1Department of Translational Medicine, University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara, Italy.
2Division of Internal Medicine, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Vercelli, Italy.
3Interdisciplinary Research Center of Autoimmune Diseases (IRCAD), Novara, Italy.
4COQ, Madonna del Popolo, Omegna, Italy.
5Emergency Medicine Department, Maggiore della Carità Hospital, Novara, Italy.
6Diabetes Clinic, ASL VCO, Verbania, Italy.
7Division of Internal Medicine, AOU Maggiore della Carità Hospital, Novara, Italy.
Copyright © 2019 Korean Diabetes Association
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(1) Age and gender
(2) Anthropometric data: these were collected with patients wearing only light underwear: the BMI was calculated as body weight divided by the square of the height (kg/m2) and interpreted according to World Health Organization classification.
(3) A biochemistry panel, including total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides, all measured with enzymatic methods (ADVIA; Siemens, Leverkusen, Germany). Furthermore, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was determined by high-pressure chromatography (Variant Biorad II; Biorad, Hercules, CA, USA). Plasma glucose concentration was measured by hexokinase (ADVIA). Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and gamma-glutamyl transferase were measured with enzymatic methods (Advia 1800 Chemistry System, Siemens).
(1) No steatosis: liver echogenicity comparable to the right kidney.
(2) Grade 1: slightly increased liver echogenicity with respect to the right kidney; echogenicity of the intrahepatic vessel walls and diaphragm was well visualized.
(3) Grade 2: moderate increase of liver echogenicity with respect to the right kidney, with slight decreased visibility of the intrahepatic vessel walls and decreased reflectivity of the diaphragm.
(4) Grade 3: severe steatosis was defined as diffusely increased echogenicity of the liver compared to the right kidney, a lack of visualization of intrahepatic vessel walls, and markedly decreased reflectivity of the hemidiaphragm.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS:
Conception or design: M.B., C.C., M.N.B., L.S., R.C., V.R.M., L.M.C., G.S., G.P.C.S., R.M., M.P.
Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: M.B., C.C., M.N.B., L.S., R.C., V.R.M., L.M.C., G.S., G.P.C.S., R.M., M.P.
Drafting the work or revising: M.B., C.C., M.P.
Final approval of the manuscript: M.B., C.C., M.N.B., L.S., R.C., V.R.M., L.M.C., G.S, G.P.C.S., R.M., M.P.