Chalasani N, Younossi Z, Lavine JE, Diehl AM, Brunt EM, Cusi K, Charlton M, Sanyal AJ The diagnosis and management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: practice Guideline by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, American College of Gastroenterology, and the American Gastroenterological Association. Hepatology. 2012 Jun;55(6):2005-23. doi: 10.1002/hep.25762.
Loomba R, Sanyal AJ The global NAFLD epidemic. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2013 Nov;10(11):686-90. doi: 10.1038/nrgastro.2013.171. Epub 2013 Sep 17. Review.
McCullough K, Sharma P, Ali T, Khan I, Smith WC, MacLeod A, Black C Measuring the population burden of chronic kidney disease: a systematic literature review of the estimated prevalence of impaired kidney function. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2012 May;27(5):1812-21. doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfr547. Epub 2011 Sep 29. Review.
Vernon G, Baranova A, Younossi ZM Systematic review: the epidemiology and natural history of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in adults. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2011 Aug;34(3):274-85. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2011.04724.x. Epub 2011 May 30. Review.
Assessment of Chronic Kidney Disease in Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease(NAFLD) Patients
Interventional studies are often prospective and are specifically tailored to evaluate direct impacts of treatment or preventive measures on disease.
Observational studies are often retrospective and are used to assess potential causation in exposure-outcome relationships and therefore influence preventive methods.
Expanded access is a means by which manufacturers make investigational new drugs available, under certain circumstances, to treat a patient(s) with a serious disease or condition who cannot participate in a controlled clinical trial.
Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.