Clinical Implications of the Serum Apelin Level on Portal Hypertension and Prognosis of Liver Cirrhosis

Levels of serum apelin (s-apelin), an endogenous ligand for angiotensin-like receptor 1, have been shown to be related to hepatic fibrosis and hemodynamic abnormalities in preclinical studies. We investigated the clinical implications of s-apelin as a noninvasive prognostic biomarker for chronic liver disease (CLD).From January 2009 to December 2012, 215 CLD patients were enrolled and underwent clinical data collection, hepatic venous pressure...