Fatty Liver (Steatosis)

Fatty Liver (Steatosis)

Fatty liver is an abnormal accumulation of certain fats (triglycerides) inside liver cells.

  • People with fatty liver may feel tired or have mild abdominal discomfort but otherwise have no symptoms.
  • A liver biopsy may be needed to confirm the diagnosis and to determine the cause and extent of the damage.
  • Doctors focus on controlling or eliminating the cause of fatty liver, such as metabolic syndrome or consumption of large amounts of alcohol.

In the United States and other Western countries, the most common causes of fatty liver are

  • Consumption of large amounts of alcohol
  • Obesity
  • Toxins
  • Certain drugs
  • Hereditary metabolic disorders
  • Metabolic abnormalities, such as excess body weight, insulin resistance (as can occur in diabetes), and high levels of triglycerides (a fat) in the blood

The combination of excess body weight, insulin resistance, and high triglyceride levels is called metabolic syndrome. All of these conditions cause fat to accumulate in liver cells by causing the body to synthesize more fat or by processing (metabolizing) and excreting fat more slowly. As a result, fat accumulates and is then stored inside liver cells. Just consuming a high-fat diet does not result in fatty liver.

Rarely, fat accumulates in the liver during late pregnancy. This disorder, called fatty liver of pregnancy or microvesicular steatosis, is usually considered a different disorder from fatty liver

The fatty liver may or may not be inflamed. Inflammation of the liver due to fatty liver is called steatohepatitis. This inflammation may develop into scarring ( fibrosis). Fibrosis often progresses to cirrhosis (scarring that distorts the structure of the liver and impairs its function).

Fatty liver (with or without fibrosis) due to any condition except consumption of large amounts of alcohol is called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD develops most often in people with at least one of the components of metabolic syndrome:

  • Excess body weight
  • Insulin resistance
  • High triglyceride levels

Inflammation of the liver due to NAFLD is called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). This inflammation may develop info scarring (fibrosis) and cirrhosis.

Common Causes of Fatty Liver

Consumption of large amounts of alcohol

Metabolic abnormalities

  • Excess body weight
  • Insulin resistance (as occurs in diabetes)
  • High levels of triglycerides (a fat) in the blood

Drugs

  • Corticosteroids
  • Tamoxifen

Pregnancy

Certain cancer chemotherapy drugs

Symptoms

Fatty liver usually causes no symptoms. Some people feel tired or have vague abdominal discomfort. The liver tends to enlarge and can be detected by doctors during a physical examination.

Diagnosis
  • Blood tests
  • Imaging tests, such as ultrasonography
  • Sometimes a liver biopsy

If doctors suspect fatty liver, they ask about alcohol use. This information is crucial. Continued and excessive alcohol use can cause severe liver damage.

Blood tests to detect liver abnormalities, such as inflammation, are important because inflammation may lead to cirrhosis. Additional blood tests help exclude other causes of liver abnormalities, such as viral hepatitis. Ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT), or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the abdomen can detect excess fat in the liver but cannot always determine whether inflammation or fibrosis is present (see Imaging Tests of the Liver and Gallbladder).

Liver biopsy may be necessary to confirm the diagnosis. For the biopsy, a doctor gives a local anesthetic to lessen any pain, then inserts a long hollow needle through the skin and into the liver to obtain a small piece of liver tissue for examination under a microscope. The biopsy can help determine whether fatty liver is present, whether it resulted from alcohol or certain other specific causes, and how severe the liver damage is.

Prognosis

Excess fat in the liver by itself is not necessarily a serious problem. For example, if alcohol is the cause, the fat can disappear, usually within 6 weeks, when people stop drinking. However, if the cause is not identified and corrected, fatty liver can have serious consequences. For example, if people continue to drink large amounts of alcohol or if a drug causing fatty liver is not stopped, repeated liver injury may eventually lead to cirrhosis.

Women with fatty liver of pregnancy have a worse prognosis.

Treatment
  • Control or elimination of the cause

Treatment of fatty liver focuses on controlling or eliminating the cause of fatty liver. For example, people should

  • Stop taking any drug that could be causing fatty liver
  • Lose weight
  • Take measures to control diabetes or lower triglyceride levels
  • Stop drinking

Vitamin E and thiazolidinediones (such as rosiglitazone or pioglitazone, used to treat diabetes) may be of some help in treating fatty liver that is not caused by alcohol.

References:

http://www.parsiteb.com

merckmanuals

About Sara Bakhshaei

Dr Sara Bakhshaei ParsiTeb Company Researcher
Dr Sara Bakhshaei is a PhD. graduate Agroecologist from the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. She has done researches in some agricultural and health fields such as Plant Ecology, Agroecology, Data Analysis, Crop production, LCA and Pharmaceutical effects of medicinal plants. She completed her researches as an Internship period in IFF institute(Institute of Social Ecology) in Vienna, Austria. Since 2016 she works as a senior researcher at Parsiteb herbal pharmaceutical company. She has 8 years of work experience as a university lecturer in Iran and published more than 100 articles in her research fields. Now she continues her study in the field of Phytomedicine at the Boku University of Vienna.

Check Also

Fatty Liver Disease

Fatty Liver Disease Some fat in your liver is normal. But if it makes up …