title: Liver fatty acid-binding protein as a diagnostic marker for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Liver fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) is a small cytoplasmic protein. The aim of the current study was to investigate L-FABP levels and to determine their diagnostic value for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
  
  
  METHODS
  We enrolled in this study 24 consecutive patients with NAFLD who were diagnosed with elevated transaminases and with steatosis by ultrasonograph. The control group consisted of 22 healthy control subjects matched for age and gender. Serum levels of L-FABP were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  L-FABP levels in NAFLD patients were higher than in the control group (levels were 41,976 ± 18,998 and 17048 ± 5021 pg/mL, respectively). A strong correlation was found between serum L-FABP concentrations and aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, body mass index, glucose and γ-glutamyltransferase levels. A level of 284,000 pg/mL L-FABP had 73% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Positive and negative predictive values for L-FABP were 100  and 79%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum L-FABP can be considered as a new diagnostic marker for detecting non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Çanakkale, Turkey.
authors.forename: Erdem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Akbal
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Çanakkale State Hospital, Çanakkale, Turkey.
authors.forename: Erdem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Koçak
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Mevlana University Faculty of Medicine, Konya, Turkey. dromerakyurek@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ömer
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Akyürek
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Seyfettin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Köklü
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Ankara Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hikmetullah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Batgi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry, Ankara Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Şenes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D050556:Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins
keywords: Liver fatty acid-binding protein; Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease