Changes in Serum Myostatin Levels in Alcoholic Hepatitis Correlate with Improvement in MELD

Background Alcoholic hepatitis (AH) is a serious clinical syndrome often associated with muscle wasting. Myostatin, a member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily, has been studied in diseases with muscle wasting; however, the role of myostatin in AH is unknown. Aims To investigate the association between myostatin, clinical variables, and outcomes in AH. Methods We analyzed data for cases of AH and controls of heavy drinkers (HD) in TREAT001 (NCT02172898) with serum myostatin levels (AH: n = 131, HD: n = 124). We compared characteristics between the two groups at baseline, 30, and 90 days and explored correlations between myostatin and clinical variables. We then modeled the relationship of myostatin to other variables, including mortality. Results Baseline median myostatin was lower in AH compared to HD (males: 1.58 vs 3.06 ng/ml, p