title: Can NASH be diagnosed, graded, and staged noninvasively?
abstract: Nonalcoholic bland steatosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are stages in the spectrum of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NASH may progress to end-stage liver disease. Liver biopsy distinguishes between patients with NASH and no NASH and can stage fibrosis. Markers of hepatocyte apoptosis hold promise as noninvasive tests for NASH diagnosis. Several scoring systems that combine routine clinical and laboratory variables and some proprietary panels can assist in predicting fibrosis severity. Noninvasive imaging modalities are reasonably accurate available tools to determine severity of fibrosis in NAFLD, but none of them yet can replace liver biopsy.
authors: Division of Digestive Diseases & Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, 40536-0298, USA.
authors: Garfield A
authors: GA
authors: Grandison
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Angulo
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; D011379:Prognosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers