Research Closeup Fatty Liver Disease amp Diet Cedars Sinai

Research Closeup Fatty Liver Disease amp Diet Cedars Sinai

Research Closeup: Fatty Liver Disease & Diet Cedars-Sinai Skip to content Close Select your preferred language English عربى 简体中文 繁體中文 فارسي עִברִית 日本語 한국어 Русский Español Tagalog Menu Close Call 1-800-CEDARS-1 toggle search form Close Share Email Print CS-Blog Cedars-Sinai Blog Research Closeup Fatty Liver Disease and Diet Aug 06, 2018 Cedars-Sinai Staff Share Tweet Post Shehnaz Hussain, PhD, is an associate professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Cedars-Sinai. She studies how and why liver disease can worsen into cancer. Hussain's recent research focuses on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, an increasingly common condition that affects about a quarter of adults, many of whom haven't been officially diagnosed. People with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease have an accumulation of fat in their livers that is not caused by drinking, but can be related to obesity and diabetes. Some individuals with fatty liver will never have symptoms, but others will develop nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)—which is associated with inflammation and fibrosis that can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure, and even cancer. "We're trying to understand why some people with liver disease progress to cancer and why others do not," Hussain says. Currently, we treat people with fatty liver by asking them to eat less; we want to know if it matters more what they eat. One study, which is anticipated to begin Fall 2018, aims to test how diet might affect fatty liver. Here, Hussain explains how. What are you studying Hussain: In this trial, patients with fatty liver will be randomly assigned to eat one of two low-calorie meal plans for one month. One group will eat healthy, normal food. The other group will be put on a ketogenic diet, which is also healthy and delicious, but very low in carbohydrates and very high in healthy fat (like avocado, oil, and fish). Currently, we treat people with fatty liver by asking them to eat less; we want to know if it matters more what they eat. Read: Eating Healthy: 8 Diet Questions Answered How will you ensure people are eating the right foods Hussain: We'll provide patients all the food they need through a meal-delivery service. Three chef-prepared meals a day will be dropped off at their homes. The food is very good—we taste-tested it all. How will you tell if the study is helping people Hussain: At the end of the study, we'll measure the fat in patients' livers to see if one group lost more liver fat than another. We're also looking for links between diet and the gut microbiome, which is the community of healthy and harmful bacteria in your gut. We're curious how the diets might change the microbiome. Right now, we can't recommend what to eat to have healthier bacteria, but we hope that we can soon. How can this research help people Hussain: We're trying to understand if there's anything we can do to intervene in fatty liver to prevent it from turning into cancer. If we find that the main way diet affects the liver is through the microbiome, we can start to think about strategies and interventions to change someone's microbiome. We can develop probiotics and prebiotics that help build and maintain good bacteria. This is just the start. These studies will tell us more about the problem and how we can potentially intervene, and then much more research has to be done to see if it's effective. Interested in joining a clinical trial? Check out Shehnaz Hussain's current trials: Microbiome, Microbial Markers & Liver Disease Tags Gastroenterology Gut Health Food and Nutrition Research Clinical Trials Share Tweet Post Popular Categories Health + Wellness Science + Innovation Community Blog & Magazines catalyst Blog & Magazines Home CS-Blog Blog CS Magazine Cedars-Sinai Magazine discoveries magazine Discoveries Magazine Embracing our Community Embracing Our Community Blog & Magazines catalyst Blog & Magazines Home CS-Blog Blog Embracing our Community Embracing Our Community CS Magazine Cedars-Sinai Magazine discoveries magazine Discoveries Magazine Popular Topics Research Innovation Technology Clinical Trials Healthcare Accelerator Make an Appointment Find a Doctor Schedule a Callback Call us 24 hours a day 1-800-CEDARS-1 Support Cedars-Sinai Make a Gift Volunteer Share Email Print Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
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