Liraglutide’s use in treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver: an evaluation of the non-alcoholic steatohepatitis study

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a leading cause of liver related morbidity and mortality and also is the second most common cause of liver transplantation in the United States (1). NAFLD is considered the liver related manifestation of metabolic syndrome and has a prevalence of 20–33%; it is associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome. Additionally, approximately 30% of patients with NAFLD will progress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which is defined as the presence of “hepatic steatosis and lobular inflammation with hepatocyte injury (ballooning) with or without fibrosis” (2). Furthermore, NASH has been found to progress to cirrhosis in 11% of affected patients over 15 years, liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma in 7.6% of cirrhotic patients within 6–7 years (3)