Diagnostic for Progression of Fatty Liver Disease

Diagnostic for Progression of Fatty Liver Disease

(CHMC Ref. Id: 2009-1204)

Overview:

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease worldwide today.  However, there is currently no widely validated and reliable non-invasive biomarker for fibrosis progression in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the more advanced and progressive phenotype of NAFLD.  The current method of determining severity involves the use of liver biopsies, which are invasive and risky procedures.  This technology identifies a protein present in the plasma/serum of an animal model of NAFLD that can predict the progression of the disease.  The data show that the NAFLD animals had advanced fibrosis and significantly higher levels of the identified protein than their study counterparts.

Applications:

• Diagnostic for NAFLD
• Indicator of fibrosis progression in NAFLD and potentially other chronic liver diseases

Advantages:

• Non-invasive
• Eliminates the need for liver biopsy
• May be useful for staging the progression and extent of fibrosis for chronic liver diseases secondary to any etiology

Patent Information:

• Patent Applications Pending

Cincinnati Children's Lead Inventor:

Rohit Kohli, MBBS, MS