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Author Spotlight: Establishing MASLD Cell Models for Investigating Disease Mechanisms and the Lipid-Lowering Effects of Koumiss
Published on: July 19, 2024
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in 2016
S A Townsend1, Philip N Newsome2
1National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Birmingham Liver Biomedical Research Unit, Centre for Liver Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK Liver Unit, University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, B15 2WB, UK.
Introduction:
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the commonest cause of liver disease worldwide, and is rapidly becoming the leading indication for liver transplantation.
Sources Of Data:
Original articles, reviews and meta-analyses, guidelines.
Areas Of Agreement:
NAFLD strongly correlates with obesity and insulin resistance; currently, the best management strategy is weight loss and treatment of the metabolic syndrome.
Areas Of Controversy:
Recent data suggest that the presence of fibrosis and not non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the predictor of clinical outcome.
Growing Points:
Many phase 2 and 3 trials are underway. Drugs hoped to be effective are obeticholic acid, elafibranor, glucagon-like peptide-1 analogues and CCR2/5 inhibitors.
Areas Timely For Developing Research:
Improved understanding of the pathophysiology of NAFLD should help us identify which patients progress to significant liver disease and to develop therapies to target this population.
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