High-Titre ANA Positivity in NAFLD: An Uncommon Presentation of a Common Disease

Authors

• Asis Mitra Ruby General Hospital, Kolkata, India
• Saswati Ray Department of Physiology, Jagannath Gupta Institute of Medical Science and Hospital, Kolkata, India

asis.mitra10@gmail.com

Keywords

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease and has emerged as a serious public health challenge. About 20% of NAFLD patients may have low titres (<1:320) of antinuclear antibodies (ANA). However, we describe a patient with NAFLD whose ANA titre was high (>1:320) on presentation. After 3 months of diet, exercise and vitamin E supplementation,the patient was symptomatically better but her ANA titre had increased (>1:640). Her liver biopsy showed features of NAFLD with minimal fibrosis. High-titre ANA (>1:320) positivity is rare. Our patient showed a progressive rise in ANA titre from >1:320 to >1:640 within 3 months even though she was improving and histology showed minimal fibrosis.