AN ALARMING TREND IN FATTY LIVERS
'They have fatty liver disease, but they aren’t alcoholic, nor are they adults. In the US alone, about seven million children – many of them obese – have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The rate of NAFLD among US children has tripled over the last twenty to thirty years, rising from 3-4 percent to 10-11 percent, according to Dr. Naim Alkhouri, Director of the Metabolic Liver Center at the Texas Liver Institute in San Antonio.
NAFLD is caused by an excess of fat in the liver. While the liver is supposed to contain some amount of fat, if more than 5-10 percent of the liver’s weight consists of fat, then the person likely has NAFLD. The majority of children (and adults) with NAFLD are asymptomatic. Those who are symptomatic might present with persistent fatigue, abdominal pain, skin manifestations of spider-like blood vessels, or jaundice, among other possible symptoms.
Though in many cases NAFLD doesn’t harm the person, serious problems can emerge if it develops into its more serious form: nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a condition which consists of liver inflammation and swelling, and can progress to the scarred liver of cirrhosis and, ultimately, liver failure.'
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PROMETIC’S PBI-4050 SHOWN TO REDUCE LIVER DAMAGE AND FIBROSIS IN HIGH-FAT DIET INDUCED OBESITY AND METABOLIC SYNDROME MOUSE MODEL
' “These results strongly correlate with those seen in our Phase 2 clinical trials in diabetes associated with metabolic syndrome and Alström syndrome”, stated John Moran, Prometic’s Chief Medical Officer. “Prometic is advancing PBI-4547 in the clinical stage in H2 2017, a PBI-4050 analogue that is showing even better results in NASH models at a much lower dose. This provides us with the ability to eventually position different drug candidates for different indications”, added Dr. Moran.
Overall, 38 percent of U.S. adults and 17 percent of teenagers are obese. The Trust for America’s Health projects that 44 percent of Americans will be obese by 2030. Obesity is associated with an increased risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Steatosis, the hallmark feature of NAFLD, occurs when the rate of hepatic fatty acid uptake from plasma and de novo fatty acid synthesis is greater than the rate of fatty acid oxidation and export (as triglyceride within very low-density lipoprotein). Therefore, an excessive amount of intrahepatic triglyceride represents an imbalance between complex interactions of metabolic events. The presence of steatosis is associated with a constellation of adverse alterations in glucose, fatty acid, and lipoprotein metabolism. It is likely that abnormalities in fatty acid metabolism, in conjunction with adipose tissue, hepatic, and systemic inflammation, are key factors involved in the development of insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and other cardiometabolic risk factors associated with NASH.'
Jim |
