Common Causes of Alcoholism
- Depression
- Schizophrenia
- Genetics
- Inheritance
- Established behavior patterns
- Environment
- Damaged relationships

Home remedies for Alcoholism

1.) Alcoholism treatment using Grapes
- The restricted diet of grapes for about a month is a vital home remedy for alcoholism.
- As this fruit contains a very pure form of alcohol, it acts like a healthy alternative to alcohol.
- The ideal process is to take three meals a day of fresh grapes every five hours.

2.) Alcoholism treatment using Apples
- Apples, when eaten regularly and liberally, helps in removing intoxication.
- It reduces craving for wines or any other kind of liquor.

3.) Alcoholism treatment using Dates
- Dates are beneficial in treating alcoholism.
- Rub together 3-4 dates in half a glass of water and drink.
- Have this drink two times a day for a period of about a month.

4.) Alcoholism treatment using Bitter Gourd
- Juice extracted from bitter gourd leaves is the perfect remedy for alcohol intoxication.
- It is basically useful for the damaged liver.
- Mix three teaspoons of the juice with a glass of butter milk and consume.
- Consume this every morning for a month.

5.) Alcoholism treatment using Celery
- The juice of raw celery creates a sobering effect on the alcoholic patient.
- In half a glass of water, mix an equal quantity of celery juice and drink.
- It should be consumed once every day for about a month.

6.) Alcoholism treatment using Buttermilk
- You can drink buttermilk every morning with empty stomach.
- It is quite useful and effective home remedy for treating alcoholism.

7.) Exercise
- Exercise is a way to get healthy body.
- The alcoholic should do some light exercise at home.
- He can also do yoga asana and meditation as this will help him to make a strong will power.

8.) Smoking
Those who are suffering from alcoholism should avoid smoking too as it increases the wish to drink alcohol.

Diet for Alcoholism Recovery
- It is most important to feed ample amounts of nutrients back in the body of the alcoholic.
- The patient should be on an “all liquid” diet.
- This diet is preferably juices, for a minimum period of 10 to 12 days.
- The patient should start on a diet of several small meals a day rather than three large ones.
- The alcoholic needs to exercise regularly.
- Include outdoor activities in their daily schedule.
- A healthy diet for alcoholism must include foods such as wholegrain cereals, legumes and pulses, fresh fruits and vegetables.
- A glass of fresh fruit juice and eating healthy snacks like candy or Soya beans etc will curb the cravings of having alcohol.
- Avoid refined food products like white flour, white sugar, white rice, macaroni products.
- This can be substituted with brown rice, brown sugar, leafy vegetables and other whole grain products.

Health benefits of coconut water
- The juice is packed with simple sugar, electrolytes, and minerals to replenish hydration levels in the body.
- Cytokinins in coconut water showed significant anti-ageing, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-thrombotic effects.
- Its water has much better composition of minerals like calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, and zinc than some of fruits like oranges.
- Its water is also a very good source of B-complex vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pyridoxine, and folates.
- These vitamins are essential to replenish.
- Coconut water contains a very good amount of electrolyte potassium.
- 100 ml of water has 250 mg of potassium and 105 mg of sodium.
- Together, these electrolytes help replenish electrolytes deficiency in the body due to diarrhea (loose stools).
- Fresh coconut water has small amount of vitamin-C (ascorbic acid); provides about 2.4 mcg or 4% of RDA. Vitamin C is a water-soluble ant-oxidant.

Overview
- The word hepatitis comes from the Ancient Greek word hepar (root word hepat) which means ‘liver’, and the suffix Latin itis meaning inflammation.
- Its plural is hepatitides.
- This condition is recognized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ.
- This condition can progress to cirrhosis and fibrosis.
- Hepatitis may occur with limited or no symptoms.
- It often leads to jaundice, anorexia (poor appetite) and malaise.
- Hepatitis is acute when it lasts less than six months.
- It is chronic when it persists longer.
- A group of viruses known as the hepatitis viruses cause most cases of hepatitis worldwide.
- It can also be due to toxins (notably alcohol, certain medications, some industrial organic solvents and plants).
- It can also be due to other infections and autoimmune diseases.

How many types of hepatitis are there?
There are five main types of hepatitis that are caused by a virus, A, B, C, D, and E – plus types X and G.

How is Hepatitis diagnosed?
- A blood test is usually needed to determine if a person has hepatitis.
- It is also important to stay well hydrated by drinking lots of fluids.
- Hepatitis B and C can sometimes be treated with medications.
- Some forms of medication used to treat hepatitis C are only approved for use in adults.
- Although treatments for hepatitis B and C are becoming more effective.

