Abstract
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most
common types of liver diseases worldwide and its incidence
continues to increase. NAFLD occurs when the body can no
longer effectively store excess energy in the adipose tissue.
Despite the increasing prevalence of NAFLD, making lifestyle
changes, including increased exercise, is often an elusive
goal for patients with NAFLD. The liver directly connects to
the gut-gastrointestinal milieu via the portal vein, which are
all part of the gut-liver axis. Therefore, the gut-microbiome
and microbial products have been actively studied as likely
key factors in NAFLD pathophysiology. Hence, dysbiosis
of the gut microbiome and therapeutic manipulation of the
gut-liver axis are being investigated. Novel therapeutic approaches
for modulating gut microbiota through the administration
of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and antibiotics
have been proposed with numerous promising initial reports
on the effectiveness and clinical applications of these approaches.
This review delves into the current evidence on novel
therapies that modulate gut microbiota and discusses ongoing
clinical trials targeting the gut-liver axis for the management
and prevention of NAFLD.
Citations
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