uncovering the genetic causes of fatty liver disease — a growing health concern

fatty liver disease and its consequences

non-2022年世界杯预选赛阿根廷 liver disease is a disease that affects, on average,  one in four adults and nearly one in 10 children worldwide . the disease progresses from reversible to irreversible stages.

the first stage is defined by the presence of steatosis ( excessive accumulation of lipids in the liver to at least five per cent of the total liver mass ). the next stage, which is also reversible, is characterized by inflammation of the liver cells (called hepatocytes). this inflammation may be accompanied by scar tissue (called fibrosis).

the development of the disease to irreversible stages, in more severe cases, can lead to cirrhosis and/or liver cancer. by 2025,  non-2022年世界杯预选赛阿根廷 liver disease will be the leading cause of liver failure and transplantation . its complications, however, are not limited to liver disease. it is strongly associated with several other cardiometabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (the leading cause of death of those with non-2022年世界杯预选赛阿根廷 liver disease).

what are the risk factors?

consuming added sugar, such as fructose in sweetened beverages, may contribute to its development, by  activating a metabolic process called “de novo lipogenesis” , the production of fatty acids from sugar. ultra-processed products, common in the north american diet,  have a high energy density and provide a high intake of sugar, fat and salt . furthermore, alcohol consumption, even in the absence of alcoholism, could have a synergistic effect on liver metabolism and accelerate the progression of non-2022年世界杯预选赛阿根廷 liver disease.

being overweight is also risk factor for non-2022年世界杯预选赛阿根廷 liver disease:  about half of obese individuals (people with a body mass index (bmi) greater than or equal to 30) could develop the disease . however, non-2022年世界杯预选赛阿根廷 liver disease is frequently observed in people who have a “healthy weight.” although bmi may have some utility in measuring the consequences of high body weight, its clinical utility is increasingly being questioned. bmi gives little or no information on the location of fat tissue: fat has much more harmful consequences when located in the abdomen than in the arms, hips or thighs.

genetic factors

our research team believes that identifying the genetic factors that contribute to chronic diseases such as non-2022年世界杯预选赛阿根廷 liver disease  will allow us to understand, prevent and treat them better .

to this end, we have conducted the largest genetic study of this disease to date. we compared the  genome variations of 8,434 people with non-2022年世界杯预选赛阿根廷 liver disease from four countries (estonia, united states, finland and the united kingdom) with those of 770,180 people without the disease , and identified several susceptibility genes, including an association between a gene called lpl and non-2022年世界杯预选赛阿根廷 liver disease. this gene, which codes for an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase, plays an important role in the storage of blood lipids in our adipose tissue. a disruption in the activity of the lpl gene could increase the chances of lipids being deposited elsewhere in the body, such as in the liver.

this genetic study also allowed us to clarify the role of distribution or localization of adipose tissue and obesity in the development of non-2022年世界杯预选赛阿根廷 liver disease. in a recent study, which is currently under peer-review, we investigated the  contribution of bmi and waist circumference to the presence of non-2022年世界杯预选赛阿根廷 liver disease . a larger waist circumference was strongly associated with having a greater risk of developing non-2022年世界杯预选赛阿根廷 liver disease, independent of bmi. conversely, bmi alone had no effect on risk after considering waist circumference.

prevention or a cure?

we believe that identifying the genes implicated in non-2022年世界杯预选赛阿根廷 liver disease will accelerate its treatment. until then, targeting risk factors associated with non-2022年世界杯预选赛阿根廷 liver disease seems to be the most promising avenue. interestingly, several studies have shown that improving nutrition and increasing physical activity levels can reduce liver fat accumulation,  although these factors were associated with relatively modest weight loss .

this article is republished from the conversation under a creative commons license. read the    original article.

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