Diagnosis of Hepatitis A (HAV)
- A blood test showing the presence of IgM anti-HAV in serum.
- It confirms the diagnosis of acute hepatitis A infection.
- Symptoms of this virus strain include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Diagnosis of Hepatitis B (HBV)
Acute HBV infection is diagnosed by a simple blood test detecting the presence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and IgM antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc IgM).

The following antibody variations can occur, each having a specific implication.

- Anti-HBs +:
Indicates individual has been vaccinated, has received immune globulin, is immune, or is an infant who has received antibodies from its mother.

- Anti-HBc +:
Indicates past or present infection and lasts indefinitely. Also may be detected in someone who has received immune globulin or an infant who has received antibodies from its mother.

- IgM anti-HBc +:
Indicates recent infection with HBV, usually within 4-6 months.

- HBeAg +:
Indicates active viral replication and high infectivity.

- HBsAg +:
Indicates acute or chronic HBV. Persistence for 6 months after acute infection indicates progression to chronic HBV.

Diagnosis of Hepatitis C (HCV)
- Infection by the hepatitis C virus can be determined by a blood test that detects HCV antibodies in the blood.
- This test is not a part of a routine physical
- People must ask their doctor for hepatitis C test
- If the initial test is positive, a second test should be done to confirm the diagnosis and liver enzymes (a blood test) should be measured.
- Anti-HCV (antibodies to the virus) may not be present in the first four weeks of infection
- HCV infection may be identified by the presence of anti-HCV in approximately 60% of people as early as 5-8 weeks after exposure.
- In some individuals HCV antibodies may not be detected for 5-12 months. HCV-RNA and RT-PCR tests can determine HCV presence in as little as 1-2 weeks.
- A liver biopsy can identify the type and degree of damage (and can determine the severity of the disease).
- The disease may gradually progress over a period of 10-40 years.

Diagnosis of Hepatitis D (HDV)
- A positive test for anti-HDV in a patient with acute hepatitis B indicates HBV/ HDV co-infection.
- Patients with chronic hepatitis B and a positive HDV test are super-infected.

Diagnosis of Hepatitis E (HEV)
- Testing for anti-HEV is usually reserved for returning travelers from the developing world in whom hepatitis is present.
- Other hepatitis viruses cannot be detected.
- Currently there is no treatment for HEV.

Overview
- Iron is a mineral found in many foods.
- Too much iron is toxic to your body.
- It can poison your organs and cause organ failure.
- In hemochromatosis, iron can build up in most of your body’s organs.
- It builds especially in the liver, heart, and pancreas.
- Too much iron in the heart can cause irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias (ah-RITH-me-ahs) and heart failure.
- Too much iron in the pancreas can lead to diabetes.
- If hemochromatosis isn’t treated, it may even cause death.

Too much iron in the liver can cause:
- an enlarged liver,
- liver failure,
- liver cancer,
- cirrhosis (sir-RO-sis): scarring of the liver, which causes the organ to not work well.

Signs and Symptoms of Hemochromatosis:
- Joint pain
- Fatigue
- Lack of energy
- Abdominal pain
- Loss of sex drive
- Heart problems
- Arthritis
- Amenorrhea
- Early menopause
- Loss of sex drive
- Impotence
- Shortness of breath
- Liver disease, including an enlarged liver, cirrhosis, cancer, and liver failure.
- Damage to the pancreas, possibly causing diabetes
- Chronic (ongoing) abdominal pain

The goals of treating hemochromatosis include:
- Reducing the amount of iron in your body to normal levels.
- Preventing or delaying organ damage from iron overload.
- Treating complications of the disease.
- Maintaining a normal amount of iron in your body for the rest of your life.
- The most effective treatment for hemochromatosis is to reduce iron in the body by phlebotomy (withdrawal of blood from the arm veins).
- One unit of blood, which contains 250 mg of iron, usually is withdrawn every one to two weeks.
- Serum ferritin and transferrin saturation are checked every two to three months.
- Once ferritin levels are below 50 ng/ml and transferrin saturations are below 50%, the frequency of phlebotomies is reduced to every two to three months.
- When hemochromatosis is diagnosed early and is treated effectively, damage to the liver, heart, testicles, pancreas and joints can be prevented completely.
- In patients with established cirrhosis, effective treatment can improve the function of the heart, skin color, and diabetes.
- The cirrhosis is irreversible and the risk of developing liver cancer remains.

