What is Fatty-Liver-Disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is fatty inflammation of the liver when this is not due to excessive alcohol use. It is related to insulin resistance and the metabolic sy...

Join Now

Free, anonymous support from people just like you.

We're on Facebook!
Check out our page!
DS Store is Open
DS t-shirts and more
Advertisement
Topics Replies Last Post
Getting Better 
0 By Angela53510
11/07/09
NASH and Food 
3 By KVanHoose
11/01/09
Liver feels heavy all the... 
1 By DDntn
10/15/09
Artichokes,,,,,,,eat up 
0 By DDntn
10/11/09
Losing weight article Go... 
0 By DDntn
10/11/09
Google Alerts Fatty Liver 
3 By DDntn
10/10/09
Hard time losing weight w... 
2 By Tracymomof2
10/10/09
New here... 
1 By DDntn
10/09/09
NASH 
5 By DDntn
09/26/09
Normal test results..stil... 
2 By DDntn
09/26/09
what is fatty liver 
8 By MelissaElise
09/19/09
Juicer and juicing 
8 By MelissaElise
08/10/09
Labs 
1 By Angela53510
08/07/09
New to this group 
6 By Angela53510
08/07/09
Another newbie 
4 By Angela53510
08/07/09

Ask an Expert

 

As I glanced through the local newspaper yesterday, I came across an article title I've been meaning to discuss for quite some ... Read More »

1) Demerol: I'll never forget a lecture I attended as a resident by a well known toxicologist who said Demerol should be pulled from the ... Read More »

I save prescribing the weight loss medications, like Meridia of Xenical, for those who have made a good faith effort at serious diet and ... Read More »

Fatty Liver Disease Information

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is fatty inflammation of the liver when this is not due to excessive alcohol use. It is related to insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome, and may respond to treatments originally developed for other insulin resistant states (e.g. diabetes mellitus type 2), such as weight loss, metformin and thiazolidinediones. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the most extreme form of NAFLD, which is regarded as a major cause of cryptogenic cirrhosis of the liver.

Most patients with NAFLD have no or few symptoms. Infrequently patients may complain of fatigue, malaise and dull right upper quadrant abdominal discomfort. Mild jaundice can rarely be noticed. More commonly it is diagnosed as a result of abnormal liver function tests during routine blood tests. By definition, alcohol consumption of over 20 g/day excludes the condition.

NAFLD is associated with insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome (obesity, combined hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus (type II) and high blood pressure).

Disturbed liver enzymes are common, and liver ultrasound may show steatosis; it may also be used to exclude gallstone problems (cholelithiasis). A biopsy (tissue examination) of the liver is the only widely accepted test which can distinguish NASH from other forms of liver disease, and can be used to assess the severity of the inflammation and resultant fibrosis.

Other tests generally performed are other blood tests (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, glucose, albumin, renal function etc.) As the liver is important in coagulation, some coagulation studies will generally be done, especially the INR (international normalized ratio). To distinguish this disease from viral hepatitis, blood tests (serology) are generally done (hepatitis A, B, C, EBV, CMV and herpes viruses, as well as rubella) to ensure these are not playing a role. Additionally, autoimmune causes are ruled out with serology. TSH is warranted, as hypothyroidism is more prevalent in NASH patients.

Trials are presently being conducted to optimise treatment of NASH. No standard treatment has yet emerged as the "gold standard". General recommendations include improving metabolic risk factors and reducing alcohol intake.

A large number of treatments have been studied for NAFLD. While many may improve biochemical markers, such as alanine transaminase levels, most have not been shown to reverse the histological abnormalities or reduce clinical endpoints:

*Weight loss: gradual weight loss, and possibly bariatric surgery, may improve the process in obese patients.

* Insulin sensitisers (metformin and rosiglitazone but more markedly pioglitazone) have shown efficacy in some studies.

* Antioxidants and ursodeoxycholic acid, as well as lipid-lowering drugs, have little benefit.

Advertisement

Latest Activity

This support group doesn't have any member created groups yet.
Be the first to create one!


Advertisement
Content on DailyStrength.org is for informational purposes only. We do not provide any medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. More info
Portions of support group and treatment information provided by Wikipedia under the GNU FDL license
Copyright 2006-2009, DailyStrength, Inc. All rights reserved.
Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Report Abuse | HSW International | HSW China | HSW Brazil