Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) & Portal Hypertension
Obesity, metabolic syndrome, and therefore NAFLD are prevalent in modern society globally. Novel methods of therapy such as Bariatric surgery and newer pharmaceuticals are being trialled for clinical disease management. To assess therapeutic effectiveness, quantitative hepatic MRI for fat content and parenchymal stiffness which are now the non-invasive gold standards for such parameters provide for comprehensive, robust and reproducible follow-up assessment along with other key clinical and biochemical tools. There are currently several Pharma trials and a Bariatric surgery trial ongoing (2021) and Dr Albert Low and Dr Lionel Cheng are co-investigators and collaborators working with other clinical colleagues in diverse fields of IR, hepatology, endocrinology and surgery.
58 years old, male with severe non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) on Pharma drug trial:
1) MRI
PDFF: 12-14% mild steatosis
Elastography: stage 4 fibrosis/ cirrhosis
morphologically occult for cirrhosis (incl. US)
2) Histopathology on needle biopsy
MRI and US shear-wave elastography has also been trialled for the assessment of splenic stiffness as a possible surrogate for grading the severity of portal hypertension while it is still not commercially available tool approved for clinical use.
Please feel free to contact Dr Albert Low, and Dr Lionel Cheng for more information.
Dr Albert Low – [email protected]
Dr Lionel Cheng – [email protected]
