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Serum IgA accurately measured fibrosis in patients with NAFLD

Immunoglobulin A was effective in measuring fibrosis severity in Iranian patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, according to new study results.

Clinical data from 50 patients with NAFLD and 54 controls from the Imam Khomeini Hospital in Iran were analyzed by researchers and used to determine if immunoglobulin A (IgA) could qualify as a biomarker for liver fibrosis in NAFLD. Twenty-eight NAFLD patients had nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, 74% did not have fibrosis and the remainder had fibrosis stages F1 (12%), F2 (4%), F3 (8%) and F4 (2%).

IgA level and fibrosis stage were positively correlated; patients without fibrosis had a lower level of IgA (301.5 ± 91.2 mg/dL) compared with patients with any stage of fibrosis (388.8 ± 140.8 mg/dL; P=.01). Researchers also found that IgA levels were greater among patients with NASH and more pronounced in those with higher degrees of fibrosis.

Eleven patients had perisinusoidal fibrosis and higher IgA levels (403.5 ± 133.9 mg/dL) vs. patients without perisinusoidal fibrosis (301.8 ± 94.9 mg/dL; P=.06).

“The serum IgA level is useful to evaluate the severity of liver fibrosis and can be used serially for evaluation and follow-up of NAFLD cases,” the researchers wrote. “Further studies with larger numbers of cases and among different ethnic groups are recommended to clarify the possible role of IgA for the detection of fibrosis in these patients.”

Disclosure: Relevant financial disclosures were not provided by researchers