LAUSR

The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing world wide, with nearly 1 billion people globally affected. This tremendous rise is related to the worldwide obesity and diabetes epidemics, which together represent a heavy clinical and economic burden on society. NAFLD ranges from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with or without hepatic fibrosis in the absence of excessive alcohol intake. While liver steatosis is not associated with liver-related pathologies, severe NAFLD and NASH can progress to liver morbidities, such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinomas, leading eventually to organ failure. Despite this worrisome development, no approved pharmacotherapies are currently available to treat this disease. To raise more awareness for the heterogeneity of NAFLD, a change of the nomenclature from NAFLD to metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has been suggested, to remove the “alcoholic” bias and more accurately reflect disease pathologies and patient stratifications. Although this renaming initiated from an international panel of experts is a sign for progressive development in the field, it still requires further deliberation and consensus, where the future will show which terminology will succeed and be fully used. Nonetheless, NAFLD