Nursing

Your Article Summary

See Latest Articles

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease from pathogenesis to management: an update
Obesity Reviews, 11/02/09

Musso G et al. – NAFLD entails an increased cardiometabolic and liver–related risk, the latter regarding almost exclusively non–alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the progressive form of NAFLD. Pathogenetic models encompass altered hepatic lipid partitioning and adipokine action, increased oxidative stress, free fatty acid lipotoxicity. On this basis, lifestyle–, drug– or surgically induced weight loss, insulin sensitizers, antioxidants, lipid–lowering drugs have been evaluated in NAFLD/NASH. Most trials are small, of short duration, nonrandomized, without histological end points, thus limiting assessment of long–term safety and efficacy of proposed treatments. All NAFLD patients should be evaluated for their metabolic, cardiovascular and liver–related risk. Liver biopsy remains the gold standard for staging NAFLD, but non–invasive methods are under intense development. Weight loss through lifestyle intervention is the initial approach, because of established efficacy on NAFLD–associated cardiometabolic abnormalities, and to emerging benefits on necroinflammation and overall disease activity in NASH. Bariatric surgery warrants further evaluation before it can be routinely considered in morbidly obese NASH.

Today in Gastroenterology...keeping you current

Receive free subspecialty "5-minute updates" via email

Novel Diagnostic and Prognostic Modalities in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Gastroenterology Clinics of North America, 11/17/09

Pregnancy and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Gastroenterology Clinics of North America, 11/16/09

Management of acute appendicitis: an imaging strategy in children
Pediatric Surgery International, 10/27/09

See All of Gastroenterology