Hemorheological and biochemical study in patients with liver cirrhosis

In this study, rheological techniques are used to measure the flow properties of blood from 52 patients with liver cirrhosis. A comparative analysis included a control group (23 persons) to determine the stage of the disease in cirrhotic patients. An important correlation relating the blood biochemical composition with the rheological response was found. Two rheological techniques were employed: simple shear-flow and small amplitude oscillatory shear. The “whole blood viscosity” (WBV) exhibits non-Newtonian shear-thinning behavior. Cirrhotic patients show low WBV levels as well as low values of viscoelastic response compared to those of the control group. Viscosity curves in decompensated cirrhotic patients tend toward a Newtonian behavior (constant viscosity) at high shear rates. Regarding the complex viscosity, there are clear differences between compensated and decompensated patients. The viscoelastic response reveals a change in the slope of the elastic modulus (G′) with frequency as compared to the response of the control group. In general, blood elasticity was observed to decrease as the disease progresses (i.e., blood tends to become less elastic, becoming a Newtonian fluid in advanced cirrhotic patients). These results represent a promising alternative to evaluate the incidence of cirrhosis in patients using fast, inexpensive, and noninvasive tests to confirm liver cirrhosis diseases.