SteatoSITE

An integrated gene-to-patient Data Commons for NAFLD Research

Patients & The Public

Read more information on NAFLD and what it means.

Researchers

Information on research processes and results

News & Events

The latest news and events in our world.

SteatoSITE

An integrated gene-to-patient Data Commons for NAFLD Research

Patients & The Public

Read more information on NAFLD and what it means.

Researchers

Information on research processes and results

News & Events

The latest news and events in our world.

What is SteatoSITE?

Based in Scotland, it is a ground-breaking project to develop new tests and treatments for people with NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis) the progressive form of NAFLD (non alcoholic fatty liver disease).

A Data Commons brings together data, storage and computing systems. It’s a widely used tool for analysing and sharing data to create a resource for a wide range of users including the research community and clinicians – and potentially patients and charities too. As more health data is added, our NASH Data Commons will evolve into a smarter, more comprehensive knowledge system that will be used to make new discoveries to understand and treat this disease better. It will help us to develop and validate new tests for NASH, and to identify patients who will get the most benefit from new therapies.

We’re calling it SteatoSITE.

What is NAFLD?

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the commonest cause of liver disease, affecting 1 in 4 adults. However, not everyone with a fatty liver goes on to have serious liver problems; only about 20% progress to the more severe form, called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which can lead to liver cirrhosis (where healthy cells are replaced by scar tissue), liver cancer and premature death. Currently, we have no way of telling which people with NAFLD might develop NASH or cirrhosis and there are no medicines ‘on the market’ to treat this condition.

The crucial question is why does NAFLD progress in some people but not in others? The answer to this will pave the way for new diagnostic tests, so NHS resources can be focussed on people with NAFLD who need it most. A detailed understanding of NAFLD will also help us develop the most effective treatments, which could eventually be tailored to individual patients (‘personalised medicine’).

How will We Help?

To address this, we aim to build up a large group (n=1000) of NAFLD cases from across Scotland, collecting existing information about:

the sort of liver damage that can develop in NAFLD livers;
which genes are present in the liver as NAFLD gets more severe; and
how this relates to various health outcomes in people with NAFLD.

We will keep this anonymised information in a secure database and analyse it using bioinformatics (an approach that uses computer science to understand biological data) in order to transform the care of people with NAFLD.