Open AccessBetaine and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: Back to the future?
Author(s) -
Sandeep Mukherjee
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
world journal of gastroenterology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.427
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 2219-2840
pISSN - 1007-9327
DOI - 10.3748/wjg.v17.i32.3663
Subject(s) - nonalcoholic steatohepatitis , liver transplantation , medicine , steatohepatitis , insulin resistance , betaine , steatosis , nonalcoholic fatty liver disease , intensive care medicine , transplantation , obesity , fatty liver , disease , chemistry , biochemistry
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is an important indication for liver transplantation in many Western countries. Obesity and insulin resistance are the two most common risk factors for NASH, which can lead to recurrent NASH after liver transplantation. There is currently no approved therapy for NASH, and treatment is directed at risk factor modification and lifestyle changes. Betaine has been used for NASH, with mixed results, and may show promise in conjunction with other agents in clinical trials.