2019 CCS research highlights: Department of Surgery - liver disease in obesity

Dr Geraldine Ooi, recent PhD graduate from

the Department of Surgery

Monash University's Central Clinical School is at the cutting edge of medical research in national and international arenas. We are publishing a series of our research highlights from across 2019.

In this article, we feature a highlight from the Department of Surgery.

• Towards better detection of liver disease in obesity 

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a silent epidemic, is now the leading cause of end-stage liver failure and liver transplantation. It is fuelled by obesity and metabolic disease, both of which are dramatically increasing in society today.

Up to 71-98% of obese individuals have NAFLD, with 7-56% having the more severe form of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and 1-2% having cirrhosis.

Current diagnostic techniques for NAFLD are limited, especially in obesity, meaning that most patients are undiagnosed and therefore, untreated.

Researchers from the Centre for Obesity Research and Education (CORE) investigated the accuracy of established and novel tests for detecting NAFLD, focusing on obese individuals. These findings were published in Obesity Reviews and Obesity Surgery.

“The research shows that tests currently available for NAFLD have limited accuracy when used on obese and morbidly obese individuals,” researcher Dr Geraldine Ooi said. “Subsequently, we have investigated novel avenues for NAFLD diagnosis in obesity.”

In collaboration with the Metabolomics Laboratory at the Baker Research Institute, unique blood markers for the disease are being identified, which may help to predict the severity of NAFLD in obesity non-invasively.

Future projects include the establishment of a NAFLD and metabolic tissue biobank to facilitate ongoing collaborations and translational research in this area.