Journal/Magazine Articles

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This collection contains original research articles, review articles and case reports published in local and international peer reviewed journals by the staff members of the Faculty of Medicine

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    Identification of patients with type 2 diabetes with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease who are at increased risk of progressing to advanced fibrosis: a cross-sectional study
    (BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, 2023) Mettananda, C.; Egodage, T.; Dantanarayana, C.; Fernando, R.; Ranaweera, L.; Luke, N.; Ranawaka, C.; Kottahachchi, D.; Pathmeswaran, A.; de Silva, H.J.; Dassanayake, A.S.
    INTRODUCTION: Identification of advanced hepatic fibrosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is important as this may progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The risk of hepatic fibrosis is especially high among patients with diabetes with NAFLD. Annual screening of patients with diabetes for fatty liver and calculation of Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score and exclusion of significant fibrosis with vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) have been recommended. However, VCTE is expensive and may not be freely available in resource-limited settings. We aim to identify predictors of significant liver fibrosis who are at increased risk of progression to advanced liver fibrosis and to develop a prediction model to prioritise referral of patients with diabetes and NAFLD for VCTE. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This cross-sectional study is conducted among all consenting adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus with NAFLD at the Colombo North Teaching Hospital, Ragama, Sri Lanka. All patients get the FIB-4 score calculated. Those with FIB-4 ≥1.3 undergo VCTE (with FibroScan by Echosens). Risk associations for progression to advanced liver fibrosis/cirrhosis will be identified by comparing patients with significant fibrosis (liver stiffness measure (LSM) ≥8 kPa) and without significant fibrosis (LSM <8 kPa). A model to predict significant liver fibrosis will be developed using logistic regression. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval has been obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya (P/66/07/2021). Results of the study will be disseminated as scientific publications in reputable journals.
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    Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: identifying the disease burden in Sri Lanka
    (Jaypee Prothers Medical Publishers, 2018) Dassanayake, A.S.
    Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is becoming one of the most important causes for chronic liver disease and also hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Sri Lanka. This tendency is also recognized worldwide. More than half of the middle-aged and elderly adults in urban Sri Lanka have ultrasonic evidence of NAFLD. The NAFLD is also identified in population from rural areas of Sri Lanka and also in children. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) cirrhosis is the most common cause of referral for liver transplantation in Sri Lankans. The NASH is also the most common cause for rejecting potential donors for liver transplantation in Sri Lanka. Patients who underwent liver transplantation for cryptogenic cirrhosis developed evidence of NASH following liver transplantation. Recent evidence suggests that there is a genetic component to NAFLD. PNPLA3, a single gene polymorphism linked to the short arm of chromosome 22, is associated with the severity of NAFLD. The presence of this genetic polymorphism appears to carry higher risk of patients with NAFLD developing NASH with fibrosis cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. In a large population-based study from Sri Lanka, there was a tendency to develop NAFLD associated with this genetic polymorphism. In a population-based study, NAFLD was identified as an independent risk factor for development of diabetes. This association is recognized worldwide now. Most patients with HHC in Sri Lanka developed it on a back ground of cryptogenic cirrhosis. At the same time, the prevalence of the markers for hepatitis B and C was rare in Sri Lankan patients with HCC.
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    Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its associations among adolescents in an urban, Sri Lankan community
    (BioMed Central, 2017) Rajindrajith, S.; Pathmeswaran, A.; Jayasinghe, C.; Kottahachchi, D.; Kasturiratne, A.; de Silva, S.T.; Niriella, M.A.; Dassanayake, A.S.; de Silva, A.P.; de Silva, H.J.
