The continuous real-time 13C-octanoate breath test for patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis using the BreathID system.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Hepatic mitochondrial beta-oxidation is considered to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The aim of this study was to determine whether there were differences between patients with NASH and healthy controls in a breath test with 13C-octanoate, a medium-chain fatty acid.

METHODOLOGY

The subjects were 8 patients (5 men, 3 women, median age 46.5 years) with histologically proven NASH and 6 healthy controls (5 men, 1 women, and median age 27.8 years). The 13C breath test was performed for 4 hours using the BreathID system with a 100 mL of water containing 100 mg 13C-octanoate.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences between NASH patients and controls about all breath test parameters.

CONCLUSIONS

NASH-mediated changes in breath test parameters after ingestion of 13C-octanoate were not observed in our study. The present study findings suggest the possible preservation of 13C-octanoate metabolism (mitochondrial beta-oxidation) in patients with NASH.