IBD and Liver Disease Link Revealed by Explorsys, Now an IBM Company

Researchers at Cleveland Clinic have discovered a relationship between IBD and non-alcoholic liver disease, postulating that immune factors are involved in both the intestinal and liver lesions (see:Studies Reveal Heightened Liver Disease Rates in IBD Patients Immune-mediated factors may be involved). Below is an excerpt from the article but make note of the reference to the use of Explorsys, a research tool owned by IBM:...Cleveland Clinic researchers and their collaborators have found that patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) experience higher rates of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and nonalcoholic cirrhosis compared to the general U.S. population in two nationally representative epidemiological studies....The results indicate that the presence of IBD conveys increased risk of comorbid liver disease, although the precise relationship and etiology remain unknown.... “Fatty liver disease is increasing in prevalence in the United States and we were interested in determining if IBD is a separate risk factor for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease [NAFLD],”....[the author of the study] says.“We know that IBD has been associated with primary sclerosing cholangitis, and that many of the medications we prescribe affect the liver.” However, he adds, “the contribution of IBD to NAFLD is not known – and we hypothesize may be an underrecognized extra-intestinal manifestation of IBD.”....[He and his] colleagues studied diagnosis code...
Source: Lab Soft News - Category: Laboratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Diagnostics Electronic Health Record (EHR) Healthcare Information Technology Healthcare Innovations Medical Research Predictive Analytics Preventive Medicine Public Health Source Type: blogs