Is NASH Curable? | Visualized Health

Reviewed by The Clinical Committee

  • NASH is one of the most common and dangerous liver diseases.

  • While it is still being actively researched, studies have shown that it it may be reversible in some patients.

  • Further research is needed before we have an FDA approved treatment for NASH.

Q:

Is NASH Curable?

our answer:

A:

Maybe, there is good evidence showing that the symptoms of NASH are curable. Fibrosis, the most dangerous symptom of NASH, is curable in that it can become undetectable with the correct treatment. Fixing the underlying causes of NASH can fix the most serious symptoms of NASH as well. Additionally, certain treatments have shown promise in clinical trials. However, further research is needed before we know this for sure. While certain treatments can remove the symptoms, like a cure, experts prefer the terms reversal or resolution to the term cure as NASH can always come back.

links to further reading:

expert-logo
Hopkins Medicine

If you have NASH, no medication is available to reverse the fat buildup in your liver. In some cases, the liver damage stops or even reverses itself. But in others, the disease continues to progress. If you have NASH, it’s important to control any conditions that may contribute to fatty liver disease.

expert-logo
National Institutes of Health

If you are overweight or obese, losing weight by making healthy food choices, limiting portion sizes, and being physically active can improve NAFLD and NASH. Losing at least 3 to 5 percent of your body weight can reduce fat in the liver. You may need to lose up to 10 percent of your body weight to reduce liver inflammation.

Weight Loss as a Cure for NASH

Weight Loss as a Cure for NASH

Figure 1: Weight Loss as a Cure for NASH. A small prospective cohort study showed that weight loss was associated with a significantly higher rate of NASH resolution. Among the 19 patients who had lost more than 10% of their body weight over the 4.6 years of the study, 12 patients had achieved fibrosis regression, where their fibrosis begins to go away. Among the 22 patients who did not reach this level of weight loss, only 2 achieved fibrosis regression. This was highly significant with an adjusted OR of 8.14 and a p-value of less than 0.001.

Weight loss can be a very effective treatment for NASH, even without medication. While it may not completely cure NASH, it can fix the most dangerous and concerning symptoms of NASH.

Patients in this study were followed for over four years to see whether those who lost more weight could also reduce their fibrosis.

Fibrosis is the most concerning symptom in NASH. While fatty liver itself isn't too harmful, fatty liver + fibrosis can significantly increase the risk of liver cancer and mortality.

They found that among the patients who lost over 10 pounds, 63% had achieved fibrosis regression. This isn't necessarily a cure, as many of these patients may have still had significant fibrosis.

But, it does show that as a disease, NASH is reversible with lifestyle changes.

Source: Total body weight loss of ≥ 10 % is associated with improved hepatic fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Vitamin E and Pioglitazone as NASH Treatments

Vitamin E and Pioglitazone as NASH Treatments

Figure 2: Vitamin E and Pioglitazone as NASH Treatments. A large clinical trial with 247 patients showed that Vitamin E and pioglitazone can both potentially reverse and even cure NASH. 37% of patients who took vitamin E achieved NASH resolution. 47% of patients who took pioglitazone achieved NASH resolution.

Common medications and vitamins have also been shown to potentially help in NASH.

Vitamin E, which you can find in grocery stores, has been shown to resolve NASH in many patients.

A larger Phase II Clinical Trial showed that Vitamin E and Pioglitazone can help with NASH. 37% of patients who took Vitamin E for 96 weeks achieved NASH resolution. While this was not 100%, this is still a remarkable result for just a vitamin.

Additionally, 47% of those who took pioglitazone, an older diabetes drug, showed NASH resolution.

These results suggest that NASH is treatable, but we still have a long way to go before we have a safe treatment that works for all patients.

More Info on NASH

NASH

Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis
TL;DRThe Basics

NASH is a condition caused by the presence of fat in the liver. It is a subset of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Over time, the fat in the liver can lead to liver inflammation, the end stage of which we call NASH.

Questions on #antioxidants
Can antioxidants protect your vision?Can antioxidants supercharge your brain power?Can taking antioxidants protect you against cancer?
Explore More
thumbnail for covid-depression
thumbnail for nap-heart
thumbnail for honey-cough
thumbnail for chemotherapy-social
thumbnail for sleep-disparity
thumbnail for covid-eatingdisorder
thumbnail for caffeine-pregnancy
thumbnail for eczema-bone
thumbnail for breastfeeding-diabetes
thumbnail for schizophrenia-autoimmune
thumbnail for gender-ami
thumbnail for ptsd-ovarian
thumbnail for vaccine-distrust
thumbnail for covid-heartattack
thumbnail for covid-eye
thumbnail for heat-health
thumbnail for sleepstroke-disparity
thumbnail for coffee-depression
thumbnail for cannabis-depression
thumbnail for music-surgery
thumbnail for bath-heart
thumbnail for diabetes-mental
thumbnail for coffee-filter