Fatty liver affects 20-30% of the world’s population. There is still no specific drug for the treatment of this disease, although various medications are being evaluated in clinical trials.
Aspirin is a very old drug and over time it has been proven to be very useful for the treatment of several diseases. Thus, aspirin is administered to prevent vascular accidents (myocardial infarction, stroke, etc.) or to reduce the risk of developing various types of cancer.
In observational studies (studies where data produced in routine clinical practice are collected and analyzed) it has been suggested that aspirin could be useful in reducing the prevalence and progression of fatty liver. At the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Liver Diseases, a study was presented that aimed to understand the effectiveness of aspirin in reducing the amount of intrahepatic fat, inflammation and fibrosis in patients with fatty liver disease.
Aspirin may reduce fat in the liver
Eighty patients (aged 18 to 70 years) with fatty liver but without cirrhosis and who were treated with 81 mg of aspirin daily or placebo for 6 months were included. It was found that in patients treated with aspirin the amount of fat in the liver was reduced by an average of 7.3%, while in those treated with placebo the amount of liver fat increased by 3%. A reduction in fibrosis rate of 18.8% was also observed in the aspirin group compared to a 29.2% increase in those receiving placebo. Only one patient treated with aspirin had an adverse effect (heartburn).
In summary, treatment of fatty liver with aspirin for 6 months reduces the amount of intrahepatic fat and improves liver inflammation and fibrosis. Of course, other studies must be carried out with more patients to confirm these findings.
Dr. Carreño and his team will monitor the publications and communications that are made on this topic in order to make therapeutic decisions in this regard.
