Data on the Prevalence of Liver Fibrosis in Middle Age
Fibrosis is a consequence of age-related disarray in tissue maintenance processes, leading to the deposition of scar-like collagen that disrupts tissue structure and function. It is an ultimately fatal issue for which there are only poor treatment options at present. Hopefully that will change with further exploration of the relationship between accumulation of senescent cells in aged tissues and the development of fibrosis. In mice, the use of senolytic therapies to selectively destroy senescent cells has reversed fibrosis in a number of different organs.
A substantial minority of participants from the Framingham Heart Study, (nearly nine percent), had potentially clinically significant liver fibrosis (scarring). This the first study of this size and scale done in the United States. More than 3,000 middle-aged Framingham Heart Study participants (over a three-year period) underwent a test or vibration-controlled transient elastography that quantifies how much fat is in the liver and also measures the stiffness of the liver. Liver stiffness correlates with the degree of liver scarring. "We found that liver fibrosis was associated with more adverse cardiometabolic risk factors, even after accounting for liver fat which is a known risk factor for cardiometabolic disease. In particular, we observed that approximately one-quarter of the participants with diabetes had evidence of possibly clinically significant liver fibrosis."
These findings support the consideration of screening for liver fibrosis in high-risk groups, though additional studies are needed to determine the benefits/costs of screening. "Liver biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosing liver fibrosis; however, new non-invasive tests exist that can quickly and painlessly help doctors determine if you are at risk for having clinically significant liver fibrosis." If liver fibrosis is identified early, before cirrhosis is established, it is treatable. Greater recognition of and awareness of liver fibrosis as a consequence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease will hopefully allow more patients to receive treatment to prevent complications of advanced liver disease.
Link: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/buso-lsr110920.php