— Christine M. Kukka, Project Manager, HBV Advocate
Researchers are finding that a simple blood test appears to accurately identify if liver inflammation (fibrosis) or scarring (cirrhosis) is present in hepatitis B patients. Currently, only invasive liver biopsies can accurately identify liver damage.
Turkish researchers measured gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) levels in blood samples from 246 hepatitis B patients and 151 hepatitis C patients, who all underwent liver biopsies. GGT is an enzyme found in the blood. When GGT levels exceed 51 international units per liter (IU/L), it indicates that the flow of bile from the liver is blocked and/or liver cell damage, fibrosis or cirrhosis are present.
Researchers discovered that hepatitis B patients without serious advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis had normal GGT levels (around 38.86 IU/L) while those with serious fibrosis and serious, as identified by the liver biopsy, had above normal GGT levels, averaging around 60.44 IU/L.
Curiously, elevated GGT levels in hepatitis C patients did not accurately diagnose the presence of fibrosis or cirrhosis; only hepatitis B patients had this tell-tale indicator.
“In conclusion, it is proposed that in patients with chronic viral hepatitis, GGT levels can be taken into consideration to predict advanced … liver damage, especially in patients with hepatitis B,” they wrote in the August issue of the Turkish Journal of Gastroenterology (1).
An unrelated article in the September issue of the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology highlighted another “non-invasive” method to evaluate patients for liver fibrosis. Transient elastography (Fibroscan), a type of ultrasound, uses sound waves to assess the “stiffness” of a liver. This test, which is painless and takes just a few minutes, can identify fibrosis, cirrhosis and other liver abnormalities.
In this study, researchers used Fibroscan in 980 patients and followed them for five years. Of the 119 patients who developed severe liver damage or who died, the regular Fibroscan readings accurately identified their increasing rates of liver stiffness (2).
Labels: fibroscan, GGT levels, non-invasive tests, Transient elastography (Fibroscan)
