MASLD Explained: A Modern Framework for a Multisystem Condition

Announcer:
This is Clinician’s Roundtable on ReachMD. On this episode, Dr. Peter Buch will be discussing the connection between obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD. Dr. Buch is a board-certified clinical gastroenterologist and Associate Professor at Frank H. Netter, MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. Let’s hear from him now.

Dr. Buch:
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or M-A-S-L-D, is an umbrella term for steatosis, or fat, in the liver that affects approximately 30% of the United States population. There’s a direct relationship to metabolic syndrome, which includes obesity and in particular abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes. MASLD, so the terminology we have just discussed, rather than the previous terminology, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, is a much more appropriate term to describe the liver disease that is associated with metabolic dysfunction. And by the way, MASLD is universally accepted. It’s a new terminology that we’ll all be using. We don’t go back to the old terminology. And using this new terminology, MASLD, reflects a multisystemic disorder. It’s nonjudgmental. There’s no alcohol related into this problem and issue. And most importantly, most of these patients have no association with alcohol whatsoever, so it’s a whole different kind of process. And using the terminology that MASLD identifies an increased number of patients, especially the type 2 diabetic patients.

So, what happens is, with abdominal obesity, it’s a component of metabolic syndrome. Adiposity leads to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance caused impaired lipolysis, and that causes increased free fatty acids. The results of fat accumulation occur, and inflammation of the liver is a result.

Announcer:
That was Dr. Peter Buch discussing the connection between obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. To access this and other episodes in this series, visit Clinician’s Roundtable on ReachMD.com, where you can be part of the knowledge. Thanks for listening!