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Review
. 2022 Jun 28;12(1):99.
doi: 10.1186/s13578-022-00836-0.

Novel insights into non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and dementia: insulin resistance, hyperammonemia, gut dysbiosis, vascular impairment, and inflammation

So Yeong Cheon  1 , Juhyun Song  2
Affiliations
Review

Novel insights into non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and dementia: insulin resistance, hyperammonemia, gut dysbiosis, vascular impairment, and inflammation

So Yeong Cheon et al. Cell Biosci. .

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a metabolic disease characterized by multiple pathologies. The progression of dementia with NAFLD may be affected by various risk factors, including brain insulin resistance, cerebrovascular dysfunction, gut dysbiosis, and neuroinflammation. Many recent studies have focused on the increasing prevalence of dementia in patients with NAFLD. Dementia is characterized by cognitive and memory deficits and has diverse subtypes, including vascular dementia, Alzheimer's dementia, and diabetes mellitus-induced dementia. Considering the common pathological features of NAFLD and dementia, further studies on the association between them are needed to find appropriate therapeutic solutions for diseases. This review summarizes the common pathological characteristics and mechanisms of NAFLD and dementia. Additionally, it describes recent evidence on association between NAFLD and dementia progression and provides novel perspectives with regard to the treatment of patients with dementia secondary to NAFLD.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s dementia; Dementia; Diabetes-induced dementia; Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; Vascular dementia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
NAFLD as an important disease associated with the development of dementia. NAFLD is an important disease related to the development of dementia. It is associated with insulin resistance, hyperammonemia, gut dysbiosis, impaired cerebrovascular function, and inflammatory responses, leading to dementia
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Common pathological features of dementia: Alzheimer’s dementia, diabetes-induced dementia, and vascular dementia. Dementia is classified into various types, including Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes mellitus-induced dementia, and vascular dementia. The major features are slightly different between the dementia types
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
NAFLD-caused symptoms, including insulin resistance, neuroinflammation, hyperammonemia, gut dysbiosis, and cerebrovascular dysfunction, associated with some dementia. NAFLD can lead to chronic neuroinflammation, brain insulin resistance, hyperammonemia, cerebrovascular abnormalities, and gut dysbiosis. Those symptoms are closely associated with some dementia
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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