To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: More Precise Criteria Needed for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Presented at ASCP URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/21637A.htm Doctor's Guide October 24, 2007
By Lexa W. Lee NEW ORLEANS, LA -- October 24, 2007 -- Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) needs to have better defined criteria to identify specific phenotypes, indicated researchers who presented a report here at the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) annual meeting. NAFLD is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in the United States. Its exact cause and prevalence are not known. It includes a broad spectrum of hepatic injury, and studies have shown that it is associated with a number of conditions, such as obesity and insulin resistance. Because histological evaluation of liver biopsies for NAFLD shows a wide spectrum of liver pathology, grading and staging are variable; Investigators led by Korrin Meier, MD, Resident Pathologist, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, conducted a retrospective chart review to determine the prevalence of different NAFLD phenotypes and individual features of hepatic injury. Among the 66 patients who underwent liver biopsy for suspected NAFLD between 2003 and 2006, the researchers scored each biopsy using a system developed by the Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) Clinical Research Network. Scores are determined by evaluating separately each of the following features: steatosis, lobular inflammation, hepatocyte ballooning, and fibrosis. Patients with daily alcohol consumption greater than 20 gm or with other liver diseases were excluded from the study. Each biopsy was given one of four possible diagnoses: simple steatosis; borderline NASH; NASH; or unremarkable liver. Of the 66 cases, 41% were diagnosed as simple steatosis, 41% borderline NASH, 9% showed NASH, and 9% showed unremarkable liver. Severe steatosis was diagnosed in 50% of patients with NASH, 30% of patients with borderline NASH, and 7% of patients with the simple steatosis. Moderate to severe lobular inflammation was present in 33% of the NASH group, 7% of the borderline NASH group, and none of the simple steatosis cases. Prominent hepatocyte ballooning was found in 50% of the NASH group, 59% of the borderline cases, and 33% of the simple steatosis cases. Stage 3 and 4 marked fibrosis was present in 67% NASH, 26% of borderline cases, and 4% of cases with simple steatosis. The researchers concluded that patients in the sample with borderline NASH symptoms did not meet the criteria for diagnosis of NASH, although they showed evidence of liver disease more severe than patients with simple steatosis. "Future studies need to be done to determine the precise criteria to define the individual features and the various phenotypes of NAFLD," said Dr. Meier. [Presentation title: Liver Pathology in Patients With Suspeccted Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Poster 59] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.