The benefits of therapeutic phlebotomy in hemochromatosis are as follows:
- It prevents the development of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer upon early detection.
- It improves liver function partially in patients who have already developed advanced cirrhosis.
- It improves and completely resolves symptoms of weakness, liver pain, joint pain, and fatigue.
- It improves function of the heart in patients with mild and early heart disease.

What are dietary recommendations in hemochromatosis?
- A normal balanced diet is recommended.
- Iron containing foods are not totally avoided.
- Alcohol should be avoided.
- Alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing cirrhosis and liver cancer.
- Ingestion of high doses of vitamin C in patients with iron overload may lead to fatal abnormal heart rhythms.
- It is reasonable to avoid vitamin C supplementation until patients are adequately treated.
- Raw seafood should be avoided.
- Patients with hemochromatosis are at risk of acquiring bacterial infections that flourish in iron rich environment.

Overview
- Iron is a mineral found in many foods.
- Too much iron is toxic to your body.
- It can poison your organs and cause organ failure.
- In hemochromatosis, iron can build up in most of your body’s organs.
- It builds especially in the liver, heart, and pancreas.
- Too much iron in the heart can cause irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias (ah-RITH-me-ahs) and heart failure.
- Too much iron in the pancreas can lead to diabetes.
- If hemochromatosis isn’t treated, it may even cause death.

Too much iron in the liver can cause:
- an enlarged liver,
- liver failure,
- liver cancer,
- cirrhosis (sir-RO-sis): scarring of the liver, which causes the organ to not work well.

Signs and Symptoms of Hemochromatosis:
- Joint pain
- Fatigue
- Lack of energy
- Abdominal pain
- Loss of sex drive
- Heart problems
- Arthritis
- Amenorrhea
- Early menopause
- Loss of sex drive
- Impotence
- Shortness of breath
- Liver disease, including an enlarged liver, cirrhosis, cancer, and liver failure.
- Damage to the pancreas, possibly causing diabetes
- Chronic (ongoing) abdominal pain

Diagnosis of Hemochromatosis
- Medical history
- Perform a physical examination
- Order routine blood tests

How Blood Tests Help in Diagnosing Hemochromatosis ?
- Blood tests can determine if the amount of iron stored in the body is too high.
- The transferrin saturation test determines how much iron is bound to the protein.
- This is the protein that carries iron in the blood.
- The total iron binding capacity (TIBC) test measures how well your blood can transport iron.
- The serum ferritin test shows the level of iron in the liver.
- If any of these tests shows higher-than-normal levels of iron in the body, healthcare providers can order a special blood test to detect the HFE mutation.
- This test will help confirm the diagnosis of hemochromatosis.
- If the mutation is not present, hereditary hemochromatosis is not the reason for the iron buildup.

Serum transferrin saturation:
- This test measures the amount of iron bound to a protein (transferrin) that carries iron in your blood.
- Transferrin saturation values greater than 45 percent are considered too high.

Serum ferritin:
- This test measures the amount of iron stored in your liver.
- If the results of your serum transferrin saturation test are higher than normal then the doctor will check your serum ferritin.

Using a Liver Biopsy to Confirm the Diagnosis
- A liver biopsy is a procedure where a tiny piece of liver tissue is removed and examined under a microscope.
- This may be needed to confirm a hemochromatosis diagnosis.
- It will show how much iron has accumulated in the liver.
- It will show whether the liver is damaged as a result.

Additional testing

Testing for gene mutations:
- Your doctor can test a sample of your DNA for mutations in the HFE gene.
- This test can help confirm a diagnosis of hereditary hemochromatosis.

Removing a sample of liver tissue for testing:
- During a liver biopsy, your doctor removes a sample of tissue from your liver, using a thin needle.
- The sample is sent to a laboratory where it’s checked for the presence of iron and also for evidence of liver damage, especially scarring or cirrhosis.
- Risks of biopsy include bruising, bleeding and infection.

Screening healthy people for hemochromatosis:
- Doctor may recommend a blood test to determine if you have hemochromatosis even with no linked symptoms.
- Patients undergo screening tests to determine whether they have the condition before complications can occur.

Overview
- Iron is a mineral found in many foods.
- Too much iron is toxic to your body.
- It can poison your organs and cause organ failure.
- In hemochromatosis, iron can build up in most of your body’s organs.
- It builds especially in the liver, heart, and pancreas.
- Too much iron in the heart can cause irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias (ah-RITH-me-ahs) and heart failure.
- Too much iron in the pancreas can lead to diabetes.
- If hemochromatosis isn’t treated, it may even cause death.

