Health advocates say it’s time to develop more preventive measures to curb rising fatty liver disease among American Latinos

Why it matters: The myth that cirrhosis is a disease linked to alcoholism, and the stigma associated with it, have contributed to less research, proponents tell Axios.

• Currently, there is no other treatment for fatty liver than diet and exercise. Health advocates say a major health education campaign is needed to tackle fatty liver disease among Latinos.

By the numbers: About 25% of adults in the US, or 65 million people, have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Latinos have the highest percentage.

Background: Fatty liver disease occurs when too much fat is stored in liver cells.

• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common form of chronic liver disease, especially in western countries.
• If left untreated, it can develop into nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH, an aggressive form of fatty liver disease, which can lead to cirrhosis and liver failure.

What they say: “Our modern society has created the problem of food-based to chemical-based liver disease, and alcohol is no longer the main driver,” Wayne Eskridge, CEO of the Fatty Liver Foundation, told Axios.

• In our current obesity epidemic, Latinos are most at risk because they have a genetic predisposition to fatty liver, Eskridge said.
• “They don’t get medical care early enough. So they end up having a worse course because they’re sicker by the time it’s discovered.”

The Georgia-based biotech company Galectin Therapeutics is testing a new drug called Belapectin. The drug, intended for release in 2024, aims to treat the latest stage of fatty liver disease, known as NASH cirrhosis.

• Belapectin tries to decompress the pressure in the liver so blood goes back to the organ and doesn’t develop enlarged or swollen veins, known as varices, says Pol F. Boudes, Chief Medical Officer of Galectin Therapeutics.
• “We’re trying to prove to the FDA that when patients take our drug, they don’t develop these varices.”

Editor’s Note: This story was updated to correct that Belapectin can prevent varicose veins from developing, not viruses, and that the drug treats the final stage of fatty liver disease, known as NASH cirrhosis.

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