A new experimental approach is able to determine the metabolomic profile in blood which gives rise to the identification of potential biomarkers for any liver disease.
A joint investigation between investigative centres, universities and businesses, led by Basque research centres CIC bioGUNE and Owl Genomics, has led to the development of a new blood test to make an early diagnosis of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.
News of the development was first published in the «Journal of Proteome Research», and the test will shortly go on the market.
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is a progressive illness which involves symptoms ranging from a simple build-up of fats in the liver, to more severe complications such as Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), and affects 24% of the US and European populations.
«The results of early blood testing could help healthcare professionals to diagnose NAFLD as well as provide information on how the patient is responding to treatment,» explains professor José Mato, director of CIC bioGUNE and researcher at CIBERehd.
During their investigation, research scientists used a genetically modified mouse in which to spontaneously develop a fatty liver, so as to be able to carry out parallel studies and determine the metabolic profile en human and mouse blood.
Using this approach they were able to identify a series of biomarker metabolites common in mouse and human NAFLD.
Sep 222010