Liver Disease: Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Treatments

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Research".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 740

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Preventive Medicine Program, Center for General Education, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan City 320314, Taiwan
Interests: diabetes; endocrinology; gastroenterology; hepatology; pharmacology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Liver diseases have led to a higher prevalence of deaths worldwide, including viral hepatitis, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), alcoholic hepatitis, and liver cancer. Although many prescription drugs have been used for the treatment of the aforementioned liver diseases, therapy resistance and complicated pathogenesis still contribute to therapeutic failure and challenges. In this Special Issue, we are interested in publishing the latest research relating to hepatology, as well as advances in the areas related to pathogenesis, diagnosis, novel targets and biomarkers, molecular mechanisms, therapeutic strategies, and new drug development. Thus, more precise medicine against liver diseases can give patients a better quality of life.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and review articles are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited, to the following items:

  • Drug development against liver diseases;
  • Experimental hepatology;
  • Liver disease targets and biomarkers;
  • Metabolic syndrome-induced liver diseases;
  • Molecular mechanisms of liver diseases;
  • Precise therapeutics for liver diseases.

Dr. Hsien-Hui Chung
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • alcoholic hepatitis
  • artificial intelligence
  • biomarkers
  • clinical trials
  • gut–liver axis
  • liver cancer
  • metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis
  • molecular targets
  • pharmacotherapeutic mechanisms
  • therapeutic strategies

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

18 pages, 458 KB  
Review
Improvement of Liver Fibrosis in Patients with MASLD Undergoing Pioglitazone Treatment: An Update
by Cristina Stasi and Andrea Mega
Life 2025, 15(11), 1682; https://doi.org/10.3390/life15111682 - 29 Oct 2025
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Abstract
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is defined as steatotic liver disease with at least one cardiometabolic risk factor, in the absence of harmful alcohol intake, and includes a spectrum of conditions. These range from isolated liver steatosis to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), [...] Read more.
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is defined as steatotic liver disease with at least one cardiometabolic risk factor, in the absence of harmful alcohol intake, and includes a spectrum of conditions. These range from isolated liver steatosis to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), fibrosis, cirrhosis, and MASH-related hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients with MASLD and type 2 diabetes are at increased risk of developing MASH and significant/advanced fibrosis. The severity of fibrosis is a key determinant of long-term prognosis in MASLD. The most recent AASLD and EASL-EASD-EASO Guidelines on the Management of MASLD recommend a step-by-step approach to identify patients at higher risk of fibrotic progression. Recent epidemiological trends highlight the socioeconomic impact of MASLD and MASH, particularly in middle- and low-income countries. Given the high cost of new targeted therapies, implementing effective treatment strategies in low-resource settings is essential in managing MASLD and MASH patients. Pioglitazone is an oral antidiabetic agent of the thiazolidinedione class that targets peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors activated by fatty acids and derivatives or pharmacological agonists and involved in lipid metabolism, cell differentiation, and inflammation. Pioglitazone treatment is a potential cost-effective option, particularly for low-resource settings. This review examines recent epidemiological trends in MASLD and MASH, outlines the mechanisms of action of pioglitazone with an emphasis on its role in improving liver fibrosis, and summarizes clinical studies on fibrosis evaluation during pioglitazone treatment. The literature search focused on English-language studies from the past two years in the PubMed database. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Liver Disease: Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Treatments)
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