Author(s)

Aida Abdeen Mahmoud¹, Asmaa N. Mohammad^2*, Mohamed Abdel Wahab Ezat³

¹Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt.
²Department of Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt.
³Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt.

Background: The liver is the corner stone in lipid metabolism, free fatty acid uptake, synthesizing, storing and exporting lipids; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) develops if there is any interruption or derangements in lipid metabolim. Fatty acid synthase (FAS) is the major enzyme in lipogenesis, and its circulating level is a bi-omarker of metabolically demanding human diseases. Aim of the Work: To evaluate the level of circulating FAS in NAFLD patients and to correlate it to serum lipid pa-rameters. Materials and Methods: The study included forty NAFLD patients and forty age and sex-matched healthy subjects as controls. Results: FAS levels were signifi-cantly higher in NAFLD patients compared to their level in the controls (P < 0.05). Ad-ditionally, a positive correlation was found between the levels of FAS and BMI (r = 0.57), and between FAS levels and triglycerides and low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in NAFLD patients (r = 0.79 & 0.53, respectively). Conclusion: Elevated levels of circulating FAS can be considered as a biomarker of fatty liver disease.

NAFLD, Fatty Acid Synthase, Free Fatty Acids

Mahmoud, A. , Mohammad, A. and Ezat, M. (2016) Evaluation of Circulating Fatty Acid Synthase as a Biomarker in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Open Journal of Gastroenterology, 6, 229-237. doi: 10.4236/ojgas.2016.69028.