Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 16, Issue 17, 2010

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome and covers a large spectrum of liver diseases ranging from benign steatosis to steatohepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The pathogenesis of NAFLD is currently believed to involve various hits including lipotoxicity, gut-derived signals, inflammatory attacks directed by pro-inflammatory cytokines, oxidative Read More

Recent studies revealed that adipose tissue is not only an energy storing organ, but is a kind of endocrine organ which secretes a variety of bioactive substances, so-called adipokines or adipocytokines. Visceral fat accumulation is associated with hypersecretion of adipocytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 which may regulate inflammatory and atherogenic diseases. Adipone Read More

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome, whose pathogenesis begins with the accumulation of liver fat and is followed by the development of necro-inflammation and fibrosis. Recent evidence indicates that adipocytokines, polypeptides secreted by the adispose tissue, might play an important role in the pathogeneic process and progression of NAFLD. In this review, we e Read More

Whereas prototypic adipocytokines such as adiponectin or leptin are mainly derived from adipocytes, others such as pre-B cell colony enhancing factor (PBEF)/nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase (NAMPT)/visfatin or resistin are produced by various cell types throughout the body. Although first discovery of this molecule as PBEF suggested primarily a cytokine function, its rediscovery as the key enzyme in nicotinamide adeni Read More

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most prevalent causes of hepatic dysfunction and is highly correlated with components of the metabolic syndrome such as obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Among others, nutritional factors, physical inactivity, genetic variants and visceral obesity have been identified as risk parameters for NAFLD. The complex pathophysiology of fatty liver degeneration, howev Read More

Hepatic fibrosis is a dynamic process whereby the liver responds to conditions of persistent damage. This leads to deposition of fibrillar extracellular matrix, altered hepatocyte regeneration, deranged microvascular architecture and cirrhosis. Accumulating data demonstrate that obesity and insulin resistance are associated with a more severe and faster progression of the fibrogenic process in different chronic liver diseases, Read More

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) refers to a spectrum of liver damage ranging from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. NAFLD is considered the hepatic component of the metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance represents its pathophysiological hallmark. Insulin resistance in NAFLD is characterized by reduced whole-body, hepatic, and adipose tissue insulin sen Read More

The pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is not entirely understood. Recently, the role of microRNA in this liver disease entity and its implication in disease pathogenesis and therapeutic potential has advanced rapidly over the year. While the regulation of miRNA function and its mechanism of actions on translational control of target mRNA expression remain unknown, advances in miRNA research allow id Read More

Non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly diagnosed worldwide and considered to be the commonest liver disorder in Western countries. It comprises a disease spectrum ranging from simple steatosis (fatty liver), through non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) to fat with fibrosis and ultimately cirrhosis. Simple steatosis is largely benign and non-progressive, whereas NASH, characterized by hepatocyte inju Read More

The liver is the most important target for toxicity caused by drugs. This vulnerability is a consequence of the functional features of the liver and their role in the metabolic elimination of most drugs. Therefore, evaluation of potential hepatotoxicity represents a critical step in the development of new drugs. The liver is very active in metabolising foreign compounds and, although biotransformation reactions generally parallel de Read More