Mayo Clinic’s Breakthrough Research Points Toward Unprecedented Change in Global Healthcare
Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) presents a major global health challenge, accounting for over half of all liver disease deaths. ALD encompasses a range of conditions, from simple steatosis to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and due to the absence of specific therapies or non-invasive biomarkers, it has notoriously been a challenging disease to manage and treat. The lack of appropriate diagnostic tools and therapeutic approaches not only hampers the effective management of ALD but also contributes to its high mortality rate.
Despite these daunting statistics and challenges, the opportunity to make a significant impact in the field of liver disease through research and innovation serves as a source of motivation and reward. The aim is not just to make incremental contributions but to drive the development of breakthrough diagnostic tools and therapies that can improve the prognosis and quality of life for patients living with ALD. This aspiration is rooted in the belief that every step forward in research brings us closer to a world where ALD no longer poses such a lethal threat.
Another significant alcohol-related disease is alcoholic hepatitis (AH), a serious and potentially fatal form of liver disease caused by excessive alcohol consumption over an extended period. Characterized by inflammation and damage to the liver, it can present symptoms such as jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting. Not every heavy drinker will develop alcoholic hepatitis, but the risk increases with the quantity and duration of alcohol consumed. If left untreated, AH can lead to further complications such as cirrhosis, liver failure, and even death. Abstaining from alcohol is a critical part of treatment, often coupled with medication to reduce inflammation and promote liver healing.
A research team based out of the renowned Mayo Clinic has recently filed a groundbreaking patent focused on these conditions. The research endeavor was spearheaded by Dr. Tejasav Sehrawat, who has an accomplished background as a postdoctoral fellow in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mayo Clinic. This work is grounded in two scholarly articles penned by Dr. Sehrawat, which were published in Hepatology, a leading publication by the AASLD renowned for its peer-reviewed content on liver health-related subjects.
The first paper and patent discusses assessing and treating alcohol-associated liver disease. This document encompasses methodologies and resources for diagnosing and managing alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD). Included are methods and resources to ascertain whether someone is afflicted with ALD. Furthermore, the document outlines the use of one or more ALD treatments in managing the disease in a person diagnosed with ALD.
The second paper, Circulating extracellular vesicles carrying sphingolipid cargo for the diagnosis and dynamic risk profiling of alcoholic hepatitis, mentions that the diagnosis of Alcoholic hepatitis (AH) is usually made based on clinical criteria, although various objective scores can assist in assessing risk levels. In recent years, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as potential biomarkers for numerous diseases, including a role in the development of AH. Consequently, this study sought to determine if the concentration of plasma EVs and their sphingolipid contents could be used as diagnostic biomarkers for AH and provide insight into prognostic outcomes, allowing for a more dynamic risk profile of AH patients.
The researchers concluded that the presence and sphingolipid signature of circulating EVs can aid in diagnosing and differentiating AH from heavy alcohol consumers, decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis (AC), and other causes of end-stage liver disease (ESLD). Moreover, they can predict 90-day survival outcomes, allowing for dynamic risk profiling.
This research has the potential to be a true game-changer, according to Dr. Tejasav Sehrawat. “This could revolutionize the way we diagnose and treat alcohol-associated liver disease,” he states. “We can provide a more precise, less invasive method for identifying the disease, allowing us to intervene earlier and more effectively.”
Dr. Sehrawat says that Mayo Clinic’s long-standing commitment to comprehensive patient care and groundbreaking medical research positions it uniquely for conducting studies on liver disease. “Using the framework established by the leadership, our papers on non-invasive biomarkers and ways to identify diseases such as imaging MRE for portal hypertension along with the EV project, help open new avenues for detecting liver disease.”
He adds that this latest research on ALD and AH opens up the development of specific therapies that could dramatically improve survival rates and quality of life for patients worldwide. “Our ultimate goal is to not only manage but also to prevent the disease, fundamentally changing our approach towards liver health,” Dr. Sehrawat affirms. “This is the power and promise of cutting-edge research.”
Learn more: https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/tejasav-sehrawat/
