Liver diseases

Schattenberg et al. outline discussions from a recent workshop on NAFLD care and advocate for a multidisciplinary approach to managing this complex and multifactorial disease. The authors highlight gaps in current models of care and make recommendations on optimising a multistakeholder approach in steatotic liver diseases.

In 2022, we witnessed advances in the field of alcohol-related liver disease. Key developments included the discovery of novel proteomics-based biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets that regulate the recognition of molecules derived from gut microbiota to modulate liver injury. Additionally, there have been significant advances in refining selection for liver transplantation in severe alcohol-associated hepatitis.

2022 was a proficuous year in both the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and obesity fields. Pharmacological treatment for obesity and NAFLD is moving forward, with the possibility of replacing bariatric surgery, artificial intelligence might help us access the histological effects of new drugs, and there were advances in personalized hepatocellular carcinoma screening in patients with NAFLD.

A recent study reports that nicotine accumulates in the gut during smoking and promotes the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and shows that the gut bacterium Bacteroides xylanisolvens can degrade nicotine.