الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The current study aimed to study the changes in serum levels of ATX as a marker of hepatic fibrosis in responders to HCV treatment by Direct Acting Antivirals. It included 54 participants divided into two groups: group 1 (HCV group): They were 34 patients, 17 males and 17 females. group 2 (control group): They were 20 participants, 10 males and 10 females. We excluded patients with history of cancers and other causes of liver disease, previous liver transplantation, patients co-infected with HIV or HBV and other organ failure (heart failure &renal failure). We gave verbal explanation regarding the benefits of the study for all enrolled patients before their recruitment. Data collected during the study period from January 2019 to August 2019 included: Demographic data, laboratory data, laboratory scores and serum ATX levels. We evaluated serum levels of ATX just before treatment (baseline), and at 12 weeks after DAAs treatment. Regarding the effect of DAAs on serum levels of ATX, we found that ATX level in control subjects was higher than HCV patients before treatment. In our study, we found a statistically significantly higher ATX after treatment with DAAs as a whole. By stratifying the cases according to sex, this statistical significance exists only in male patients but not female patients. Conclusion: Overall, it can be concluded that serum ATX is not a specific marker for liver injury and this may be reflected on its serum expression in relation to liver fibrosis. Moreover, we cannot depend on it in diagnosis or prediction of liver fibrosis. In conclusion, autotaxin may not be a diagnostic marker for liver fibrosis in Egyptian chronic HCV patients.