 |
 Possible
New Method for Detecting and Monitoring Liver Disease without Liver Biopsies
People with hepatitis B or C infection, as well as fatty liver diseases, are at greatest risk for progressing to cirrhosis, which may lead to liver cancer and end-stage liver failure. Successful management depends on the early detection of fibrosis and cirrhosis. Currently, detection involves a liver biopsy, in which a small sample of liver tissue is removed using a hollow needle. This is an unpleasant, expensive procedure and carries a small risk of complications. Patients and doctors would prefer tests that are not invasive, such as blood tests or external imaging to detect and monitor liver disease. Lead investigators Anand Mehta and Timothy Block report in the forthcoming Journal of Virology (February 2008) their discovery that the blood of most -- if not all -- people they tested with a diagnosis of liver cirrhosis contained high levels of an antibody that recognizes a carbohydrate sugar commonly found on bacteria. Detection of this antibody in the blood correlates very well with a diagnosis of increasing fibrosis. "This is a fascinating discovery and is important because, if confirmed, the test could help us replace liver biopsy as a method for staging liver disease. In addition, it may be teaching us something about how liver disease occurs," said David Thomas, MD, Chief, Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Working with the National Cancer Institute Early Detection Research Network, the investigators have been able to test this approach on 300 blood samples from people with liver disease, and can conduct the new test in thousands more. Although the test is still experimental and more study is needed before it can be used to monitor liver disease, the discovery is promising. "If this work is validated, it may offer a new, non-invasive way to test for liver disease, allowing people to either avoid biopsy or to know when they really need one," said Block. "It also implies that bacteria may have a much bigger role in initiating liver disease than realized, and even lead to new therapies." Complications due to bacterial infection in people with cirrhosis are well understood; however, bacteria are not usually detected early in the disease. The new discovery may suggest that earlier treatment with antibiotics could benefit patients with chronic liver disease. 01/15/08 Source
|
| |||||
FDA-approved
Monotherapies | |||||
| |||||
FDA-approved
Combination Therapies | |||||
| |||||
