Overview of the Pathogenesis, Genetic, and Non-Invasive Clinical, Biochemical, and Scoring Methods in the Assessment of NAFLD

Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent chronic liver disease worldwide. It represents a range of disorders, including simple steatosis, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and liver cirrhosis, and its prevalence continues to rise. In some cases, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may develop. The develop;ment of non-invasive diagnostic and screening tools is needed, in order to reduce the frequency of liver biopsies. The most promising methods are those able to exclude advanced fibrosis and quantify steatosis. In this study, new perspective markers for inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and fibrogenesis; emerging scoring models for detecting hepatic steatosis and fibrosis; and new genetic, epigenetic, and multiomic studies are discussed. As isolated biochemical parameters are not specific or sensitive enough to predict the presence of NASH and fibrosis, there is a tendency to use various markers and combine them into mathematical algorithms. Several predictive models and scoring systems have been developed. Current data suggests that panels of markers (NAFLD fibrosis score, Fib-4 score, BARD score, and others) are useful diagnostic modalities to minimize the number of liver biopsies. The review unveils pathophysiological aspects related to new trends in current non-invasive biochemical, genetic, and scoring methods, and provides insight into their diagnostic accuracies and suitability in clinical practice.

Keywords: biochemical diagnostic; fibrosis; genetic diagnostic; non-invasive scoring methods; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH); steatosis.

Figure 1

Pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Legend: FFA—free fatty acids, VLDL—very low density lipoproteins, ROS—reactive oxygen species, HCC—hepatocellular carcinoma.