A team of researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) led by Steven Grinspoon, MD, has identified a novel therapeutic strategy to significantly improve a form of liver disease that affects many people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), according to a study to be published online in The Lancet HIV on October 10. There is currently no treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in HIV patients, but the results of this research could eventually lead to a first-in-class therapy for this serious condition. The research was supported by and conducted in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Study drug was supplied by Theratechnologies, Inc.
The emergence of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has revolutionized the care and management of HIV. However, people with HIV who receive these life-saving treatments often develop deposits of visceral fat, which surrounds internal organs in the abdomen, as well as other deposits of “ectopic” fat, which is stored in organs or muscle instead of fatty tissue. Visceral fat increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and other conditions. Ectopic fat also accumulates in the liver, resulting in NAFLD. Estimates suggest that 15 to 40 percent of HIV patients may have NAFLD. Left untreated, NAFLD can progress to a condition called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), resulting in inflammation and damaged liver cells. This harm can ultimately lead to cirrhosis (permanent tissue scarring) and liver failure.
