Weight loss surgery significantly lowers the risk of major adverse liver outcomes as well as major acute cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with biopsy-proven nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), compared with similar patients who didn’t have surgery, new research shows.
“This is the first study in the medical field reporting a treatment modality that is associated with decreased risk of major adverse events in patients with biopsy-proven NASH,” senior author Steven Nissen, MD, of the Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, said in a statement from the hospital.
“The SPLENDOR study shows that in patients with obesity and NASH, substantial and sustained weight loss achieved with bariatric surgery can simultaneously protect the heart and decrease the risk of progression to end-stage liver disease,” he emphasized.
The study was published online November 11 in JAMA.