A new series of short, popularized communication of medical science is beginning, with the hope that it will go far and evolve…
Your healthcare espresso shot is here!!!
Vol.1 Fatty Liver
⚠️❓ A mild increase in serum transaminases, or otherwise SGOT/AST and SGPT/ALT—often also in γ-GT—found in routine blood tests…
💡👀💭 There are many possible causes… but it may be Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), or with the more modern term Metabolic dysfunction–Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD), or more simply fatty liver disease!
📖💬✅ It is nowadays the most common liver disease in the Western world, having surpassed other frequent conditions such as alcoholic liver disease and viral hepatitis. Fatty liver “is here to stay” and can rightly be described as the liver disease of the present and the future.
🤯🧐 What’s interesting is that despite the increasing prevalence of the disease, diagnostic methods and treatment options are still in an early stage. The disease is not particularly “aggressive”, but if it is not addressed, it can progress even to irreversible cirrhosis and destruction of the organ.
💉🩻🔍 The classic diagnosis with invasive biopsy is tending to be replaced by a combination of imaging studies, such as standard ultrasound, more specialized elastography techniques, and in some cases special MRI techniques (which are still “struggling” to find their place in clinical practice and are quite expensive). These imaging examinations are also used to monitor patients over time.
👨⚕️🩺💊📈 For now, disease management relies solely on weight loss, redistribution of body fat and physical activity. However, there are many potential pharmaceutical agents that are being evaluated. In fact, there are approved medications for other conditions (such as several glucose lowering agents) that exert well-documented, particularly beneficial effects on the disease.
🏆🎯🎗 The main therapeutic goals are reducing steatosis (fatty degeneration), inflammation and fibrosis (scarring) of the organ. Regular laboratory testing is an important tool for monitoring fatty liver, and controlling other metabolic diseases—such as diabetes and lipid disorders—contributes to better prognosis.
📑 References
- Malandris K, Papandreou S et al. Comparative efficacy of glucose-lowering drugs on liver steatosis as assessed by means of magnetic resonance imaging in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: systematic review and network meta-analysis. Hormones (Athens). 2023 Dec;22(4):655-664. doi: 10.1007/s42000-023-00493-z. Epub 2023 Sep 28. PMID: 37770761; PMCID: PMC10651545.
- Malandris K, Papandreou S et al. Efficacy of pharmacologic interventions on magnetic resonance imaging biomarkers in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: systematic review and network meta-analysis. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024 Jul;39(7):1219-1229. doi: 10.1111/jgh.16559. Epub 2024 Apr 16. PMID: 38627972.