Application of transient elastography in diabetic patients

Although liver biopsy is the standard test to diagnose non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), its invasiveness discourages patients to use. In order to overcome the drawback, non-invasive tests of fibrosis such as transient elastography (TE) are supported as the initial assessments for NAFLD patients. However, the application of these non-invasive tests as monitoring tools has not been established. Therefore, the study “Serial transient elastography examinations to monitor patients with type 2 diabetes: A prospective cohort study” aimed to examine the role of TE as a monitoring tool in patients with type 2 diabetes at baseline and 3 years. It found that few patients progress to advanced fibrosis in 3 years which suggested that future studies should define the optimal surveillance interval in diabetic patients.

Anyone interested in future collaboration in this field of research is welcome to contact our key investigator Prof Vincent Wong in the Department of Medicine & Therapeutics, CUHK. Prof Wong’s research focuses on non-invasive assessment and treatment of chronic liver diseases.

Read full article: https://aasldpubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/hep.31142

More about research at CU Medicine: https://research.med.cuhk.edu.hk