#211 Breaking Down MASLD vs. MASH and the MAESTRO-NASH & ESSENCE Trials: Beyond Journal Club Segment

MASLD affects nearly one in three adults worldwide, yet many patients remain undiagnosed until advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis develops. So, which patients should clinicians actually be screening? When is a FIB-4 enough, and when should we move to elastography or hepatology referral? And are we finally entering an era where we can meaningfully treat MASH?

In this Beyond Journal Club episode, we unpack the evolving language of steatotic liver disease and take a close look at two major trials: MAESTRO-NASH studying resmetirom, the first FDA-approved liver-directed therapy for MASH, and ESSENCE, evaluating semaglutide in biopsy-confirmed disease.

Along the way, we explore what these biopsy-based histologic endpoints really mean, why placebo responses were surprisingly high, and whether improvements in steatohepatitis and fibrosis will ultimately translate into better clinical outcomes for patients.

This episode is for clinicians trying to understand where the field is headed, which patients deserve closer attention, and how metabolic liver disease is increasingly becoming part of everyday primary care and hospital medicine.

🔹Sponsor: Oakstone CME

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🔹Transcript and Shownotes:

01:57 | Understanding MASLD as a Systemic Disease

05:45 | MASLD vs MASH vs Met-ALD: Spectrum Steatotic Liver Disease

08:55 | How to Screen for Fibrosis (FIB-4 & FibroScan)

16:15 | Lifestyle Treatment & Weight Loss Targets

19:00 | ESSENCE Trial: Semaglutide for MASH

21:58 | MAESTRO-NASH Trial: Resmetirom

27:27 | Future Treatments for MASH

30:51 | Key Takeaways for Clinicians

Tags: CoreIM, Internal Medicine, Medical Education, Hepatology, Fatty Liver Disease, Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Steatohepatitis, Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Liver Fibrosis

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