Bay Biosciences provides fresh frozen (-80°) clinical grade human serum, plasma and matched FFPE liver biopsy tissue samples processed from patients diagnosed with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH).

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) Overview

A person’s liver usually contains a small amount of fat. However, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is where, in contrast, an individual has a store of excess fat in their liver. Furthermore, it does not result from alcohol use.

There are, in fact, two types of  NAFLD: nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Notably, weight loss is the only recommended treatment for NAFLD, and, currently, there are no medications to treat either condition.

Following are, therefore, the symptoms, causes, and treatments of NAFLD, NAFL, and NASH, as well as the differences between the three.

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

According to the American Liver Foundation (ALF), the liver typically contains a small amount of fat.

However, it is important to note that fatty liver occurs when, specifically, more than more than 10% of this organ’s weight comprises fat.

Consequently, NAFLD is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in the United States and affects up to 25% of the world’s population.

Signs and Symptoms of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

Interestingly, NAFLD is known as a silent disease, meaning that, typically, there are no symptoms of the condition.

However, in some cases, people may experience symptoms such as:

A person’s liver usually contains a small amount of fat. However, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is where an individual has a store of excess fat in their liver. Importantly, it does not result from alcohol use.

There are, in fact, two types of NAFLD: nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Moreover, weight loss is the only recommended treatment for NAFLD, and, currently, there are no medications to treat either condition.

Following are the symptoms, causes, and treatments of NAFLD, NAFL, and NASH, as well as the differences between the three.

Causes of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

The ALF estimates that around 100 million people in the U.S. have NAFLD. Nevertheless, health experts do not fully understand what causes the condition. While studies are continuing, researchers have concluded that certain health conditions may contribute to the development of NAFLD. Additionally, a person’s genetic makeup, diet, and digestive system may also play a role.

Specifically, health conditions that may make an individual more likely to develop NAFLD include:

  • Firstly, having excess body weight or obesity
  • Secondly, high levels of overall cholesterol
  • In addition, insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes
  • Moreover, metabolic syndrome
  • Finally, underactive thyroid

Furthermore, while researchers believe specific genes may contribute to developing this condition, further studies are necessary.

As well as the above, certain herbal remedies or dietary supplements can cause damage to the liver. Consequently,  anyone who wishes to start taking supplements should always discuss the risks with their doctor.

Treatment of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

A person can control or even reverse NAFLD through healthy living; consequently, this may involve following a nutritious diet or losing weight. Experts suggest that, in fact, losing weight can help reduce fat in the liver as well as reduce inflammation and fibrosis.

Diagnosis of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

If healthcare providers suspect a person has NAFLD, NAFL, or NASH, they may order various tests to confirm. These may include, for example, the following:

  • Firstly, a medical history
  • Secondly, blood tests
  • Additionally, imaging tests
  • Lastly, liver biopsy

NAFL

Also known as simple fatty liver, NAFL occurs when there is a mainly harmless build-up of fat in the liver; in other words, it is known as steatosis.

According to the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS, most people will only ever develop NAFL and, moreover, not usually realize it.

However, it is important to note that NAFL may progress for some individuals and, as a result, cause liver damage.

Signs and Symptoms of NAFL

NAFL typically does not cause liver inflammation or damage. Nevertheless, because the liver size may be larger than usual due to the additional fat in the organ’s cells, patients may experience pain. Usually, however, NAFL will not progress.

Causes of NAFL

Fatty liver is not necessarily due to NAFLD. Doctors may wish to look into alternative diagnoses before settling on NAFLD as the cause of a person’s fatty liver.

For example, fatty liver can also be due to the following:

  • Alcohol-associated liver disease
  • Losing weight too quickly
  • Taking certain medications
  • Toxin exposure
  • Wilson’s disease or other rare genetic diseases

Treatments of NAFL

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, it may be possible to prevent or minimize a person’s risk of developing NAFLD with lifestyle changes.

These include:

  • Following a nutritious diet
  • Limiting portion sizes
  • Maintaining a moderate weight
  • Regular physical activity

Often, losing between 3% and 5% of a person’s body weight can reduce fat in the liver.

Diagnosis of NAFL

As there are no symptoms, doctors usually only discover NAFL when carrying out medical tests for other reasons. For example, a blood test will show high levels of liver enzymes. Healthcare professionals may then wish to carry out further investigations, such as a complete medical history and physical examinations.

Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)

If a patient has NASH and high levels of fat in their liver, they also have inflammation and liver damage.

The inflammation and liver damage caused by the disease can lead to:

Signs and Symptoms of Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)

Most of the times there are often no symptoms for NASH, but some patients may develop cirrhosis as a complication.

Symptoms of cirrhosis include:

  • Intense itching
  • Jaundice, which refers to yellowing of the eyes and skin
  • Quickly bruise and bleed
  • Spider veins, which are visible blood vessels close to the surface of the skin
  • Swelling in the abdomen

It is important to get urgent medical attention if a patient is experiencing any of the following symptoms:

Without treatment, cirrhosis can cause the liver to stop functioning: A range of different health issues can result from the liver not working correctly, as it controls so many other bodily functions.

Causes of Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)

The ALF estimates that about 20% of people with NAFLD will develop NASH. Older individuals are also more likely to develop NASH, but some children may get it.

NASH is also more likely to occur in people with:

Treatment of Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)

To reduce liver inflammation and fibrosis, people should aim to lose between 7% to 10% of their body weight. Health experts recommend doing this over time rather than rapidly, as losing weight too quickly can worsen liver disease.

Doctors may use medications to treat complications of NASH, which may require minor medical procedures or surgery. People experiencing liver failure or liver cancer may need a liver transplant.

Diagnosis of Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)

A liver biopsy is the only test that can diagnose NASH, as it needs to show precisely how far the condition has progressed. Liver biopsies can rule out other conditions or give healthcare providers a better view of advanced liver disease or cirrhosis than imaging tests can.

Biospecimens

biospecimens

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens, and human bio-fluid collections.

Human biospecimens are available including cancer (tumor) tissue, cancer serum, cancer plasma, cancer peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). and human tissue samples from most other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own biorepository, the human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and from normal healthy donors for controls, available in all formats and types.

In fact, our biobank procures and stores fully consented, de-identified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples, human biofluids such as serum samples, plasma samples from various diseases and matched controls.

Also, all our human tissue collections, human biospecimens and human biofluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.

In fact, this critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.

Additionally, researchers find the patient’s data associated with the human biospecimens extremely valuable and use it to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, as well as in other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and human biological samples, including fresh frozen human biospecimens cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.

For example fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood-derived products such as human serum, human plasma and human PBMCs.

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.

Please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.

Types of Biospecimens

Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) and human biofluids from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:

Moreover, we can also procure most human biospecimens and human biofluids, special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples and human biofluids are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.

In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human biofluids such as  human plasma, human serum, and human PBMCs bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols; you buy donor-specific collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.

Bay Biosciences also provides human biospecimens from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, Contact us Now.