“…To measure ICGR15, indocyanine green (ICG) was injected intravenously at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg body weight with the 15-minute retention rate measured by a photopiece applied to the fingertip (RK-1000, Sumitomo Electric, Tokyo, Japan) without blood sampling [7,8,11]. Peripheral blood samples were also collected before meals for analysis of hyaluronic acid (HA), a marker of hepatic fibrosis and endothelial cell function in hepatic sinusoids [18]. Blood samples were centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 15 min, and serum was stored at -80C.…”