Baseline homa IR and circulating FGF21 levels predict NAFLD improvement in patients undergoing a low carbohydrate dietary intervention for weight loss: a prospective observational pilot study
Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major cause of liver disease. Very low-calorie ketogenic diets (VLCKD) represent a feasible treatment as they induce profound weight loss and insulin resistance (IR) improvement. Despite the recognized benefits on NAFLD deriving from pharmacological administration of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), whose endogenous counterpart is a marker of liver injury, little is known about its physiology in humans.