Family Members of Children with Fatty Liver Disease at High Risk to Have the Same Disease

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 18 /Xpress Press/ -- When a child has nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), their family members are at high risk for the disease. According to the principal investigator Dr. Jeffrey Schwimmer, "Obesity is a major risk factor for NAFLD, but not everyone who is overweight gets NAFLD, and not everyone with NAFLD is overweight. Thus, we believe it is a genetic disease. Therefore we studied families to determine the heritability of fatty liver."

The investigators studied the families of 30 children with NAFLD. Family members who had alternative factors that can cause fatty liver, such as hepatitis C, alcohol use, or medication, were excluded from the study. All family members were evaluated with lab tests and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the liver revealing at least one family member with NAFLD in 84 percent of those studied. Once adjusted for age, gender, and BMI (body mass index), 68 percent of the risk of having NAFLD was shown to be heritable.

NAFLD is the most common chronic liver disease in the United States, but the impact of genetic factors is still unknown. "Studying children with NAFLD and their families will be a fruitful strategy for unraveling the genetic causes and associations of the disease so we will be better able to prevent and treat it. In the mean time, Dr. Schwimmer says, "family members of children who have NAFLD should be considered at high risk as well, and therefore should be screened, even in the absence of symptoms."

Abstract title: Hereditability of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) is the leading medical organization for advancing the science and practice of hepatology. Founded by physicians in 1950, AASLD's vision is to prevent and cure liver diseases. This year's Liver Meeting, held in Boston, Massachusetts November 2-6, will bring together almost 5,000 researchers from 55 countries.

A pressroom will be available from November 3 at the annual meeting. For copies of abstracts and press releases, or to arrange for pre-conference research interviews contact Gregory Bologna at 703-299-9766. To pre-register, call Ann Tracy at 703-299-9766.

Press releases and all abstracts are available online at http://www.aasld.org/.

Source: AASLD

CONTACT: Media, Gregory Bologna, +1-703-299-9766, gbologna(AT)aasld.org, Press Room: November 3-6, 2007, +1-617-954-2581; or Researcher, Jeffrey B. Schwimmer, MD, +1-619-543-7544, jschwimmer(AT)ucsd.edu

Web site: http://www.aasld.org/

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