Unregistered User If this is not your name, click here.
		Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague
	Select a ChannelAcneAIDS and HIVAllergy OtherAlzheimer'sAnaesthesiology OtherAngina Pectoris/MIAnxietyArthritis OtherAsthmaBack PainBacterial InfectionsBladder CancerBone Marrow TransplantationBreast CancerCardiology OtherCataractCell TransplantationCervical CancerCholesterol/Lipid disordersCirrhosisClinical PharmacologyColorectal CancerCongestive Heart FailureContact DermatitisContraceptionCOPDCystic FibrosisDental and Oral DisordersDepressionDermatology OtherDiabetesDialysisEating DisordersElbowEmergency MedicineEndocrinology OtherEpilepsyErectile DysfunctionFibromyalgiaGastro OtherGeneticsGenitourinary OtherGeriatricsGERD/GastritisGlaucomaH. Pylori/UlcerHaematology OtherHair LossHeadachesHepa/Biliary OtherHepatitisHipHRTHypertensionIBDImmunologyInfectious OtherInfertilityIntensive CareIrritable Bowel SyndromeKneeLeukemiasLiver CancerLung CancerLupusLymphomasMelanomaMenopauseMultiple Sclerosis Nephrology OtherNeurologic OtherNutritional / Metabolic OtherOb/Gyn OtherObesityOncology OtherOphth. OtherOphthalmic SurgeryOrgan TransplantationOrthopaedics OtherOsteoarthritisOsteoporosisOtitisOtorhino. OtherOvarian CancerPaediatricsPainPancreatic CancerParkinson'sPregnancyProstate CancerPsychiatry OtherPulmonary OtherRadiologyRenal CancerRenal FailureRespiratory InfectionsRheumatoid arthritisRheumatology OtherRhinitisSchizophreniaShoulderSleep ApnoeaSleep DisordersSpineStrokeSTDsSurgeryThyroid DisordersTransfusionTransplant Surgery OtherTraumaUrinary IncontinenceUrinary tract infectionsVaccinologyVascular DisordersViral Infections

SEARCH   News Bookstore Medline The Web Meetings & Congresses Complete Doctor's Guide    EXPLORE :    All News   All Webcasts   All Cases   All Meetings & Congresses   All Medical Resources New drugs / indications English Dictionary Medical Dictionary Thesaurus Warning | Privacy | Awards  Favourite Journals  Click here to choose your favourite journals  Favourite Sites  Click here to choose your favourite sites  Languages  Select languageEnglishFrançais

More Precise Criteria Needed for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Presented at ASCP 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] E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version