Theoretical and clinical practice of metabolic associated fatty liver disease based on the theory of “six stagnation diseases”

Metabolic associated fatty liver disease （MAFLD） has become the most common liver disease in the world， including simple hepatic steatosis， steatohepatitis， liver fibrosis/cirrhosis， and liver cancer， and it is often associated with metabolic syndrome. MAFLD has complex pathological manifestations， and there are still no new drugs on the market in China. In the past， traditional Chinese medicine often treated this disease from the perspective of food， phlegm-dampness， damp-heat， or liver depression and spleen deficiency， but a detailed analysis showed that the pathological process of the disease was consistent with the theory of “six stagnation diseases” in traditional Chinese medicine. This article briefly introduces the origin of the pathogenic theory of “six stagnation diseases”， the pathological features of the “six stagnation diseases” leading to fatty liver disease， the key points of syndrome differentiation and treatment， and clinical practice， so as to promote clinical treatment through an in-depth understanding of the traditional Chinese medicine pathogenesis of MAFLD.