    BACKGROUND: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common problem across the world. We aimed to determine the prevalence of NAFLD and its associations in Sri Lankan adolescents living in an urban Sri Lankan community. METHOD: The study population consisted of the birth cohort of the year 2000, residing in the Ragama Medical Officer of Health area. Socio-demographic and anthropometric data [anthropometric measurements, blood pressure and total body fat distribution] of these adolescents were collected by trained data collectors. Fasting blood sugar, serum insulin, fasting serum lipids and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were measured and an abdominal ultrasound was performed. NAFLD was diagnosed on established ultrasound criteria for fatty liver and absent alcohol consumption. RESULTS: The study sample consisted of 499 adolescents [263 (51.8%) girls]. Forty two (8.4%) had NAFLD. NAFLD was significantly associated with being breast fed for less than 4 months (33.3% vs. 17.1 in controls, p = 0.02), higher waist circumference (prevalence risk ratio 83.3/20.3, 4.1, p < 0.0001), higher body mass index (prevalence risk ratio 40.5/4.8, 8.4, p < 0/0001),higher HOMA-IR (3.7 vs. 1.9, p < 0.0001) and high triglycerides (prevalence risk ratio 14.3/5.8, 2.5, p = 0.033). Adolescents with NAFLD also had a higher amount of total body fat (p < 0.001) and subcutaneous fat (p < 0.001) than those without NAFLD. The number of children with metabolic derangements was higher among adolescents with NAFLD than those without (85.8 vs 26.3 in controls, p < 0.0001), but a family history of hypertension, diabetes, myocardial infarction or dyslipidaemia were not. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of NAFLD was high in Sri Lankan adolescents, and was associated with metabolic derangements, especially obesity, insulin resistance and early cessation of breast feeding.
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    Incidence and risk factors for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A 7-year follow-up study among urban, adult Sri Lankans
    (Blackwell Munksgaard, 2017) Niriella, M.A.; Pathmeswaran, A.; de Silva, S.T.; Kasturiratne, A.; Perera, R.; Subasinghe, C.E.; Kodisinghe, K.; Piyaratna, C.; Rishikesawan, V.; Dassanayake, A.S.; de Silva, A.P.; Wickremasinghe, R.; Takeuchi, F.; Kato, N.; de Silva, H.J.
    BACKGROUND: This study investigated incidence and risk factors for NAFLD among an adult cohort with 7-year follow-up. METHODS: The study population (age-stratified random sampling, Ragama MOH area) was screened initially in 2007 (aged 35-64 years) and re-evaluated in 2014 (aged 42-71 years). On both occasions assessed by structured interview, anthropometric measurements, liver ultrasound, biochemical and serological tests. NAFLD was diagnosed on ultrasound criteria, safe alcohol consumption and absence of hepatitis B/C markers. Non-NAFLD controls did not have any ultrasound criteria for NAFLD. An updated case-control genetic association study for 10 selected genetic variants and NAFLD was also performed. RESULTS: Out of 2985 of the original cohort, 2148 (72.0%) attended follow-up (1238 [57.6%] women; mean-age 59.2 [SD-7.6] years) in 2014, when 1320 (61.5%) were deemed NAFLD subjects. Out of 778 who initially did not have NAFLD and were not heavy drinkers throughout follow-up, 338 (43.4%) (221 [65.4%] women, mean-age 57.8 [SD-8.0] years) had developed NAFLD after 7-years (annual incidence-6.2%). Central obesity (OR=3.82 [95%-CI 2.09-6.99]), waist increase >5% (OR=2.46 [95%-CI 1.20-5.05]) overweight (OR=3.26 [95%-CI 1.90-5.60]), weight gain 5%-10% (OR=5.70 [95%-CI 2.61-12.47]), weight gain >10% (OR=16.94 [95%-CI 6.88-41.73]), raised plasma triglycerides (OR=1.96 [95%-CI 1.16-3.29]) and diabetes (OR=2.14 [95%-CI 1.13-4.06]), independently predicted the development of incident NAFLD in multivariate analysis. The updated genetic association study (1362-cases, 392-controls) showed replicated association (P=.045, 1-tailed) with NAFLD at a candidate locus: PNPLA3 (rs738409). CONCLUSIONS: In this community cohort study, the annual incidence of NAFLD was 6.2%. Incident NAFLD was associated with general and central obesity, raised triglycerides and diabetes, and showed a tendency of association with PNPLA3 gene polymorphisms.