The utility of biomarkers for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in adolescents

生物标志物在青少年非酒精性脂肪肝疾病中的应用

• 批准号: G0801456/1
• 负责人: Debbie Lawlor
• 金额: $ 68.91万
• 依托单位: University of Bristol
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2008 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=G0801456%2F1
• 关键词: utility; biomarkers; non; alcoholic; fatty

The liver is the largest glandular organ in the body and is involved in a large number of the body?s normal functions. It produces the chemicals needed to breakdown fat in the circulation and produces cholesterol. It converts glucose (sugar) from the circulation to a form that can be stored and is responsible for maintaining a proper level of glucose in the circulation. It also makes a number of amino acids (the basic building blocks of proteins), stores key vitamins and minerals and filters harmful substances, such as alcohol, from the body. Until recently high levels of alcohol intake were seen as the major cause of liver disease in developed population. However, because of the recent obesity epidemic the most common cause of liver disease in the developed world now is caused by deposits of fat in the liver, so called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NALFD). Studies from America suggest that NAFLD starts to occur in adolescence with up to 15% of healthy adolescents in the US having NAFLD. In adults NAFLD can progress to cirrhosis and is also associated with increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, its causes and consequences in adolescents have not been extensively studied because of the difficulties of safely and accurately diagnosing this condition. The most accurate way to diagnose NAFLD is to take a sample (biopsy) from the liver and examine it under a microscope. However, this method is potentially dangerous and very costly and is not practical for large-scale research studies. A number of scanning methods, including ultrasound scan, are also useful for accurate diagnosis but these are too expensive and time consuming for large-scale studies. In this study we aim to develop a way of diagnosing NAFLD in adolescents that would be suitable for large studies of generally healthy young people. We will test a number of blood test results and measurements of total fat and abdominal fat in relation to NAFLD diagnosed by ultrasound scan in 3500 UK individuals aged 17 years. Once we have developed a safe diagnostic tool we will then test it again in an independent group of 17 year olds from Australia, in order to make sure it really is valid. This project brings together an international team of experts in research methods, liver medicine, clinical pathology and liver scanning. Our results will enable the much needed research in this area to progress.

肝脏是人体内最大的腺体器官，涉及身体的大量器官。的正常功能。它产生的化学物质需要在循环中分解脂肪，并产生胆固醇。它将循环中的葡萄糖（糖）转化为可以储存的形式，并负责维持循环中葡萄糖的适当水平。它还制造许多氨基酸（蛋白质的基本组成部分），储存关键的维生素和矿物质，并从体内过滤有害物质，如酒精。直到最近，高水平的酒精摄入被视为发达人口中肝脏疾病的主要原因。然而，由于最近的肥胖流行病，现在发达国家最常见的肝病原因是由肝脏中的脂肪沉积引起的，即所谓的非酒精性脂肪性肝病（NALFD）。来自美国的研究表明，NAFLD开始发生在青春期，在美国高达15%的健康青少年患有NAFLD。在成人中，NAFLD可进展为肝硬化，并且还与糖尿病和心血管疾病的风险增加有关。然而，其原因和后果在青少年尚未得到广泛的研究，因为安全和准确地诊断这种情况的困难。诊断NAFLD最准确的方法是从肝脏中取出样本（活检）并在显微镜下检查。然而，这种方法具有潜在的危险性，并且非常昂贵，对于大规模的研究来说并不实用。一些扫描方法，包括超声波扫描，也有助于准确诊断，但这些方法对于大规模研究来说过于昂贵和耗时。在这项研究中，我们的目标是开发一种诊断青少年NAFLD的方法，这种方法适用于对一般健康的年轻人进行的大型研究。我们将在3500名17岁的英国人中测试一些血液检查结果以及与通过超声扫描诊断的NAFLD相关的总脂肪和腹部脂肪的测量。一旦我们开发出一种安全的诊断工具，我们将在一组来自澳大利亚的17奥尔兹的独立人群中再次进行测试，以确保它确实有效。该项目汇集了研究方法，肝脏医学，临床病理学和肝脏扫描方面的国际专家团队。我们的研究结果将使这一领域急需的研究取得进展。