June 18, 2023 — We can’t miss it. Everywhere we turn, certain people are busy clucking about the health choices that other people make. Politicians see an opportunity to stir up their followers with talk about the health of transgender youth. Women’s health, especially regarding pregnancy, is a political hot button. On top of that, meddlers have lately become […]
February 17, 2023 — NAFLD – the accumulation of fat in the liver without excessive alcohol use – is one of the key reasons that obesity is a real and chronic disease. It is one of the common complications of obesity, and it is rising in parallel with obesity – most disturbingly in children. Of course, losing weight is […]
May 18, 2022 — One of the important complications of obesity is NAFLD – non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Quite simply, this is a condition where unhealthy fat accumulates in the liver. It leads to inflammation and fibrosis, progressing to cirrhosis, liver cancer, or liver failure in severe cases. Often, it goes undetected until these more severe problems emerge. Because […]
November 30, 2021 — Following closely on a landmark study of bariatric surgery and liver fat, today we have a new RCT comparing the effects of gastric sleeve and gastric bypass. In short, these two procedures work equally well. After one year, patients with both procedures had about a 20 percent reduction in liver fat. The other endpoint was […]
November 12, 2021 — NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis) is one of the most serious complications of untreated obesity. It’s very hard to treat. It can lead to liver failure, liver cancer, and death. So when a careful study of bariatric surgery shows an an 88 percent reduction in the risk of NASH progressing, this is big news. JAMA published this […]
November 11, 2020 — Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. That’s the stigma-laden medical terminology for a condition also known as hepatic steatosis. This is a chronic disease that most often goes undetected, until it progresses to the inflamed state of hepatitis. But then it gets serious. The inflammation progresses to fibrosis. Liver failure or liver cancer can be the end […]
June 30, 2020 — It’s tough getting good information these days. Good, factual information. Everybody wants to spin it. That’s undeniable in public policy. But it also seems to be true in drug development. Yesterday, the FDA definitively rejected an application from Intercept Pharmaceuticals for a new drug to treat NASH – nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. The company was shocked. Its […]
May 7, 2020 — Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis – NASH – is a more severe form of fatty liver disease that can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Like other complications of obesity, people can develop NASH even if their BMI does not fall into the range of obesity. Just like obesity, the prevalence of NASH is growing and the treatment […]
October 3, 2019 — I come from a large Italian family where eating, and lots of it, was a priority. In college, I was very active and my weight was under control. Once I graduated, and especially after marriage and kids, my weight skyrocketed and I was clearly developing obesity. My love of eating and my weight led to […]
August 19, 2019 — The nature of liver disease is shifting in the U.S. Over the last three decades, hepatitis C has dropped by nearly half. But over that same time, we’ve seen more liver disease due to obesity and diabetes. In fact, NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) has grown in almost perfect synchrony with obesity and type 2 […]
