A. Sidney Barritt, MD: What's Next for TARGET-NASH

The benefits of weight loss are numerable.

But losing weight can be a challenge at any age and becomes particularly difficult as the person ages.

And weight loss is crucial for reversing steatosis or fat in the liver, particularly for patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

In an interview with HCPLive®, A. Sidney Barritt IV, MD, MSCR, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Director, UNC Liver Center,talked about the importance of weight loss for this patient population.

Barritt is an investigator on TARGET-NASH, an observational study of participants with NAFLD and/or NASH in usual clinical practice and is part of a series of Target RWE studies focused on several diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease and asthma.

The most recent update, the investigators looked closer at liver biopsies, to see if any information can be derived from these biopsies in concordance with the features of these diseases. They also compared a clinical definition of NASH with a pathologists reading of the biopsy results.

And while weight loss is an admirable and effective goal, there remains a major need for therapeutics for either NASH or NAFLD.

“Hopefully we’ll be there soon,” Barritt said.