MASLD treatment-a shift in the paradigm is imminent

Mariana Verdelho Machado

doi:10.3389/fmed.2023.1316284

MASLD treatment-a shift in the paradigm is imminent

Front Med (Lausanne). 2023 Dec 11:10:1316284. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1316284. eCollection 2023.

Author

Mariana Verdelho Machado^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
² Hospital de Vila Franca de Xira, Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal.

Abstract

MASLD prevalence is growing towards the leading cause of end-stage liver disease. Up to today, the most effective treatment is weight loss. Weight loss interventions are moving from lifestyle changes to bariatric surgery or endoscopy, and, more recently, to a new wave of anti-obesity drugs that can compete with bariatric surgery. Liver-targeted therapy is a necessity for those patients who already present liver fibrosis. The field is moving fast, and in the near future, we will testify to a disruptive change in MASLD treatment, similar to the paradigm-shift that occurred for hepatitis C almost one decade ago with direct antiviral agents.

Keywords: MASLD; liver disease-targeted drugs; obesity; treatment; weight loss.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.