PHILADELPHIA – The topic of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) was discussed at length by Dr. Zobair M. Younossi, a physician with the Inova Health System of northern Virginia, at the second annual Digestive Diseases: New Advances meeting on Saturday.
Both NAFLD and NASH are becoming increasingly prevalent conditions in the United States, and proper diagnostic and treatment options are therefore becoming more necessary. To that end, Dr. Younossi talked about a number of existing and emerging options that physicians and clinicians can choose from.
“[NAFLD] is a very common disease, its prevalence in the United States is about 20%-25%,” said Dr. Younossi. “When you look at certain individuals who are at-risk, such as those who undergo bariatric surgery, the prevalence goes up to 90%-95%, and diabetics have a prevalence of about 50%-65%.”
When you look at the prevalence of NASH, the progressive form of NAFLD, it goes down to only about 2%-3%; however, said Dr. Younossi, “when you put this in the context of hepatitis C, which has a prevalence of about 1.8%, you see that it’s becoming quite common.”
In this video interview, Dr. Younossi discusses his overview of management options for NAFLD and related conditions, as well as his take on new and emerging options that he feels clinicians should be keeping their eye on.
Dr. Younossi has been a consultant to Gilead, AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Intercept, and Salix.