Fatty liver is a silent manifestation of the metabolic syndrome that affects millions worldwide leading to metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). Fatty liver is associated with overweight but also increasingly detected in lean individuals and post-menopausal women. Numerous studies have shown fatty liver to be a risk factor for diastolic dysfunction and has a 50% prevalence during HFpEF (heart failure with preserved ejection factor). In fact the risk of cardiac mortality is twice as much as liver-related death in these individuals. The relationship between diabetes with cardiovascular disease has been a major focus at our research group over many years and emphasizes that HFpEF is not an isolated cardiac disorder but is linked to other comorbidities including fatty liver.
This project aims to elucidate liver-heart crosstalk following chronic fructose consumption and during HFpEF progression.
Collaborators include: Svetlana Zykova MD/PhD (UiT); Geir-Ivar Nedredal MD/PhD (UNN, UiT)
We are currently recruiting MSc and BSc students to work within this project!