Aspirin for the Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), defined by fatty infiltration of the liver in the absence of excess alcohol consumption, affects an estimated 30% of adults in the United States. A proportion of people with NAFLD will develop progressive, inflammatory nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which can progress to liver cirrhosis and liver failure. NAFLD is expected to be the most common indication for liver transplantation by the year 2020. We hypothesize that among adults with NAFLD, aspirin will reduce intrahepatic lipid content, as quantified by 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS).