The condition NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) is relatively well-known given its prevalence; however, the condition MAFLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease) is less well known and it stands as a relatively new concept in the understanding of fatty liver disease and associated pathogenesis.
A consensus statement on this disease concept was published in the Journal of Hepatology in 2020. The research paper is titled “A new definition for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease: An international expert consensus statement.”
The authors have based their criteria on evidence of hepatic steatosis, in addition to one of the following three criteria: Overweight/obesity, presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, or evidence of metabolic dysregulation (alterations in glucose utilization and storage, insulin sensitivity, and/or lipid metabolism).
Researchers now regard MAFLD as an independent medical condition. In recent years, lifestyle changes have led to an increase in the number of people with diabetes and obesity, and the subsequent rise in the number of existing patients plus the predictions regarding potential patients, has drawn societal attention to NAFLD. In a similar way, what is now being referred to as MAFLD is on the rise, especially in higher income countries where access to less healthy diets is greater.
Fatty liver associated with metabolic dysfunction is common, affects a quarter of the population, and has no approved drug therapy.
Furthermore, as the medical understanding of NAFLD has improved, it has become clear that the definition of the disease as defined by the diagnostic criteria at the time does not fit the reality of the patient population.
In response to this situation, the concept of MAFLD has been introduced. While NAFLD itself will continue to be diagnosed, the rise in cases of NAFLD as well as the emergence of MAFLD has led to an accelerating need to develop drugs based on the causes and pathology of the disease, rather than lumping the two conditions together.
Researchers at SMC Laboratories, Inc. (a contract research organization that focuses on non-clinical trials, expertizing in the inflammation and fibrosis disease area) has started to develop a model for MAFLD.
This follows on from the organization’s work with STAMTM mice, which were originally developed as a mouse model for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis leading to liver cancer, with a background of late-onset type 2 diabetes and a pathology similar to human NAFLD.
