Fatty Liver Disease Comes in Two Forms: Researchers - Video

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the University of Gothenburg have identified two types of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease-a liver-specific type and a systemic type that affects other organs and tissues. The discovery could lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of this growing patient group. Two studies are published back-to-back in Nature Medicine.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic

liver disease (MASLD) is characterised by an excessive accumulation of fat in the liver, which can lead to severe liver damage such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease is caused by overweight and obesity and it is a major and growing burden globally.

“We discovered that there are at least two types of steatotic liver disease with different clinical trajectories,” says Stefano Romeo, Professor at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, who led the research. “One is more aggressive and mainly affects the liver, while the other is entwined in the cardio-renal-metabolic syndrome.”

The researchers used genetic tests to identify 27 new genetic variants linked to Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. By analysing these genes, they were able to determine two different risk scores related to the two types of Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. The liver-specific type is more aggressive and can lead to severe liver damage but protects against cardiovascular disease, while the systemic type is associated with a higher risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, heart and kidney failure.

The study also highlights the importance of genetic research in understanding complex diseases like Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and the mechanisms causing the cardio-renal-metabolic syndrome.

Reference: Jamialahmadi, O., De Vincentis, A., Tavaglione, F. et al. Partitioned polygenic risk scores identify distinct types of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. Nat Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03284-0