Liver transplantation in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a current overview
D.R. AKBEROVA, E.S. BODRYAGINA, V.V. LYAPINA
Kazan State Medical University, Kazan
Contact details:
Akberova D.R. — PhD (Medicine), Assistant Lecturer of the Department of Hospital Therapy
Address: 49 Butlerov St., 420012 Kazan, Russian Federation, tel.: +7 (843) 237-32-61, e-mail: dilyara.akberova@kazangmu.ru
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its inflammatory form — non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) — are currently among the most rapidly growing causes of end-stage liver disease and liver transplantation (LT).
The purpose — to analyze the current state of LT in NAFLD based on a literature review.
Material and methods. The article presents a literature review of current epidemiological data, diagnostic criteria (including the transition to the term «metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD)»), as well as the specifics of managing NAFLD patients during the waiting list period and the post-transplantation period.
Results. It was shown that patients with hepatic steatosis have a higher risk of mortality on the waiting list compared to other etiologies, which is associated with comorbid conditions (diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, obesity, cardiovascular diseases). In the post-transplantation period, the key challenges remain cardiovascular complications, recurrence of steatosis and NASH in the graft, as well as metabolic side effects of immunosuppressive therapy. Special attention is paid to a multidisciplinary approach, lifestyle modification, and optimization of immunosuppressive regimens.
Conclusions. Predicting LT outcomes in patients with NASH requires the integration of clinical, laboratory factors, and medical history data. With timely correction of risk factors, LT outcomes in patients with NASH can be comparable to those for other indications.
Key words: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, metabolic-associated fatty liver disease, liver transplantation, liver cirrhosis
REFERENCES
- Nealkogol′naya zhirovaya bolezn′ pecheni. Klinicheskiye rekomendatsii Ministerstva zdravookhraneniya Rossiyskoy Federatsii, 2024 [Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Clinical guidelines of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation], 2024, available at: https://cr.minzdrav.gov.ru/view-cr/748_2
- Yevstifeyeva S.E., Shal′nova S.A., Kutsenko V.A. et al. Prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among the working-age population: associations with socio-demographic indicators and behavioral risk factors (ESSE-RF-2 data). Kardiovaskulyarnaya terapiya i profilaktika, 2022, vol. 21, no. 9, p. 3356 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.15829/1728-8800-2022-3356
- Eslam M., Sanyal A.J., George J. et al. MAFLD: A consensus-driven proposed nomenclature for metabolic associated fatty liver disease. Gastroenterology, 2020, vol. 158, pp. 1999–2014. DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2019.11.312
- Livzan M.A., Gaus O.V., Nikolayev N.A., Krolevets T.S. NAFLD: comorbidity and associated diseases. Eksperimental′naya i klinicheskaya gastroenterologiya, 2019, vol. 170, no. 10, pp. 57–65 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.31146/1682-8658-ecg-170-10-57-65
- Bodryagina E.S., Akberova D.R., Mukhametova D.D. et al. Gender differences and clinical features of liver and biliary tract diseases. Prakticheskaya meditsina, 2021, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 93–98 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32000/2072-1757-2021-4-93-98
- Battistella S., D’Arcangelo F., Grasso M. et al. Liver transplantation for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: indications and post-transplant management. Clin. Mol. Hepatol, 2023, vol. 29, pp. S286–S301. DOI: 10.3350/cmh.2022.0392
- Got′ye S.V., Khomyakov S.M. Organ donation and transplantation in the Russian Federation in 2024. XVII message of the registry of the Russian Transplantation Society. Vestnik transplantologii i iskusstvennykh organov, 2025, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 8–32 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.15825/1995-1191-2025-3-8-32
- Terrault N.A., Francoz C., Berenguer M. et al. Liver transplantation 2023: status report, current and future challenges. Clin. Gastroenterol. Hepatol, 2023, vol. 21 (8), pp. 2150–2166. DOI: 10.1016/j.cgh.2023.04.005
- Samuel D., De Martin E., Berg T. et al. European Association for the study of the liver. EASL clinical practice guidelines on liver transplantation. J. Hepatol, 2024, vol. 81 (6), pp. 1040–1086. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2024.07.032
- Battistella S., Grasso M., Catanzaro E. et al. Evolution of liver transplantation indications: expanding horizons. Medicina (Kaunas), 2024, vol. 60 (3), p. 412. DOI: 10.3390/medicina60030412
- European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL); European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD); European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO). EASL-EASD-EASO Clinical Practice Guidelines on the management of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). J. Hepatol, 2024, vol. 81 (3), pp. 492–542. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2024.04.031
- Nagai S., Safwan M., Kitajima T. et al. Disease-specific waitlist outcomes in liver transplantation — a retrospective study. Transpl. Int, 2021, vol. 34, pp. 499–513. DOI: 10.1111/tri.13812
- Reddy S.K., Steel J.L., Chen H.W. et al. Outcomes of curative treatment for hepatocellular cancer in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis versus hepatitis C and alcoholic liver disease. Hepatology, 2012, vol. 55, pp. 1809–1819. DOI: 10.1002/hep.25536
- Bhat V., Tazari M., Watt K.D., Bhat M. New-onset diabetes and preexisting diabetes are associated with comparable reduction in long-term survival after liver transplant: a machine learning approach. Mayo Clin. Proc, 2018, vol. 93, pp. 1794–1802. DOI: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2018.06.020
- Evison F., Gallier S., Malik F. et al. Major adverse cardiovascular events after liver transplantation: a population cohort analysis of English transplant centres. EClinicalMedicine, 2026, vol. 91, p. 103734. DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103734
- Burra P., Becchetti C., Germani G. NAFLD and liver transplantation: Disease burden, current management and future challenges. JHEP Rep, 2020, vol. 2, p. 100192. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhepr.2020.100192
- Saeed N., Glass L., Sharma P. et al. Incidence and risks for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and steatohepatitis post-liver transplant: systematic review and meta-analysis. Transplantation, 2019, vol. 103, pp. e345–e354. DOI: 10.1097/TP.0000000000002916
- Minich A., Arisar FAQ., Shaikh N.S. et al. Predictors of patient survival following liver transplant in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. EClinicalMedicine, 2022, vol. 50, pp. 1–14. DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101534


