First, we will present an update on the epidemiology and public health relevance of NAFLD and we will cover the recent debate on the most appropriate definition. Starting from the genetic, epigenetic, and metabolic basis of the disease, we will review the most recently discovered mechanism underlying liver damage development and the clinical heterogeneity of NAFLD. Then we will explore alterations in the systemic metabolism, the microbiome, and intestinal permeability, as well as immune system regulation and liver fibrogenesis.
Next, we will cover the challenges related to driving lifestyle change in the current management of NAFLD, as well as the indications calling for surgical and emerging endoscopic therapies. This will introduce new approaches being developed to address key challenges in clinical practice, including biomarkers, imaging studies, and artificial intelligence-based approaches for non-invasive risk stratification, and for identifying disease subsets.
Finally, we will address the challenges of identifying new therapeutic targets in preclinical models, including mitochondrial metabolism, the state-of-the-art in clinical trials in the field, as well as targets in early and late phase clinical trials, and we will explore updates underway in the design of therapeutic studies.
Young Investigators will present their original data from cutting-edge research, giving you a glimpse of future developments and trends in hepatology.
