Fatty liver disease (MASLD)

By Mayo Clinic Staff
March 13, 2026

Research

Mayo Clinic investigators are making new discoveries in the areas of cause, prevention and treatment of MASLD. Their findings are helping to improve care.

Mayo Clinic researchers in the laboratory.

Mayo Clinic researchers seek to understand why some people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease develop cirrhosis but others do not.

Publications

See a list of publications about MASLD and MASH by Mayo Clinic doctors on PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine.

  1. Cusi K, et al. American Association of Clinical Endocrinology clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis and management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in primary care and endocrinology clinical settings: Co-sponsored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). Endocrine Practice. 2022; doi:10.1016/j.eprac.2022.03.010.
  2. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). American Liver Foundation. https://liverfoundation.org/liver-diseases/fatty-liver-disease/nonalcoholic-fatty-liver-disease-nafld. Accessed May 11, 2023.
  3. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and NASH. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/liver-disease/nafld-nash. Accessed May 11, 2023.
  4. Sheth SG, et al., eds. Epidemiology, clinical features, and diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in adults. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed May 11, 2023.
  5. Elsevier Point of Care. Clinical Overview: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed May 11, 2023.
  6. Chen YP, et al. A systemic review and a dose-response meta-analysis of coffee dose and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Clinical Nutrition. 2018. doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2018.11.030.
  7. Ludwig J, et al. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: Mayo Clinic experiences with a hitherto unnamed disease. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 1980; doi:10.1016/S0025-6196(24)00530-5
  8. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Merck Manual Professional Version. https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/hepatic-and-biliary-disorders/approach-to-the-patient-with-liver-disease/nonalcoholic-fatty-liver-disease-nafld. Accessed May 11, 2023.
  9. Malhi H, et al. Nonalcoholic fatty liver: Optimizing pretransplant selection and posttransplant care to maximize survival. Current Opinion in Organ Transplantation. 2016. doi:10.1097/MOT.0000000000000283.
  10. Heimbach JK, et al. Combined liver transplantation and gastric sleeve resection for patients with medically complicated obesity and end-stage liver disease. American Journal of Transplantation. 2013. doi:10.1111/j.1600-6143.2012.04318.x.
  11. Cho JH, et al. The clinical and metabolic effects of intragastric balloon on morbid obesity and its related comorbidities. Clinical Endoscopy. 2021. doi:10.5946/ce.2020.302.
  12. AskMayoExpert. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (adult). Mayo Clinic; 2022.
  13. Thomas RA. Allscripts EPSi. Mayo Clinic. May 25, 2023.
  14. Medical review (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic. June 20, 2023.
  15. Rinella ME, et al. A multi-society Delphi consensus statement on new fatty liver disease nomenclature. Journal of Hepatology. 2023; doi:10.1016/j.jhep.2023.06.003.
  16. Rezdiffra (approval letter). New Drug Application 217785. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf/index.cfm?event=overview.process&ApplNo=217785. Accessed March 29, 2024.
  17. Teng ML, et al. Global incidence and prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Clinical and Molecular Hepatology. 2023; doi:10.3350/cmh.2022.0365.
  18. Medical review (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic. Sept. 22, 2025.
  19. Targher G, et al. Metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease. New England Journal of Medicine. 2025; doi:10.1056/NEJMra2412865.
  20. Zhang GY, et al. A clinical update on MASLD. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2025; doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.6431. PMID: 39585671.
  21. Shang Y, et al. Risk of cardiovascular disease and loss in life expectancy in NAFLD. Hepatology. 2022; doi:10.1002/hep.32519.
  22. Yanai H, et al. Metabolic-dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease — its pathophysiology, association with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, and treatments. International Journal of Molecular Science. 2023; doi:10.3390/ijms242015473.
  23. Chhatwal J, et al. Analysis of a simulation model to estimate long-term outcomes in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. JAMA Network Open. 2022; doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.30426.
  24. Alpízar Salazar M, et al. Natural history of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: From metabolic syndrome to hepatocellular carcinoma. Medicina (Kaunas). 2025; doi:10.3390/medicina61010088.
  25. Metabolic associated steatotoic liver disease (MASLD): Biomarkers, screening & treatment. Video. Mayo Clinic; 2023. https://educationmedia.mayo.edu/media/Metabolic%20Associated%20Steatotoic%20Liver%20Disease%20%28MASLD%29%3A%20Biomarkers%2C%20Screening%20%26%20Treatment/1_b0gtirjm. Accessed Sept. 22, 2025.
  26. Kamioka H, et al. Low geriatric nutritional risk index predicts poor prognosis in patients with cirrhosis: A retrospective study. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2023; doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.1269399.
  27. Brandão ABM, et al. Performance of six predictive models of death of patients hospitalized for decompensated cirrhosis: a multicenter study. Arquivos de Gastroenterologia. 2025; doi:10.1590/s0004-2803.24612024-065.
  28. Zahoor F, et al. Association of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease/non-alcoholic fatty liver disease with Type 2 diabetes mellitus: A case-control study in a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. Cureus. 2023; doi:10.7759/cureus.47240.
  29. Danpanichkul P, et al. Increased MASH-associated liver cancer in younger demographics. Hepatology Communications. 2025; doi:10.1097/HC9.0000000000000629.
  30. Guimarães JSF, et al. Burden of liver disease in Brazil, 1996-2022: A retrospective descriptive study of the epidemiology and impact on public healthcare. Lancet Regional Health Americas. 2024; doi:10.1016/j.lana.2024.100731.