Overview
- Peer-reviewed experiments in diet-induced, nonobese animal models tied MASLD-related hepatic changes to hippocampal dysfunction and measurable cognitive and sensorimotor deficits.
- Treating only the liver with a GalNAc-delivered siRNA against the magnesium transporter CNNM4 reversed the behavioral and brain changes.
- The findings establish a therapeutically actionable liver–brain axis that links hepatic steatosis and inflammation to brain function.
- The work remains preclinical and requires dosing studies, safety evaluation, and clinical trials to determine relevance in humans.
- The study, led by Malu Martínez-Chantar with co-lead Teresa Cardoso Delgado, involved Spanish research centers across multiple CIBER programs and was published in Science Advances.