Too much iron in the liver can cause:
- an enlarged liver,
- liver failure,
- liver cancer,
- cirrhosis (sir-RO-sis): scarring of the liver, which causes the organ to not work well.

Types of Hemochromatosis
The two types of hemochromatosis are primary and secondary.
- Primary hemochromatosis is caused by a defect in the genes. These genes control how much iron you absorb from food.
- Secondary hemochromatosis usually is the result of another disease or condition that causes iron overload.

Certain factors can affect the severity of the disease:
- A high intake of vitamin C can make hemochromatosis worse.
- This is because vitamin C helps your body absorb iron from food.
- Alcohol use can worsen liver damage.
- Cirrhosis caused by hemochromatosis.
- Conditions such as hepatitis also can further damage or weaken the liver.

How hemochromatosis affects your organs?
- Patients with hereditary hemochromatosis may absorb as much as 30 percent of the iron that is ingested.
- Your body can’t use or eliminate this extra iron, it’s stored in the tissues of major organs, especially the liver.
- Eventually you may accumulate five to 20 times as much iron as normal.
- Over a period of years, the stored iron can severely damage many organs, leading to organ failure and chronic diseases such as cirrhosis and diabetes.

Signs and Symptoms of Hemochromatosis:
- People with hemochromatosis absorb more iron than the body needs.
- The body has no natural way to rid itself of the excess iron, so it is stored in body tissues.
In particular, the:
- Liver
- Heart
- Pancreas.

Hemochromatosis symptoms tend to occur:
- In men between the ages of 30 and 50.
- In women over age 50.
- However, many people have no symptoms when they are diagnosed.
- Hemochromatosis can also develop in newborns and children.

Common Symptoms
- Joint pain is the most common symptom of hemochromatosis.
- Fatigue
- Lack of energy
- Abdominal pain
- Loss of sex drive
- Heart problems

Other Hemochromatosis Symptoms
- Arthritis
- Amenorrhea
- Early menopause
- Impotence (repeated inability to get or keep an erection firm enough for sexual intercourse)
- Shortness of breath.

Advanced Symptoms
Symptoms that can occur in advanced stages of hemochromatosis include:
- Arthritis
- Liver disease, including an enlarged liver, cirrhosis, cancer, and liver failure.
- Damage to the pancreas, possibly causing diabetes.
- Chronic (ongoing) abdominal pain.
- Severe fatigue.
- Weakening of the heart muscle.
- Problems with your heart rate or rhythms.
- Heart failure.
- Abnormal skin color.
- Skin looks gray or bronze.

Overview
- Iron is a mineral found in many foods.
- Too much iron is toxic to your body.
- It can poison your organs and cause organ failure.
- In hemochromatosis, iron can build up in most of your body’s organs.
- It builds especially in the liver, heart, and pancreas.
- Too much iron in the heart can cause irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias (ah-RITH-me-ahs) and heart failure.
- Too much iron in the pancreas can lead to diabetes.
- If hemochromatosis isn’t treated, it may even cause death.

Too much iron in the liver can cause:
- an enlarged liver,
- liver failure,
- liver cancer,
- cirrhosis (sir-RO-sis): scarring of the liver, which causes the organ to not work well.

Types of Hemochromatosis
The two types of hemochromatosis are primary and secondary.
- Primary hemochromatosis is caused by a defect in the genes. These genes control how much iron you absorb from food.
- Secondary hemochromatosis usually is the result of another disease or condition that causes iron overload.

The basic two types of hemochromatosis are:
- Hereditary hemochromatosis: Hemochromatosis is mainly associated with a defect in a gene called the HFE gene.
- Acquired hemochromatosis: It occurs as a result of certain medical conditions.

Primary Hemochromatosis
- It is inherited from their parents.
- If you inherit two hemochromatosis genes—one from each parent—you’re at risk for iron overload.
- The two faulty genes cause your body to absorb more iron than usual from the foods you eat.
- The severity of hemochromatosis also varies.

Certain factors that can affect the severity of the disease are:
- A high intake of vitamin C can make hemochromatosis worse.
- This is because vitamin C helps your body absorb iron from food.
- Alcohol use can worsen liver damage.
- Cirrhosis caused by hemochromatosis.
- Conditions such as hepatitis also can further damage or weaken the liver.

Hereditary Hemochromatosis
- It is caused by a mutation in a gene that controls the amount of iron your body absorbs.
- The mutations that cause hereditary hemochromatosis are passed from parents to children.

