Key result
This review highlights the shared physiopathologic mechanisms linking nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with metabolic syndrome and discusses potential dietary and molecular treatment strategies.
This review highlights the shared pathophysiology between NAFLD and metabolic syndrome, emphasizing the therapeutic potential of lifestyle interventions like the Mediterranean diet.
May guide lifestyle counseling in metabolic syndrome with NAFLD; leaves open validation of molecular targets in trials.
The shared physiopathologic derangements linking nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with the metabolic syndrome (MetS), along with the biological basis of treatment, will be discussed in this review. The role of macrophages in the ‘adipositis’ of the obese individual mirrors that of Kupffer cells in NAFLD. The gut plays a major role in the pathogenesis of NAFLD by contributing to the development of insulin resistance and inflammation. Mitochondrial dysfunction is the cellular basis for impaired energy homeostasis in adipose, muscle and liver tissues. NAFLD is an essential component of the MetS. However, ethnicity, gender, genetic and hormonal influxes – via body fat distribution – modulate the propensity to develop NAFLD, accounting for the finding that few NAFLD patients are seemingly spared from developing the MetS. Future studies should aim at evaluating the role of hypathalamic inflammation in MetS in humans. Furthermore, moderate calorie restriction and weight loss provide prompt metabolic benefit in NAFLD, with indications suggesting that the Mediterranean-type diet has the potential for curing the MetS and NAFLD. The controversial role of alcohol and the molecular mechanism of actions exerted by physical training on NAFLD are discussed in this article. Additionally, specific molecular/cellular targets for innovative treatment strategies based on NAFLD physiology are also reviewed.
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Lonardo et al. (2010) conducted a review in Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and Metabolic Syndrome (MetS). This review highlights the shared physiopathologic mechanisms linking nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with metabolic syndrome and discusses potential dietary and molecular treatment strategies.