Liver disease isn’t talked about as much as heart disease, diabetes and other common chronic illnesses. But “silent” conditions like nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis commonly affect those with type 2 diabetes and obesity, causing a rising burden in the U.S. and around the world.

Kim Pfotenhauer, director of clerkship curriculum in the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, is among the authors of a newly-published paper entitled “Preparing for the NASH Epidemic: A Call to Action.”

Published in Gastroenterology; Diabetes Care; Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental; and Obesity: The Journal of the Obesity Society, the paper is the first product of an international conference where 32 experts came together to develop a multidisciplinary action plan to implement better screening, diagnosis, and treatment plans for NAFLD and NASH. Pfotenhauer, a fellowship-trained diabetologist, was invited to participate in the conference to provide her perspective as a primary care physician.

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