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September 25, 2021
3 minutes to read
Healio Gastroenterology and Hepatology presents the following report on recent stories from the Digital NAFLD Summit 2021.
These stories include research on non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, stiff liver, new fatty liver associated with metabolic dysfunction, and more.
Safe, effective Pioglitazone in the treatment of NASH
Pioglitazone was safe and effective in improving liver histology in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, according to a presenter at the Digital NAFLD Summit 2021.
“Fatty liver disease is the most common liver disease in the world and is of particular importance in Asia-Pacific due to rapid westernization” Jee-Fu Huang, from Kaohsiung University Medical Hospital, said. “Insulin resistance is the key player in NASH regardless of obesity and visceral adiposity. The therapeutic efficacy and safety of pioglitazone (PGT), a PPARγ agonist, needs to be validated in Asian NASH patients. Read more.
Icosabutate Rapidly Reduces Biomarkers of Liver Injury in NASH
Two doses of icosabutate have been well tolerated and safe in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
During the Digital NAFLD Summit 2021, Stephen Harrison, MD, The chief medical officer of Northsea Therapeutics, the manufacturer of icosabutate, presented the 16-week interim results of the ICONA trial, a 52-week Phase 2b study involving 264 patients with NASH. Read more.
Researchers see NAFLD as a “public health priority”
Researchers developed a consensus statement that demonstrated the increased need for support to tackle non-alcoholic fatty liver disease as a global public health problem, according to a presentation at the Digital NAFLD Summit 2021.
As a result of a 2020 NAFLD Global Policy Review (Lazarus, et al. Nature Reviews Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2021), Jeffrey V. Lazarus, PhD, from the University of Barcelona and vice-president of EASL, and his colleagues found that in 102 countries, none were well prepared to tackle NAFLD. In addition, almost a third of countries received an overall score of zero in the areas of policy, guidelines, civil awareness, epidemiology, detection and management. Read more.
Longitudinal fat fraction, stiffness of the liver may signal rapid progression of NAFLD
The rate of change in proton density fat fraction over time and measurement of hepatic stiffness are promising predictors for people at high risk of rapid clinical progression and may improve the management of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
“From our observation, in the early stages of fibrosis, the rate of change in the liver stiffness measurement (LSM) is slow and positively correlated with the rate of change in the proton density fat fraction (delta PDFF) ” Meng Yin, MD, from the Mayo Clinic, Healio Gastroenterology said. “In later stages of fibrosis, the rate of change of LSM is higher and is negatively correlated with delta PDFF. Compared to other risk factors, baseline LSM and rate of change in PDFF were most strongly associated with subsequent change in LSM. Read more.
New MAFLD criteria increase identification of fatty liver disease
Researchers identified more patients with fatty liver disease using new criteria for fatty liver associated with metabolic dysfunction compared to criteria for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
“Hepatic steatosis (FLD) has become the most common chronic liver disease in the world with a prevalence of over 25% and one of the main causes of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma” Van Laurens to stick on, MRS, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, said at the Digital NAFLD Summit 2021. “Recently, a transition from NAFLD to FLD associated with metabolic dysfunction (MAFLD) has been proposed to bring about focus on metabolic health. The new definition requires the presence of metabolic dysfunction as well as hepatic steatosis; this transition to MAFLD has not yet been fully explored. Read more.
Rare genetic variants may increase the risk of severe NAFLD in obesity
Severe non-alcoholic fatty liver disease may be correlated with variants of loss of function of autophagy-related gene 7, which may alter hepatocellular bloating and inflammation.
“We believe that altered ATG7 activity and autophagy are involved in the pathogenesis of steatohepatitis in people with fatty liver disease”, Cristiana Bianco, MD, from the Department of Transfusion Medicine and Hematology of the Fondazione IRCCS Ca ‘Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy, said at the Digital NAFLD Summit 2021, associated with liver injury and hepatocellular carcinoma. Read more.
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