Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Incorporation of a Survivable Liver Biopsy Procedure in Mice to Assess Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis NASH Resolution
Published on: April 16, 2019
The future R&D landscape in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)
Darcey Black1, Sarah Brockbank2, Simon Cruwys1
1Innovative Medicines Unit, Grünenthal Innovation, Zieglerstrasse 6, 52078 Aachen, Germany; TherapeutAix, Juttastrasse 18, 52066 Aachen, Germany.
Abstract:
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is emerging as a major public health issue for the 21st century and is associated with significant liver-related morbidity and mortality. At present, there are no approved drug therapies for NASH. Consequently, NASH has become the focus of significant public and private research and development. In this review, we highlight the research and development (R&D) challenges and opportunities in this emerging therapeutic area. In particular, we consider the impact of the development of new biomarker strategies on clinical trial execution and design, and the positioning of single and combination therapies in future approaches to the treatment of NASH.
Related Concept Videos
Oxidation of Alcohols
The process of oxidation in a chemical reaction is observed in any of the three forms:
Ethers from Alcohols: Alcohol Dehydration and Williamson Ether Synthesis
Ethers can be prepared from organic compounds by various methods. Some of them are discussed below,
Preparation of Ethers by Alcohol Dehydration
In this method, in the presence of protic acids, alcohol dehydrates to produce alkenes and ethers under different conditions. For example, in the presence of sulphuric acid, dehydration of ethanol at 413 K yields ethoxyethane, whereas it yields ethene at 443 K.
Protection of Alcohols
Protection
It defines a protecting group as the masking agent to make the more reactive species inert to a given set of conditions. This concept is depicted via the illustration of liquid flow through different outlets in an assembly of pipes. The analogy helps to understand the role...
Preparation of Alcohols via Substitution Reactions
Alcohols can be synthesized from alkyl halides via nucleophilic substitution reactions. The highly polar carbon-halogen bond in the substrate makes halide a good leaving group. The hydroxide ion or water can act as a nucleophile to take the place of halide and form an alcohol. The substitution reactions occur via two different reaction pathways, SN1 or SN2, depending on the nature of carbon attached to the halide.
Primary alcohols are synthesized from primary alkyl halides, and the...
Esters to Alcohols: Hydride Reductions
Lithium aluminum hydride is a source of hydride ions and functions as a nucleophile. The mechanism proceeds in three steps. Firstly, the nucleophilic hydride ion attacks the carbonyl carbon of the ester to form a tetrahedral intermediate. Subsequently, the carbonyl group re-forms,...
Esters to Alcohols: Grignard Reaction
The reaction requires two equivalents of the Grignard reagent and introduces two identical alkyl groups, derived from the Grignard reagent, bonded to the hydroxyl-bearing carbon of the alcohol.
The reaction follows the typical nucleophilic acyl substitution mechanism. The Grignard...

