WEWS
UH Case Medical Center offers minimally invasive test for liver diseases
CLEVELAND – Liver problems often lead to a myriad of health problems and invasive tests that include the dreaded biopsy. University Hospitals Case Medical Center offers a new, non-invasive test - called Fibroscan- that speeds up diagnosis and aids treatment of a variety of liver diseases including Hepatitis C and fatty liver disease.
Fibroscan, an ultrasound-based technology developed by French company Echosens™, measures the amount of scarring (fibrosis) in the liver. Liver fibrosis is a condition of scarring and stiffness of the liver and is caused by a variety of medical conditions. The stiffer the liver, the more advanced the fibrosis.
The test provides an effective marker of the extent of hepatic parenchyma. And the severity of fibrosis is the single most important determinant of whether a person is likely to suffer from complications of liver disease or not. The most advanced stage of fibrosis is called cirrhosis.
At least 30 million people—or one in 10 Americans—have some form of liver disease. There are more than 100 types of liver disease but 20 percent of Americans have fatty liver not related to alcohol use: a diagnosis known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or NAFLD. A more serious type of NAFLD can progress to cirrhosis and liver cancer and is known as Non Alcoholic Steatohepatitis or NASH. The other major liver disease affecting Americans of all walks of life is chronic hepatitis C infection. An estimated 1 in 60 are thought to have this condition.
Until recently, liver biopsy was the definitive test for the diagnosis and quantification of hepatic fibrosis. This is an invasive examination with possible side effects including pain, occasional bleeding complications and in very rare instances, mortality. It is therefore not easy to repeat to monitor for changes over time. Moreover, it is subject to variability from one operator to another and from one procedure to another, as well as sampling errors. Finally, it is an expensive examination.
FibroScan measures transient elastography which is the rate of propagation of a sound wave through liver tissue. This correlates very accurately with the degree of liver fibrosis or scarring. Another feature of the device can measure the amount of fat or steatosis in the liver which can be helpful in persons with fatty liver disease. Additionally, the test can be repeated regularly without any health risks, which can help physicians monitor the progression of liver disease.
“This new test provides patients with a non-invasive option for diagnosis that previously didn’t exist,” said Pierre Gholam, MD, UH Case Medical Center Gastroenterologist and Associate Professor, Medicine – Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine “It is accurate, fast, eliminates painful testing and doesn’t come with the bleeding risks and complications that a biopsy does.”
###
About University Hospitals
University Hospitals, the second largest employer in Northeast Ohio with 25,000 employees, serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of 15 hospitals, 29 outpatient health centers and primary care physician offices in 15 counties. At the core of our $3.5 billion health system is University Hospitals Case Medical Center, ranked among America’s 50 best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report in all 12 methodology-ranked specialties. The primary affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, UH Case Medical Center is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research centers of excellence in the nation, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopaedics, radiology, neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, digestive health, transplantation and genetics. Its main campus includes UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University. For more information, go to
-----------------------
Date March 24, 2015
Contacts Mike Ferrari
Phone 216.844.7239
News Release
Department of Marketing and Communications
3605 Warrensville Center Road
Shaker Heights, OH 44122
................
................
In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.
To fulfill the demand for quickly locating and searching documents.
It is intelligent file search solution for home and business.