[NASH and metabolic syndrome]

Area of Science:

• Hepatology
• Metabolic Diseases
• Internal Medicine

Background:

• Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is characterized by specific liver pathology, including steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis.
• Visceral obesity and insulin resistance are common clinical features of NASH.
• A significant majority of NASH patients (90%) have visceral obesity, and two-thirds meet metabolic syndrome criteria.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the connection between NASH and metabolic syndrome.
• To establish NASH as the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome.
• To identify lifestyle-related diseases as potential markers for NASH detection.

Main Methods:

• Histopathological analysis of liver tissue to identify NASH hallmarks (steatosis, ballooned hepatocytes, Mallory bodies, fibrosis, inflammation).
• Clinical assessment of patients for visceral obesity and metabolic syndrome criteria.
• Correlation analysis between metabolic syndrome components and NASH diagnosis.

Main Results:

• NASH pathology includes zone 3-dominant steatosis, ballooned hepatocytes, Mallory bodies, pericellular/perivenular fibrosis, and lobular inflammation.
• Visceral obesity is present in 90% of NASH cases.
• Two-thirds of NASH patients fulfill metabolic syndrome criteria, supporting NASH as a hepatic manifestation.

Conclusions:

• NASH is strongly associated with visceral obesity and insulin resistance.
• NASH can be considered the liver manifestation of metabolic syndrome.
• Lifestyle-related diseases like obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus may serve as indicators for NASH detection.