Salivary Analytical Device (SAD), a good tool for monitoring the metabolic status of patients with fatty liver disease

• Published in: Digestive and liver disease 2023-03, Vol.55, p.S41-S41
• Main Authors: Sinatti, G., Santini, S.J., Brienza, G., Iampieri, M., Fracassi, G., Balsano, C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1590-8658; 1878-3562
• DOI: 10.1016/j.dld.2023.01.080

Physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle have contributed to the epidemic of obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common cause of chronic liver disease. Monitoring NAFLD patients at risk of developing complications by using a more effective health technology would allow the implementation of preventive strategies and follow-up programs that would bring important benefits to the individual and reduce the burden of this disease on the health care system. The purpose of the study was to develop a device that could use saliva to monitor patients with dysmetabolism and derive reliable values comparable with blood values so as to allow telematic control of the patient. In a small cohort of thirty patients we evaluated and compared values of lipid profile (total cholesterol, HDL, triglycerides) and glucose, detected in blood samples, with those identified in saliva samples by using commercial enzymatic kit assay. Besides that, hematological parameters were measured in saliva samples by a lab on chip to validate a prototype created in collaboration with electronic engineers and called SAD, Salivary Analytical Device. We obtained a good degree of correlation between blood and salivary values of total cholesterol (r=0.65, P=0.04), HDL (r=0.73, P=0.04), triglycerides (r=0.84, P=0.02) and glucose (r=0.98, P=0.003) both using commercial kits. Moreover SAD prototype displayed an excellent reliability for salivary parameters evaluation. Although our results need to be validated on a larger cohort of patients, our preliminary data confirm that SAD can be a good tool for monitoring total cholesterol, HDL, triglycerides and glucose levels in saliva samples.