Korean researchers have recently come up with drugs to demonstrate new mechanisms and efficacy for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Due to recent Westernized dietary habits and lack of exercise, obesity and diabetes mellitus have increased, and the number of patients with NAFLD has also grown to more than one in three adults.

The Korea Health and Development Institute한국보건산업진흥원 said Professor Lee Yong-ho이용호 and his team from Yonsei University연세대 have found that Ezetimibe, a drug for hyperlipidemia (increased levels of lipids in the blood, including cholesterol and triglycerides), has shown effectiveness in the treatment of NAFLD through autophagocytosis and inflammasome.

Self-regulation is an essential phenomenon in the regulation of cellular metabolic function, while inflammasome is a sensor protein complex in the immune system to protect against microbial infection.

Unlike other chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, there is no treatment for NAFLD approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which can be prescribed for NAFLD-suffering patients.

To demonstrate the possibility of treatment of NAFLD by controlling autophagocytosis and inflammasome activity, the team conducted experiments using cells from mouse and human liver tissue.

The research team has revealed the possibility of inhibiting hepatitis and fibrosis through autophagocytosis and inflammasome control.

As a result of the analysis, self-regulation effect decreased and the activity of the inflammasome increased in the liver of patients.

The researchers also confirmed that when treated with Ezetimibe, the activity of the inflammasome was inhibited and the accumulation of fat decreased as the self-regulation effect increased.

Ezetimibe is induced by the AMPK and TFEB proteins, proving that autophagocytosis is essential for therapeutic effects on NAFLD through the experiments of mice lacking the self-predominant gene.

Ezetimibe promoting the efficiency of the ezetimibe was induced by the AMPK and TFEB proteins, and researchers proved that self-feeding is essential for the therapeutic effect on the fatty liver through the experiment of the mice lacking the self-predominant gene.

"This study demonstrated that a novel mechanism of autophagy and inflammatory activity regulation is effective in the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease,” Professor Lee said. "It is meaningful that Ezetimibe has proven to be stable and has been proposed as a drug for treating hyperlipidemia, suggesting the direction of drug repositioning.”

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