#302 - Confronting a metabolic epidemic: understanding liver health and how to prevent, diagnose, and manage liver disease | Julia Wattacheril, M.D., M.P.H.

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Julia Wattacheril is a physician scientist and director of the Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) program at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. In this episode, Julia delves deep into the complex world of liver health, beginning with a foundational overview of liver physiology. She provides an in-depth look at how alcohol impacts liver function, breaking down the metabolism of ethanol and its detrimental effects. Julia then shifts the focus to understanding liver function tests and optimal enzyme levels, providing a detailed explanation of AST and ALT and elucidating why fluctuations in these levels may or may not be concerning. She provides a primer on the four major stages of liver disease, discussing risk and emphasizing the importance of early diagnosis. Julia highlights the role of liver disease in increasing the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease and covers in detail the various strategies for diagnosing, treating, and preventing the progression of liver disease.

We discuss:

• Julia’s training, the importance of liver health, and the challenges and innovations of hepatology [3:15];
• The complex and crucial functionality of the liver, its four most essential functions, and more [8:45];
• Liver injuries: historical and evolving understanding of causal factors, and the progression to liver diseases and cancer [13:15];
• How the liver metabolizes nutrients and what happens in the presence of excess calories or alcohol [24:45];
• Methods of diagnosing liver disease and how insights guide treatment and management strategies [33:30];
• The poisonous nature of ethanol to the liver [40:30];
• Varied responses to alcohol, damaging effects of alcohol beyond the liver, and the process of advising patients on their alcohol consumption [47:15];
• Understanding liver enzymes AST and ALT—interpreting levels, lifestyle factors that affect them, and diagnostic approaches [58:30];
• Interpreting liver function tests for fatty liver disease, and the challenges of diagnosing liver pathologies, particularly in children versus adults [1:13:15];
• Comprehensive liver health assessments via imaging and various diagnostic tools to prevent overlooking potential liver pathologies [1:18:45];
• Potential impact of recreational drugs, statins, and other medications on liver function test results [1:26:45];
• Shifting nomenclature from NAFLD to MASLD to reflect accuracy in the underlying pathophysiology and understanding of liver diseases [1:30:30];
• Pathophysiology of MASLD, the need for proactive screening, and the significance of liver fat percentage as an indicator of metabolic health [1:36:30];
• The importance of screening for rare conditions alongside common metabolic diseases associated with fatty liver accumulation [1:42:45];
• Practical strategies for managing MAFLD [1:45:30];
• The impact of fructose consumption on liver health and the challenges of disentangling its effects from other factors like obesity and insulin resistance [1:52:45];
• The potential of GLP-1 agonists for the treatment of MASLD [1:57:45];
• How the four stages of liver disease have evolved [2:00:30];
• Increased cancer and heart disease risk associated with early-stage MAFLD [2:05:15];
• Emerging drugs and therapies for addressing fat accumulation and fibrosis related to MAFLD [2:12:15];
• Peter’s major takeaways [2:18:45]; and
• More.

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