title: Emerging drugs for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is increasing along with the worldwide epidemic of obesity and their strong association with metabolic syndrome. Currently existing pharmacological therapies include anti-oxidants, insulin-sensitizing agents, lipid-lowering drugs and cytoprotective agents, but there is a lack of consensus regarding the most effective and appropriate pharmacologic therapies for NASH. Clinical trials examining new therapeutic drugs for NASH that act via various mechanisms are being performed in several countries, and these drugs may strongly influence current NASH treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  This article provides a review of recent data on the safety and efficacy of existing and emerging agents for the treatment of NASH.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ideally, treatment for NASH should not only improve liver disease, but also reduce the risks of adverse cardiovascular outcomes and the development of diabetes and cancers. However, this goal is likely to be too high in the context of clinical trials designed to obtain approval for the treatment of liver disease. The only way to achieve the goal is to accumulate the results of these relatively short-term clinical trials.
authors.affiliation: Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, 3-9 Fuku-ura, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Wataru
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tomeno
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoneda
authors.forename: Kento
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Imajo
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Takaomi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kessoku
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Eguchi
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakajima
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019610:Cytoprotection; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008019:Life Style; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents