Background: Non-invasive tests that can identify patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) at higher risk of disease progression are lacking. We report the development and validation of a blood-based diagnostic test to non-invasively rule in and rule out at-risk NASH (defined as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease [NAFLD] activity score [NAS] ≥4 and fibrosis stage ≥2).
Methods: In this prospective derivation and global validation study, blood samples, clinical data, and liver biopsy results from three independent cohorts with suspected NAFLD were used to develop and validate a non-invasive blood-based diagnostic test, called NIS4.
Objective: Bile acids (BAs) are signaling molecules controlling lipid and glucose metabolism. Since BA alterations are associated with obesity and insulin resistance, plasma BAs have been considered candidates to predict type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk. We aimed to determine (1) the association of BAs with glucose homeostasis parameters and (2) their predictive association with the risk of conversion from prediabetes to new-onset diabetes (NOD) in a prospective cohort study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochim Biophys Acta
August 2007
Because of their wide range of actions on glucose homeostasis, lipid metabolism and vascular inflammation, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are promising targets for the development of new drugs for the treatment of metabolic disorders such as diabetes, dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis. In clinical practice, PPARalpha agonists, such as the already available fibrates, improve dyslipidemia, while PPARgamma agonists, such as thiazolidinediones, improve insulin resistance and diabetes. The complementary action of simultaneous activation of each PPAR in patients suffering from metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes has led to new pharmacological strategies focused on the development of agonists targeting more than one receptor such as the dual PPARalpha/gamma agonists.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF