Novel biomarkers and the development of a point-of-care test for fatty liver disease
Posted 7th February 2020 by Liv Sewell
Ahead of The 3rd Global NASH Congress, Dr Bevin Gangadharan explains how he helped to discover novel NAFLD biomarkers and their role in the development of a point-of-care test for NAFLD.
Screening for NAFLD in primary care: a preventative wonder or are we barking up the wrong tree?
Posted 31st January 2020 by Joshua Sewell
The burden of chronic liver disease has a substantial health and economic burden within the UK. Chronic liver disease is the fifth most common cause of death in the UK and of those five, it is the only one with numbers that are rising. With this in mind, it would make sense that earlier detection of liver disease in primary care is key to improving outcomes and reducing costs.
Developing successful treatments for HCC and NASH
Posted 28th October 2019 by Liv Sewell
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most prevalent cancer and the second most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide.[1] There is not currently a successful therapy to treat HCC in advanced stages.[2] NASH is a primary risk factor for liver cancer.
Devanand Sarkar and his team have uncovered the molecular mechanisms leading to NASH and HCC, shedding light on the connections between obesity and cancer. He is leveraging this knowledge to develop targeted treatments for both NASH and advanced HCC. We asked him to give us a brief insight into his work ahead of his presentation at the 3rd Global NASH Congress, 2020.
Understanding the Role of the Gut Microbiome in NAFLD
Posted 30th August 2019 by Liv Sewell
NAFLD is the primary contributor to chronic liver disease worldwide with incident rates of 20-30% in western countries and 5-18% in Asia. The discovery of early stage biomarkers for patients with the reversible form of the disease is therefore a research priority. Recent work has shown perturbation of the microbiome and specific microbiome-associated metabolites contribute to the phenotype of NAFLD.
The EMA reflection paper on chronic liver disease and its implications for drug development in NASH
Posted 24th May 2019 by Joshua Sewell
The European Medicines Agency published a “Reflection paper on chronic liver diseases (PBC, PSC, and NASH)” in Autumn 2018. Elmer Schabel gives a detailed display of the contents of this first regulatory guidance with regard to NASH, as well as a preliminary evaluation of the initial feedback and input received by stakeholders.
Inhibiting NOX enzymes to treat multiple diseases with high medical need
Posted 13th May 2019 by Joshua Sewell
NOX enzymes are a family of enzymes which amplify multiple signalling pathways associated with liver disease. At the Global NASH Congress, Alexandre Grassin shared a presentation about Genkyotex’s novel molecule GTK831, a NOX1/4 inhibitor, and the interim results from its phase two trial.
Stem cell based anti-NASH drug testing: a pragmatic approach for a complex disease
Posted 29th April 2019 by Joshua Sewell
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) ranges from simple hepatic steatosis to severe, life-threatening non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Steatosis is mostly asymptomatic and does not cause health complications.
The Genetics of progressive NAFLD
Posted 24th April 2019 by Joshua Sewell
Over the last decade, the understanding of genetic factors impacting progressive liver disease has greatly increased. At the 2nd Global NASH Congress, Associate Professor at the University of Milan, Luca Valenti’s research showed the I148M variant of PNPLA3 to be the main common genetic determinant of NAFLD, and how this discovery can be translated into therapeutic approaches.
