What If Your Brain Could Help Heal Your Liver?

Fatty liver disease affects millions of people and right now, there is only one FDA-approved treatment for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, the advanced stage of the disease.

Matthew Potthoff, Ph.D., a professor of biochemistry and physiology at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and deputy director of OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center is the lead author of a new study published in Cell Press, has found that a natural hormone called FGF21 can reverse fatty liver disease in mice and it works by sending signals to the brain to help the liver heal itself.

Similar to the family of weight loss drugs known as GLP-1s, which help regulate blood sugar levels and appetite, FGF21 acts on the brain to regulate metabolism. The hormone not only reduced fat in the liver, but also reversed scarring, even while the mice continued eating an unhealthy diet.

This breakthrough in understanding how the brain can help heal the liver underscores the vital connection between research, clinical care, and education at the University of Oklahoma and OU Health, driving innovation that could lead to more effective treatments for patients in the future.

Learn more about groundbreaking research from the University of Oklahoma that explores how a natural hormone could help the brain heal the liver.

Research Shows How Hormone Can Reverse Fatty Liver Disease