Ricerc@Sapienza

Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) disease is the most common congenital cardiac malformation associated with an increased lifetime risk and a high rate of surgically-relevant valve deterioration and aortic dilatation. Genomic data revealed that different genes are associated with BAV. A dominant genetic factor for the recent past was the basis to the recommendation for a more extensive aortic intervention.

Research on bicuspid aortic valve disease (BAV) and related com- plications has grown in an exponential manner in the last decades. However, the current knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the development of this disease is still limited, since all clinical and surgical studies on BAV mainly focused their objects on its major vascular complications, such as ascending aortic aneurysms and dissection.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD ) occurs when fatty infiltration affects more than 5% of liver tissue, in the presence of less than 20 g (2.5 U) of alcohol consumption per day, after ruling out other causes of liver affections. NAFLD is a slowly progressive condition including a wide range of liver diseases with varying degrees of severity (from simple steatosis to coexistent inflammation with hepatocyte necrosis and fibrosis, to cirrhosis). Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a more advanced stage of NAFLD disease, i.e.