Abstract
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.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 143-56 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | British Medical Bulletin |
| Volume | 119 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 19 Aug 2016 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2016 |
Access to Document
- Townsend_Newsome_Non-alcoholic_Liver_Disease_British_Medical_Bulletin
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in British Medical Bulletin. following peer review. The version of record Townsend, S. A., and Philip N. Newsome. "Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in 2016." British medical bulletin 119.1 (2016): 143. is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldw031 Checked 10/10/2016