Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a condition in which the buildup of fat in the liver poses health concerns. Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) is a more severe, and more rare form of the disease. For both of these conditions, the scarring of the liver (called cirrhosis) is the most life-threatening symptom.
Unfortunately, liver cirrhosis is difficult to detect in a patient and often isn’t evident until it is very advanced. Not to mention the only way to currently detect it is invasive.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have been researching a better way to identify cirrhosis that would be quick, easy, noninvasive, and effective. This research is important because ultimately, earlier detection could save patient lives.
The Study
Researchers at the university set out to see if they could find patterns within the bacterial strains in the stool of NAFLD patients. This isn’t the first time the gut microbiome pattern has been used to investigate NAFLD. In a proof-of-concept study, researchers were able to accurately distinguish the severity of NAFLD (mild/moderate to advanced) by investigating the gut microbiome.
This recent study included 98 NAFLD patients and 105 of the first-degree relatives of these patients. These individuals were included in the analysis because it is understood that first-degree relatives have an increased risk for developing NAFLD themselves.
By sequencing the 16S rRNA gene, researchers were able to identify 27 bacterial features that are unique to the gut microbiomes of those with cirrhosis. By investigating these features, they were able to identify those with cirrhosis with 92% accuracy. Additionally, they were able to identify which relatives had undiagnosed NAFLD-cirrhosis with 87% accuracy. These identifications were confirmed by MRI.
Other documented findings were that those participants who lived in the same household had similar microbial patterns and that the more severe a patients form of NAFLD, the less stable and diverse their microbiome was.
Researchers make it clear that these findings don’t indicate that certain microbial species cause NAFLD-cirrhosis, but simply that they can be indicative that the condition is present.
This study was published in the journal, Nature Communications.
Looking Forward
By knowing which NAFLD patients are suffering from cirrhosis, we can ultimately provide them better treatment. It also means we could better match clinical trials to patients and improve our preventative measures.
Unfortunately, the researchers say this stool test most likely won’t be available for another five years. First, more investigations need to be done on a larger number of patients at more medical centers. But on a positive note, researchers predict that the test will cost approximately 400 dollars at the time it becomes available whereas it would cost around 1,500 dollars if it were on the market now.
Researchers are hopeful that not only will this type of test allow them to detect cirrhosis, but that it will eventually help them to provide personalized treatments for a wide array of diseases.
You can read more about these findings here.
