Kaushik Kar.

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Kar, K., Dasgupta, A., Vijaya Bhaskar, M. et al. Alteration of Micronutrient Status in Compensated and Decompensated Liver Cirrhosis. Ind J Clin Biochem 29, 232–237 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12291-013-0349-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12291-013-0349-5

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