HEPATIC SCIENCES INC.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic abnormalities that identifies people at risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, whereas non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is defined as a disorder with excess fat in the liver due to non-alcoholic causes. Two key components of metabolic syndrome, glucose and triglycerides, are overproduced by the fatty liver. The liver is therefore a key determinant of metabolic abnormalities. The prevalence of both metabolic syndrome and NAFLD increases with obesity. Other acquired causes for both disorders include excessive intake of simple sugars and physical inactivity. Both disorders predict type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and hepatocellular carcinoma. Because metabolic syndrome can be defined in many different ways, NAFLD might be a more direct predictor of these diseases. Half of people with NAFLD carry at least one variant (G) allele at rs738409 in the PNPLA3 gene, which is associated with high liver fat content. Steatosis in PNPLA3-associated NAFLD is not accompanied by features of metabolic syndrome. All forms of NAFLD increase the risk of NASH, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.

It has been estimated that 1 in 4 people worldwide have some form of NAFLD. In the United Sates, up to 100 million people may have fatty livers, all of them, 20-30 million could have NASH. The medical advise, for most individuals, is to exercise and to lose weight because mild to moderate NAFLD can be reversed through lifestyle change. However, 1 -3 million people in the United States probably have a type of NASH that is serious enough to warrant treatment with suitable products.

Another reason that the medical communities are taking NAFLD more seriously is that its prevalence has soared since 1980. Although age, ethnicity, sex and genetics all play a part, the main risk factors are obesity and diabetes, as well as other aspects of metabolic syndrome such as hypertension, high levels of fat in the blood and insulin resistance. These factors combine says Arun Sanyal, a gastroenterologist at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, to “start driving metabolic substrate -carbohydrate and fat-into the liver at rates that the metabolic machinery was not designed to handle”.   

By Geography, the global nonalcoholic fatty liver disease treatment market is segmented into five broad regions, North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East & Africa. North America is estimated to lead the global nonalcoholic fatty liver disease treatment due to the increase in the prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in the United States. Asia Pacific market is also projected to experience high growth in the near future owing to factors such as, increase healthcare expenditure, rising standard of living, lifestyle changes attributed to better healthcare and awareness of the cost effective treatment process with government grants and funding for acceleration in research and development activities.