A new genetic test will help determine if a heavy drinker is likely to develop the severe liver disease cirrhosis.
An international team lead by the Centenary Institute, in New South Wales, developed the new genetic risk prediction tool, which they say offers hope for the early detection and prevention of alcohol-associated cirrhosis, a condition responsible for over 300,000 global deaths annually.
Clinical Professor Devanshi Seth said while excessive alcohol consumption was known to cause liver damage, not all heavy drinkers developed cirrhosis, which was characterised by scarring of the liver.
Dr Seth said the newly developed tool, known as a polygenic risk score (PRS), helped pinpoint individuals most likely to suffer from alcohol-associated cirrhosis based on their genetic makeup.
She said in developing the PRS, the researchers compared the genetic profiles of thousands of patients with alcohol-associated cirrhosis to those of heavy drinkers without liver damage.
“Analysing millions of genetic variations, a risk score was derived from 20 specific genetic markers.”
Dr Seth said the PRS proved extremely effective.
“It allows us to identify individuals at high risk, enabling earlier intervention and preventive measures to help stop liver disease before it progresses,” she said.
Dr Seth said her study also revealed that the PRS significantly improved the prediction of alcohol-associated cirrhosis when combined with other traditional (non-genetic) risk factors such as drinking habits, age, body mass index (BMI) and diabetes status.
“Further, the tool has been found to be useful in predicting the risk of other liver diseases related to metabolic (non-alcoholic) factors.
“Our tool not only predicts the risk of alcohol-associated cirrhosis but has also demonstrated its utility in identifying risks for other liver diseases such as fatty liver disease, suggesting that shared genetic factors are involved.”
