As the episode comes to an end, the group winds up focusing on the need for better, more frequent MASH education as a pivotal need if we are to flatten the growth curve of the MASLD pandemic. In the process, the discussion returns to the risk for women and the important role they can play. 

Louise Campbell starts this conversation by harkening back to the issue of post-menopausal women. As she notes, women provide most of the hands-on care in health system, and also do most of the cooking and food shopping for the home. To Louise, targeting women also targets children, so educating women will have multiple derivative benefits.

Zobair Youonossi agrees completely, particularly for the low SDI countries. I suggest that slowing prevalence and disease has two elements: fewer patients at the starting line (or with early MASLD) and better therapies and programs for patients who already live with the disease. I also ask whether the consumer uptake of GLP-1s might have an impact in the US.

Zobair states that educating children is the key long-term driver and that the effect of consumer medical behaviors like taking GLP-1s is likely to be minimal. He also believes that MASLD requires more attention from global and national governmental and non-governmental players…NOW!

This episode does not have a formal closing question, but the rest of this conversation offers a wrap-up of each panelist’s perspective.