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Review
. 2021 Dec 7;10(24):5721.
doi: 10.3390/jcm10245721.

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Bariatric/Metabolic Surgery as Its Treatment Option: A Review

Paulina Głuszyńska  1 , Dorota Lemancewicz  2 , Janusz Bogdan Dzięcioł  2 , Hady Razak Hady  1
Affiliations
Review

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Bariatric/Metabolic Surgery as Its Treatment Option: A Review

Paulina Głuszyńska et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has considerably increased over the last years. NAFLD is currently the most common cause of chronic liver disease in the developing world. The diagnosis of NAFLD/NASH is often incidental, as the early-stage of disease is frequently free of symptoms. Most patients recognized with NAFLD have severe obesity and other obesity-related disease such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), insulin-resistance, dyslipidemia and hypertension. The only proven method for NAFLD improvement and resolution is weight loss. Bariatric surgery leads to significant and long-term weight loss as well as improvement of coexisting diseases. There is a lot of evidence suggesting that metabolic/bariatric surgery is an effective method of NAFLD treatment that leads to reduction in steatosis, hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. However, there is still a need to perform long-term studies in order to determine the role of bariatric surgery as a treatment option for NAFLD and NASH. This review discusses current evidence about epidemiology, pathogenesis and treatment options for NAFLD including bariatric/metabolic surgery and its effect on improvement and resolution of NAFLD.

Keywords: Roux-en-Y gastric bypass; bariatric surgery; laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; obesity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pathogenesis of NAFLD.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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