Abstract
Obesity and metabolic syndrome are healthcare problems that continue to rise in frequency worldwide. Both phenotypes are a strong predictor for development of liver steatosis in the context of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Ultrasound may detect steatosis, but its sensitivity is limited and liver biopsy is still considered to be the gold standard. Less invasive techniques that accurately quantify liver steatosis are warranted. Jiménez-Agüero and colleagues propose that multi-echo magnetic resonance imaging might be such a diagnostic tool. They validated multi-echo magnetic resonance imaging with measured hepatic triglyceride concentration. Their results show that this innovative technique measures the grade of steatosis in different clinical situations. Therefore, multi-echo magnetic resonance imaging might be considered for monitoring liver steatosis as an intermediate endpoint. Wide clinical applicability is limited though, as it does not allow differentiation between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
Highlights
The incidence of obesity is increasing worldwide at an alarmingly fast pace, mainly because of a combination of cultural, social, and economic factors that affect lifestyle
Presence of metabolic syndrome including obesity is a strong predictor for hepatic steatosis, defined as lipid deposition in hepatocytes
Its phenotype ranges from non-alcohol fatty liver disease (NAFLD), to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH - fatty changes with inflammation and hepatocellular injury or fibrosis), to advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis
Summary
The incidence of obesity is increasing worldwide at an alarmingly fast pace, mainly because of a combination of cultural, social, and economic factors that affect lifestyle. * Correspondence: joostphdrenth@cs.com 2Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Radboud University Medical Center, PO Box 9101, Nijmegen 6500 HB, the Netherlands Full list of author information is available at the end of the article Because NAFLD constitutes a risk factor for NASH, it is to be expected that the prevalence of complicated liver disease in patients with obesity and metabolic syndrome will rise.
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