Fatty liver: Causes, diagnosis and treatment
Fatty Liver
The fatty liver disease is defined as a liver condition due to the fat accumulation of fat in the liver. It does not cause severe pain, unlike other liver diseases. It rarely causes pain, does not cause nausea or fatty food intolerance, but can sometimes indicate other health problems.
Fatty liver is not caused simply by eating fatty foods. It is associated with health problems.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become progressively more common in comparison with the increasing frequency of obesity and other components of the metabolic syndrome and it is predictable to be the leading sign for liver transplant within the decade.
Fatty liver is a reversible circumstance that can often be resolved with lifestyle modifications. In many cases, fatty liver has veto symptoms. It doesn’t usually cause permanent damage unless it progresses.
Fatty liver can become harmful to the liver if its underlying cause isn’t recognized and treated.
NAFLD is referred to the most common kind of fatty liver disease. This can result in liver damage later particularly when fat accumulation in the liver progresses with severe inflammation
NASH is a chronic disease in which accumulated fat in liver cells causes liver inflammation. The condition very slowly gets worse which is more likely to be a problem if the patient also has another liver disease, such as hepatitis C or B, or if the patient drinks too much alcohol. In some individuals, NASH may gradually progress to scarring of the liver and to more serious chronic liver disease, such as cirrhosis.
NASH typically occurs in citizens who are overweight and diabetic, with high blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels. The patient should therefore minimize or control as many as possible of these risk factors.
Causes
- a poor appetite
- weight loss
- abdominal pain
- physical weakness
- fatigue
- confusion
- an enlarging, fluid-filled abdomen
- jaundice of the skin and yellowing of the eyes
- Confusion
- a tendency to bleed more easily
Causes of fatty liver :
- Obesity (about 20% of people considered obese have fatty liver disease)
- High blood cholesterol and triglycerides
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
- Heavy alcohol use
- Underactive thyroid
- Certain drugs
- Polycystic ovary syndrome
- Complications late in pregnancy
- Some of these conditions are associated with resistance to insulin, a hormone the body produces to maintain normal amounts of sugar in the blood
Diagnosis
- the fatty liver disease does not root pain, nausea or fatty food intolerance,
- many people do not realise they have it until a routine blood test suggests a liver problem
- . A liver biopsy may be suggested but this is rarely necessary.
- The biopsy shows the liver cells to be examined under a microscope in order to see the degree of fat accumulation, inflammation and more importantly, scarring of the liver.
Treatment:
- limiting or avoiding alcoholic beverages
- managing your cholesterol and reducing your intake of sugar and saturated fatty acids
- losing weight
- controlling your blood sugar
Fatty Liver : What is it ?
FATTY LIVER: WHAT IS IT?
The liver is the second largest and a very important organ in the body. The liver’s function is like that of a water purifier that is to process everything one eats and drinks. It then filters the harmful substances from the blood. This process is, however, hindered if there is too much fat in the liver. The liver although commonly repairs itself by rebuilding new liver cells whenever they are damaged. But, when there’s repeated damage to the liver, permanent damage takes place. And this is called cirrhosis.
Liver has some fat in normal quantity but when it makes up more than 5%-10% of its weight, there arises this condition, called fatty liver disease. And yes, drinking is one of the key causes! Fatty liver, or steatosis, is a term that describes the building up of excess fat in the liver. A fatty liver is the result of the excess fat in liver cells. Fatty tissue slowly builds up in the liver when a person’s diet exceeds the amount of fat that the body can handle. Fatty liver condition can be reversed and is often with no symptoms and can be completely benign does not leading to liver damage. However, once the simple fat starts building up, the liver becomes vulnerable, which may result in inflammation and damage of liver.
CAUSES:
Experts don’t know exactly why some people accumulate fat in the liver while others do not. Similarly, there is limited understanding of why some fatty livers develop inflammation that progresses to cirrhosis. But, there are two types of fatty liver condition: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, and both are linked to obesity, insulin resistance, high blood sugar, and high levels of fat. These health problems encourage the deposit of fat in the liver.
KINDS OF FATTY LIVER DISEASE:
There are two major kinds of fatty liver diseases. And they are:
- Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) – Alcoholic liver disease as the name suggests is caused due to excessive drinking and the period or duration of drinking does not matter, it can even happen after a short period of heavy drinking.
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) – Although the cause of this type of fatty liver disease is uncertain but it tends to run in the family. Moreover, the middle-aged and overweight people are at risk, along with people with high cholesterol and diabetes. It is also considered to be the manifestation of the metabolic syndrome.
- Acute fatty liver of pregnancy – It is another kind of fatty liver which is a rare complication of pregnancy which can be life threatening.
TREATMENT:
However there isn’t any medication or surgery to treat fatty liver but it is not incurable. Some lifestyle changes and fixes to reverse the condition before it is too late. For e.g., quitting or limiting drinking, managing cholesterol, weight loss, maintaining blood sugar levels. Moreover, healthy eating habits can also be adopted to cure it, like, reducing the number of calories intake or eliminating fatty foods and foods high in sugar from your diet.
