Serum retinol binding protein 4 level in patients with chronic hepatitis c

hepatitis C virus is a major cause of end-stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma and one of the most common indications for liver transplantation. The prevalence of HCV varies widely with geographical location and within populations, therefore HCV is a major burden on healthcare resources.An important aspect of HCV infection is its relationship with the metabolism of glucose, which negatively affects liver disease progression and the response to IFN-α based therapy. The high prevalence of steatosis in HCV-infected patients is important issue as it enhances the progression of HCV infection to liver fibrosis and decreases the response to antiviral therapy.Liver is the major source of RBP4, so its level is affected by efficiency of liver function being lower in patient with hepatic impairment. Some studies postulated that RBP4 is linked to steatosis and insulin resistance and its serum levels in NASH and CHC genotype 1 patients were higher than normal.This work had been done to investigate the relationship between the changes in the serum RBP4 levels during treatment and the virological response pattern, also its association with biochemical and histological characteristics of chronic hepatitis C patients.