July 2, 2022 — Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis – NASH – has yet again handed drug researchers disappointing results, this time in a study of semaglutide. Researchers presented this phase 2 study at the International Liver Congress in London last weekend. The whole point of a phase 2 study is to see if a drug works for a specific purpose. On […]
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 22, 2020 — This month has brought considerable progress on NASH treatments. Yet it’s hard to know when we will have real progress in medical care for this silent epidemic. Getting FDA to yes on new treatments seems to be a challenge. Nonetheless, we have news of two new studies that suggest promise for new NASH treatments. One […]
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 […]
January 11, 2020 — A new study in the January issue of Diabetes Care makes one thing very clear. We pay a steep price for untreated NASH – nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. This is a disease that starts with fat tissue building up in the liver. Then inflammation develops. After that, it can progress to liver damage and failure, ultimately requiring […]
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 […]
September 23, 2019 — A new study in Cell Metabolism tells us that gut bacteria might play a role in the development of fatty liver disease. Jing Yuan and colleagues found that a strain of Klebsiella can cause fatty liver disease in mice. In addition, they found a correlation between the presence of these bacteria in humans and fatty […]
