Now, specific biomarker to help treat liver cirrhosis patients
LUCKNOW : Doctors of the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) have discovered specific biomarker to extend the life expectancy of patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis. Through this biomarker, the cause of the problem in liver cirrhosis patients will be detected in just one to two hours. Hence the direction of treatment will be decided within hours.
Patients with liver cirrhosis have many problems including intermittent bleeding, ascitis (water filling in the stomach), imbalance in sodium-potassium levels, hallucinations and delusions.
By treating these problems quickly, the quality of life could be increased to a great extent, said professor Gaurav Pandey of the department of gastroenterology.
According to prof Gaurav Pandey, the cause of this problem is infection or inflammation.
The neutrophil CD64 biomarker plays an important role
in determining the cause. “This we have proved after research on 128 patients of alcoholic liver cirrhosis. If the CD64 count is low, the cause is inflammation. If the number is high, then there is infection. If there is an infection, weimmediately start antibiotics and the patients get relief. If the cause is inflammation, then doctors can immediately start immunosuppressive drugs.
Acute liver failure (ACLF) is a common problem in liver cirrhosis patients. We have four to five hours to decide the direction of treatment. If the right treatment is not received at the right time, it can be life threatening.“
After this research, the misuse of antibiotics will stop. Antibiotic resistance will be less among patients undergoing treatment. The cost of treatment will also go down,” he said.
The research on the utility of neutrophil CD64 in bacterial infection or inflammation in severe alcoholic hepatitis has been accepted by the scientific community. Research by prof Vikas Agarwal and Dr Durga Prasanna of the department of clinical immunology and professor Gaurav Pandey of the department of gastroenterology has been published by Scientific Report Journal .