Fatty Liver Disease – An Insight

For those who haven’t heard of fatty liver, it means that liver has extra fat in it. The scientific name for the same is hepatic steatosis and is a resulting of addiction to alcohol. Due to high consumption of alcohol fat builds up inside the liver making it hard to work properly. It does not mean that if you do drink, you don’t get fatty liver. For those who don’t consume alcohol and still have fatty liver condition, it is a result of mainly a metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, high amount of belly fat and is known as Nonalcoholic Fatty liver Disease (NAFLD).

Simple Fatty Liver – This means there is only extra fat and no inflammation on the liver cells. Most people suffer from Simple fatty liver and it does not get worse.

Non Alcoholic Steathohepatitis (NASH) – This is known to be serious as compared to simple fatty liver. It occurs when the liver gets inflamed. Your liver cells get damaged due to NASH and can lead to further life threatening conditions like cirrhosis, liver cancer and fibrosis.

Alcohol related fatty liver disease – Also known as ALD, it might or might not exhibit any symptoms. If there are symptoms, they include discomfort or pain in the upper right side of belly. Though if drinking is not stopped, it can lead to complication like alcoholic cirrhosis and hepatitis.

Alcoholic Cirrhosis – The condition causes scar tissue buildup in liver. Symptoms that surface include fluid buildup in the belly, body bleeding, enlarged spleen, liver failure, dis-orientation and behavior changes as well.

Alcoholic Hepatitis – This kind of lever swelling can cause belly pain, jaundice, nausea and vomiting. Alcoholic fatty lever worsens to lead to alcoholic hepatitis and further more into Cirrhosis.

Symptoms – NAFLD as well as ALD as mentioned before may or may not give any symptoms other that fatigue or pain in the upper right side of the belly.

Though NASH as well as cirrhosis do exhibit symptoms like red palms, breast enlargement in men, swollen belly, enlarged blood vessels below skin.

Diagnosis – The diagnosis is based on physical exam, health history and based on tests like blood tests as well as imaging tests. If required a liver biopsy may also be advised.

Treatment – There is no treatment as such in terms of medications for NAFLD, but in case of NASH complications like liver failure or cirrhosis, you may have to go for a liver transplant.

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