Evaluation of brachial artery endothelial function in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by ultrasonography

Objective:To evaluate brachial artery endothelial function in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) by high resolution ultrasonography.Methods:Measurements of brachial artery diameter were performed by high resolution ultrasonography during baseline,reactive hyperemia and sublingual nitroglycerin administration in 50 patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and 40 healthy subjects.The changes in brachial artery diameter induced by reactive hyperemia and induced by nitroglycerin were calculated.Insulin resistant calculated with homeostasis model assessment(HOMA) method statistics was used.Results:The percent change in the brachial artery diameter induced by reactive hyperemia in patients with NAFLD was significantly less than that in healthy subjects(P0.001),whereas nitroglycerin-induced changes were similar(P0.05).The changes in the brachial artery diameter induced by reactive hyperemia(D_1%) in patients with NAFLD was negatively associated with IR(r=-0.243,P=0.030).Conclusion:Endothelium-dependent vasodilation function was impaired early in patients with NAFLD.