The following is a summary of “Patients With Autoimmune Hepatitis and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Characteristics, Treatment, and Outcomes,” published in the January 2024 issue of Gastroenterology by Strzepka, et al.
For a study, researchers sought to describe a group of people who had both autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), find out if they got standard care treatment, and compare their results to those of people who only had AIH or NAFLD. AIH is a fairly uncommon liver disease that shows up in a lot of different ways. Its cause is unknown. NAFLD is the main reason people get liver cancer around the world. Steroids are used to treat AIH, but they have bad metabolic effects that can make NAFLD worse.
There are no treatment guidelines for AIH/NAFLD overlap people that can help with this side effect. So far, only a few studies have looked at the features of these people, how they are treated, or their results. This historical chart review study looked at AIH/NAFLD and AIH and NAFLD patients diagnosed with a biopsy. They looked at the characteristics, treatment, and results at 1 and 3 years (decompensated cirrhosis, all-cause death, or need for liver surgery).
72 patients were included, with 36.1% having AIH/NAFLD, 34.7% having AIH, and 29.2% having NAFLD. It was found that AIH/NAFLD patients were more likely to be female, Hispanic, or Latino and have lower levels of liver amino transaminases, immunoglobulin G, and anti–smooth muscle antibodies. People with AIH/NAFLD were less likely to get standard-of-care care. There were no big changes in the results between AIH/NAFLD and AIH or NAFLD. The research showed that people with AIH and NAFLD are different from people with AIH alone in that they are less likely to get standard-of-care treatment. Even so, there was no change in results like death from any cause, needing a liver transplant, or decompensated cirrhosis. As the number of people with NAFLD rises, the number of cases of AIH/NAFLD is also expected to rise. Different treatment methods may be helpful to keep NAFLD from getting worse.
Source: journals.lww.com/jcge/abstract/2024/01000/patients_with_autoimmune_hepatitis_and.15.aspx