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Abstract Details
NAFLD as the metabolic hallmark of obesity
Intern Emerg Med. 2023 Jan;18(1):31-41. doi: 10.1007/s11739-022-03139-x.Epub 2022 Nov 10.
1Endocrinology and Nutrition Department, Vall d'HebronInstitut de Recerca (VHIR), Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Campus Hospitalari, Barcelona, Spain.
2Liver Unit, Internal Medicine Department, Vall d'HebronInstitut de Recerca (VHIR), Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Campus Hospitalari, Barcelona, Spain.
3Liver Unit, Internal Medicine Department, Vall d'HebronInstitut de Recerca (VHIR), Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Campus Hospitalari, Barcelona, Spain. pericasjm@gmail.com.
4Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Digestivas Y Hepáticas (CIBERehd), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain. pericasjm@gmail.com.
5Endocrinology and Nutrition Department, Vall d'HebronInstitut de Recerca (VHIR), Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Campus Hospitalari, Barcelona, Spain. andreea.ciudin@vallhebron.cat.
6CIBER de Diabetes Y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDem), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain. andreea.ciudin@vallhebron.cat.
7Department of Cellular Biology, Physiology and Immunology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. andreea.ciudin@vallhebron.cat.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the most common chronic liver disease worldwide, associated with a high risk of progression to NASH, liver cirrhosis and hepatocarcinoma. Its prevalence is closely related to obesity (understood as adipose-based disease and insulin resistance), which makes that at present NAFLD can be considered a metabolic dysfunction hallmark, regardless of the body mass index. Despite being such a prevalent condition, with such severe consequences, at present there are no reliable biomarkers for its diagnosis or specific treatment. Significant and sustained weight loss, as well as some antidiabetic treatments, has shown promising results for NAFLD but data needs confirmation in larger clinical trials and longer follow-up. Efforts should be made for a better and more accurate baseline diagnosis (including large-scale genetics), identification of patients at higher risk for progression to NASH as well as adequate treatment, to allow us to offer a personalized approach in NAFLD in the context of precision medicine.