Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis Decreases Microsomal Liver Function in the Absence of Fibrosis
The incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is rising across the globe, with the presence of steatohepatitis leading to a more aggressive clinical course. Currently, the diagnosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is based on histology, though with the high prevalence of NAFLD,...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-11-01
|
| Series: | Biomedicines |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/8/12/546 |
| _version_ | 1827701233596497920 |
|---|---|
| author | Wim Verlinden Eugénie Van Mieghem Laura Depauw Thomas Vanwolleghem Luisa Vonghia Jonas Weyler Ann Driessen Dirk Callens Laurence Roosens Eveline Dirinck An Verrijken Luc Van Gaal Sven Francque |
| author_facet | Wim Verlinden Eugénie Van Mieghem Laura Depauw Thomas Vanwolleghem Luisa Vonghia Jonas Weyler Ann Driessen Dirk Callens Laurence Roosens Eveline Dirinck An Verrijken Luc Van Gaal Sven Francque |
| author_sort | Wim Verlinden |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is rising across the globe, with the presence of steatohepatitis leading to a more aggressive clinical course. Currently, the diagnosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is based on histology, though with the high prevalence of NAFLD, a non-invasive method is needed. The <sup>13</sup>C-aminopyrine breath test (ABT) evaluates the microsomal liver function and could be a potential candidate. We aimed to evaluate a potential change in liver function in NASH patients and to evaluate the diagnostic power of ABT to detect NASH. We performed a retrospective analysis on patients suspected of NAFLD who underwent a liver biopsy and ABT. 440 patients were included. ABT did not decrease in patients with isolated liver steatosis but decreased significantly in the presence of NASH without fibrosis and decreased even further with the presence of significant fibrosis. The predictive power of ABT as a single test for NASH was low but improved in combination with ALT and ultrasonographic steatosis. We conclude that microsomal liver function of patients with NASH is significantly decreased, even in the absence of fibrosis. The ABT is thus a valuable tool in assessing the presence of NASH; and could be used as a supplementary diagnostic tool in clinical practice. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:30:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-05ac3ce96c48437f99bd6ec6e195f348 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9059 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:30:11Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomedicines |
| spelling | doaj.art-05ac3ce96c48437f99bd6ec6e195f3482023-11-20T22:39:03ZengMDPI AGBiomedicines2227-90592020-11-0181254610.3390/biomedicines8120546Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis Decreases Microsomal Liver Function in the Absence of FibrosisWim Verlinden0Eugénie Van Mieghem1Laura Depauw2Thomas Vanwolleghem3Luisa Vonghia4Jonas Weyler5Ann Driessen6Dirk Callens7Laurence Roosens8Eveline Dirinck9An Verrijken10Luc Van Gaal11Sven Francque12Laboratory of Experimental Medicine and Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, BelgiumLaboratory of Experimental Medicine and Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, BelgiumLaboratory of Experimental Medicine and Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, BelgiumLaboratory of Experimental Medicine and Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, BelgiumLaboratory of Experimental Medicine and Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, BelgiumLaboratory of Experimental Medicine and Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Pathology, Antwerp University Hospital, 2650 Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Clinical Biology, Antwerp University Hospital, 2650 Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Clinical Biology, Antwerp University Hospital, 2650 Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Metabolism, Antwerp University Hospital, 2650 Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Metabolism, Antwerp University Hospital, 2650 Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Metabolism, Antwerp University Hospital, 2650 Antwerp, BelgiumLaboratory of Experimental Medicine and Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, BelgiumThe incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is rising across the globe, with the presence of steatohepatitis leading to a more aggressive clinical course. Currently, the diagnosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is based on histology, though with the high prevalence of NAFLD, a non-invasive method is needed. The <sup>13</sup>C-aminopyrine breath test (ABT) evaluates the microsomal liver function and could be a potential candidate. We aimed to evaluate a potential change in liver function in NASH patients and to evaluate the diagnostic power of ABT to detect NASH. We performed a retrospective analysis on patients suspected of NAFLD who underwent a liver biopsy and ABT. 440 patients were included. ABT did not decrease in patients with isolated liver steatosis but decreased significantly in the presence of NASH without fibrosis and decreased even further with the presence of significant fibrosis. The predictive power of ABT as a single test for NASH was low but improved in combination with ALT and ultrasonographic steatosis. We conclude that microsomal liver function of patients with NASH is significantly decreased, even in the absence of fibrosis. The ABT is thus a valuable tool in assessing the presence of NASH; and could be used as a supplementary diagnostic tool in clinical practice.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/8/12/546NASHsteatohepatitisaminopyrinemicrosomalliver functionbreath test |
| spellingShingle | Wim Verlinden Eugénie Van Mieghem Laura Depauw Thomas Vanwolleghem Luisa Vonghia Jonas Weyler Ann Driessen Dirk Callens Laurence Roosens Eveline Dirinck An Verrijken Luc Van Gaal Sven Francque Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis Decreases Microsomal Liver Function in the Absence of Fibrosis Biomedicines NASH steatohepatitis aminopyrine microsomal liver function breath test |
| title | Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis Decreases Microsomal Liver Function in the Absence of Fibrosis |
| title_full | Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis Decreases Microsomal Liver Function in the Absence of Fibrosis |
| title_fullStr | Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis Decreases Microsomal Liver Function in the Absence of Fibrosis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis Decreases Microsomal Liver Function in the Absence of Fibrosis |
| title_short | Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis Decreases Microsomal Liver Function in the Absence of Fibrosis |
| title_sort | non alcoholic steatohepatitis decreases microsomal liver function in the absence of fibrosis |
| topic | NASH steatohepatitis aminopyrine microsomal liver function breath test |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/8/12/546 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wimverlinden nonalcoholicsteatohepatitisdecreasesmicrosomalliverfunctionintheabsenceoffibrosis AT eugenievanmieghem nonalcoholicsteatohepatitisdecreasesmicrosomalliverfunctionintheabsenceoffibrosis AT lauradepauw nonalcoholicsteatohepatitisdecreasesmicrosomalliverfunctionintheabsenceoffibrosis AT thomasvanwolleghem nonalcoholicsteatohepatitisdecreasesmicrosomalliverfunctionintheabsenceoffibrosis AT luisavonghia nonalcoholicsteatohepatitisdecreasesmicrosomalliverfunctionintheabsenceoffibrosis AT jonasweyler nonalcoholicsteatohepatitisdecreasesmicrosomalliverfunctionintheabsenceoffibrosis AT anndriessen nonalcoholicsteatohepatitisdecreasesmicrosomalliverfunctionintheabsenceoffibrosis AT dirkcallens nonalcoholicsteatohepatitisdecreasesmicrosomalliverfunctionintheabsenceoffibrosis AT laurenceroosens nonalcoholicsteatohepatitisdecreasesmicrosomalliverfunctionintheabsenceoffibrosis AT evelinedirinck nonalcoholicsteatohepatitisdecreasesmicrosomalliverfunctionintheabsenceoffibrosis AT anverrijken nonalcoholicsteatohepatitisdecreasesmicrosomalliverfunctionintheabsenceoffibrosis AT lucvangaal nonalcoholicsteatohepatitisdecreasesmicrosomalliverfunctionintheabsenceoffibrosis AT svenfrancque nonalcoholicsteatohepatitisdecreasesmicrosomalliverfunctionintheabsenceoffibrosis |