Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis-NASH Samples

Bay Biosciences provides high quality, clinical grade, biopsy tissue samples, FFPE  tissue blocks with matched cryogenically preserved sera (serum), plasma, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) biofluid samples from patients diagnosed with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

The sera (serum), plasma and PBMC biofluid specimens are processed from nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) patient’s peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols.

The nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) tissue and matched biofluid samples are collected from unique patients diagnosed with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and are provided to a valued pharmaceutical customer for research, diagnostics, discovery and drug development.

Detailed clinical data, patient’s history, symptoms, complete blood count (CBC), serology, MRI, biopsy tissue findings, histopathology information, elevated biomarker levels, genetic and metabolic information associated with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) specimens is provided to a valued customer for research, development and drug discovery.

The nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) sera (serum), plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) biofluids are processed from patients peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols.

Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) Overview

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is liver inflammation and damage caused by a buildup of fat in the liver. It is part of a group of conditions called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. You may be told you have a “fatty liver.” Many people have a buildup of fat in the liver, and for most people it causes no symptoms and no problems. But in some people, the fat causes inflammation and damages cells in the liver. Because of the damage, the liver doesn’t work as well as it normally should.

NASH can get worse and cause scarring of the liver, which leads to cirrhosis. But the disease doesn’t always get worse. NASH is similar to the kind of liver disease that is caused by long-term, heavy drinking. But NASH occurs in patients who don’t abuse alcohol. Patients with NASH develop progressive fibrosis in 25%-50% of individuals over 4-6 years, while 15-25% of individuals with NASH can progress to cirrhosis. In another study, 13 % of NASH patients with mild to moderate fibrosis (stage 1-2) and 50% of patients with fibrosis stage 3 developed cirrhosis.

Signs and Symptoms of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)

In most early stages nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) cases, there are no noticeable symptoms. Most patients who have nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) feel fine and don’t know that they have the disease. Following are the signs and symptoms when nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) progresses and liver damage gets worse:

• Pain in the upper right side of the abdomen
• Fatigue (feeling tired all the time) 
• Weight loss for no clear reason 
• General weakness.
• Enlarged liver or spleen (usually observed by a doctor during an exam)
• Ascites, or swelling in the belly
• Jaundice or yellowing of the skin and eyes

Causes of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)

Exact causes of why some people with a buildup of fat in the liver get nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and some don’t are unknown. It could be that something in the environment triggers the inflammation in these patients. It could also be a inherited disorder which runs in their families.

Things that put people at risk for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and for liver damage include:

• Obesity
• Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes
• High cholesterol and high triglycerides
• Metabolic syndrome

Most patients who have nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are 40 to 50 years old and have one or more of the problems listed above. But NASH  disease can develop in patients who have none of these risk factors.

Diagnosis of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)

There is no single test that can diagnose nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Following are some of the diagnostics tests used to see if fat is building up in the liver and to rule out other diseases:

• Blood tests (CBC)
• Abdominal ultrasound
• CT scan
• MRI scan

In addition to the above tests, a a liver biopsy may also be performed to be sure that you have NASH. In a liver biopsy, your doctor takes a sample of tissue from your liver and checks it for signs of NASH. NASH is diagnosed by the histological examination of a liver biopsy showing steatosis with concomitant inflammation and hepatocyte injury (hepatocyte ballooning).