Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Aug 27, 2024; 16(8): 1070-1083
Published online Aug 27, 2024. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v16.i8.1070
Intermittent fasting and the liver: Focus on the Ramadan model
Mohamed H Emara, Hanan Soliman, Ebada M Said, Hassan Elbatae, Mostafa Elazab, Shady Elhefnawy, Tarik I Zaher, Ahmed Abdel-Razik, Mohamed Elnadry
Mohamed H Emara, Hassan Elbatae, Mostafa Elazab, Shady Elhefnawy, Department of Hepatology, Gastroenterology and Infectious Diseases, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr-Elshikh 33516, Egypt
Mohamed H Emara, Department of Medicine, Alyousif Hospital, Alkhobar 34622, Saudi Arabia
Hanan Soliman, Department of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tanta University, Tanta 31512, Egypt
Ebada M Said, Department of Hepatology, Gastroenterology and Infectious Diseases, Benha University, Benha 13511, Egypt
Tarik I Zaher, Department of Tropical Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
Ahmed Abdel-Razik, Department of Tropical Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
Mohamed Elnadry, Department of Hepato-Gastroenterology and Infectious Diseases, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11651, Egypt
Author contributions: Elnadry M, Elbatae H, Soliman H, Said EM and Emara MH contributed to develop the concept of the research; Emara MH, Elhefnawy S, Elazab M, Zaher TI and Elnadry M contributed to the literature search; Elbatae H, Emara MH, Soliman H, Abdel-Razik A, Elnadry M and Zaher TI critically appraised the retrieved articles; All authors participated in extracting recommendations, writing, careful revision, and final approval of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Mohamed H Emara, MD, MSc, Professor, Department of Hepatology, Gastroenterology and Infectious Diseases, Kafrelsheikh University, Algeish Street, Kafr-Elshikh 33516, Egypt. emara_20007@yahoo.com
Received: February 22, 2024
Revised: May 24, 2024
Accepted: July 9, 2024
Published online: August 27, 2024
Processing time: 181 Days and 22.5 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Intermittent fasting regimens emerged as effective therapeutic strategies not only to improve general health but also as evidence-based treatment for certain diseases. Ramadan fasting, which is a religious fasting for Muslims, is a dry intermittent fasting and was evaluated among patients with different hepatic diseases. It was a promising intervention for patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, however, its deleterious effect on patients with advanced cirrhosis necessitates its prohibition for this category of patients. Liver transplant recipients can observe this type of fasting provided certain modifications and instructions are followed.