This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.The primary objective of this study is to determine if a less invasive method other than liver biopsy can be used to diagnose non-alcoholic steatohepatitis with an acceptable sensitivity and specificity when compared to the gold standard of liver biopsy. Our secondary objective is to determine if these same less invasive methods can be used to determine the grade of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and the stage of fibrosis. We hypothesize that by using 99mTc-mebrofenin scintigraphy scan to determine necroinflammation and measuring homocysteine levels we will be able to determine the diagnosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, the grade of steatohepatitis, and the stage of fibrosis as compared to the gold standard of liver biopsy.
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