Sanjiv Chopra, MD: How to Treat NAFLD

There are many things that can be said about the overall health of Americans, but really for many everyday life is littered with health problems.

With obesity and diabetes rates increasing in recent years, the rates for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) might be at an all-time high.

And this increase in disease rates can be seen in patients of all ages, from as young as 3 to senior citizens.

This increase is also coupled with the fact that there is not currently a treatment approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

But there are ways to prevent or reduce the odds of NAFLD and help could be on the way.

In an interview with HCPLive®, Sanjiv Chopra, MD, Professor of Medicin, Harvard Medical School, said losing weight and drinking 2-3 cups of coffee daily could help reduce the risk of NAFLD.

But the current state of affairs is not good.

“We have 3 year old’s in our country with fatty liver,” Chopra said. “We have 16 year old’s with liver scaring, we have 28-30 year old’s getting a liver transplant. It’s a sad commentary on what’s happened to us with our lifestyle.”

And while there is a push for a healthier overall lifestyle, there also may be finally a treatment coming for NAFLD.

Chopra said there is currently 452 clinical trials involving the disease and an FDA-approved drug could come by the end of the year.