J Korean Soc Pediatr Endocrinol.
2010 Aug;15(2):77-84.
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Metabolic Syndrome
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Histology, Jeju National University School of Medicine, Jeju, Korea. parkdb@jejunu.ac.kr
Abstract
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common liver disease, represents a spectrum of disease including steatohepatitis, fibrosis, and irreversible cirrhosis. Although a "benign" condition, NAFLD is a risk factor eventually leading to fibrosis and to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). A number of evidences support an association between NAFLD/NASH and metabolic syndrome. The pathogenesis of NAFLD/NASH and metabolic syndrome seems to have common pathophysiological mechanisms, with focus on insulin resistance as a key factor. This review discusses the new aspects of NAFLD/NASH pathogenesis, and anticipate that such knowledge will eventually serve to the deveolpment of novel treatment strategies for this disease.