Fatty Liver Disease research at the Clínic

The Hospital Clínic leads different lines of research with a multidisciplinary group of medical and nursing professionals, to improve diagnosis and monitoring of the disease and to understand the role of adipose tissue in the progression of the disease. Recently, a multidisciplinary group with specialists in hepatology, endocrinology and surgery was begun. The objective is to evaluate the best strategy to address the disease in patients who have to receive a liver transplant, as well as to prevent recurrence (relapse) once they have received a transplant.

Hepatology specialists at the Hospital Clínic form part of the Fatty Liver Disease Working Group of the Catalan Digestion Study Association. This group has published the recommendations for the detection of the disease in Primary Care and has established the referral flow for these patients. The working group has also led to the creation of a prospective registry of patients with advanced fatty liver disease in Catalonia; thus, making it possible to understand the evolution of the disease and improve treatment and follow-up.

Also, hepatologists at the Clínic participate in the Spanish Registry for Fatty Liver Disease and in the European LiverScreen project. This project is led by researchers from the Hospital Clínic, Barcelona; financed with European public funds. One of its objectives is to evaluate the best strategy for screening for the disease among asymptomatic patients with and without risk factors. Preliminary results from the LiverScreen consortium show that screening with the transitional elastography screening technique is cost-effective, and that current serological biomarkers are not optimal for screening; better tools therefore must be sought. 

The Hospital Clínic organises annual training sessions about the disease for medical and nursing professionals.