Progression of NAFLD to diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease or cirrhosis (original) (raw)

“…Recent discoveries of genetic variants [e.g., patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing 3 (PNPLA3 148MM variant)], that influence NAFLD progression by influencing the hepatic lipid droplet, also adds credence to the importance of assessing liver fat accumulation per se in NAFLD. The PNPLA3 148MM variant impairs modification of the lipid droplet in hepatocytes, and this genetic variant plays a major role in the development and progression of NAFLD (triggering inflammation, fibrogenesis, and carcinogenesis) 6 . In addition, PNPLA3 148MM may not only modify liver lipid droplet accumulation, but may also influence the effect of potential treatments to decrease liver fat in NAFLD, such as high-dose long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids 7,8 .…”