Gene mutations that cause hemochromatosis:
- The gene that is mutated most often in people with hereditary hemochromatosis is called HFE.
- You inherit one HFE gene from each of your parents.
- If both parents pass mutated HFE genes to you, you may develop hemochromatosis.
- The HFE gene has two common mutations, C282Y and H63D.
- Genetic testing can reveal whether you have these mutations in your HFE gene.

If you inherit two abnormal genes:
- One may develop hemochromatosis.
- Not everyone with two abnormal genes develops signs and symptoms of hemochromatosis.
- You can also pass the mutation on to your children.

If you inherit one abnormal gene:
- One won’t develop hemochromatosis.
- But your body may absorb more iron than normal.
- You are considered a gene mutation carrier and can pass the mutation on to your children.

How hemochromatosis affects your organs?
- Patients with hereditary hemochromatosis may absorb as much as 30 percent of the iron that is ingested.
- Your body can’t use or eliminate this extra iron, it’s stored in the tissues of major organs, especially the liver.
- Eventually you may accumulate five to 20 times as much iron as normal.
- Over a period of years, the stored iron can severely damage many organs, leading to organ failure and chronic diseases such as cirrhosis and diabetes.

Other types of hemochromatosis

Juvenile hemochromatosis
- This causes the same problems in young people that hereditary hemochromatosis causes in adults.
- Iron accumulation begins much earlier and symptoms usually appear between the ages of 15 and 30.
- Although juvenile hemochromatosis is an inherited disease, the genetic abnormalities that cause it don’t involve the HFE gene.
- It is caused by a mutation in a gene called hemojuvelin.

Neonatal Hemochromatosis
- In this severe disorder, iron builds up rapidly in a baby’s liver and can cause death.

Diseases that affect Liver

Hepatitis:
- Inflammation of the liver.
- It is caused mainly by various viruses.
- It is also caused by some poisons (e.g. alcohol).
- Autoimmunity (autoimmune hepatitis).
- Hereditary conditions.
- Diagnosis is done by checking levels of Alanine transaminase.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- A spectrum in disease.
- It is associated with obesity.
- It is characterized as an abundance of fat in the liver.
- This situation may lead to a hepatitis.
- This type of hepatitis is also known as steatohepatitis and/or cirrhosis.

Cirrhosis
- It is the formation of fibrous tissue in the liver from replacing dead liver cells.
- The death of the liver cells can be caused by viral hepatitis.
- This can be due to alcoholism or contact with other liver-toxic chemicals.
- Diagnosis is done by checking levels of Alanine transaminase and Asparatine transaminase (SGOT).

Haemochromatosis
- This is a hereditary disease.
- It causes the accumulation of iron in the body.
- It eventually leads to liver damage.

Cancer of the liver
- Liver cancer is also known as hepatocellular carcinoma, HCC.
- It is a cancer that originates in liver.
- Liver cancers are malignant tumors that grow on the surface or inside the liver.
- It is also known as primary liver cancer or hepatoma.
- The liver is made up of different cell types.
- They are cancer of, for example, bile ducts, blood vessels, and fat-storing cells.
- Liver cells (hepatocytes) make up 80% of the liver tissue.
- Liver cancer is often referred to cancer that has spread to the liver that has originated in other organs.
- This type of liver cancer is called metastatic liver disease (cancer) or secondary liver cancer.

Glycogen storage disease type II
- The build-up of glycogen causes progressive muscle weakness (myopathy) throughout the body
- It affects various body tissues, particularly in the heart, skeletal muscles, liver and nervous system.

Other diseases of Liver
- Wilson’s disease, a hereditary disease which causes the body to retain copper.
- Primary sclerosing cholangitis, an inflammatory disease of the bile duct, likely autoimmune in nature.
- Primary biliary cirrhosis, autoimmune disease of small bile ducts.
- Budd-Chiari syndrome, obstruction of the hepatic vein.
- Gilbert’s syndrome, a genetic disorder of bilirubin metabolism, found in about 5% of the population.

Pediatric liver diseases
- Biliary atresia
- Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency
- Alagille syndrome
- Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis

Liver diseases are caused by viruses like hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, cirrhosis, jaundice.

In primary sclerosing cholangitis :
- The intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts become inflamed,
- scarred and thickened (sclerotic),
- narrowed,
- finally obstructed.

Obstruction of the ducts can lead to:
- abdominal pain,
- itching,
- jaundice,
- infection in the bile ducts (cholangitis),
- liver scarring that leads to liver cirrhosis,
- liver failure.

Symptoms of primary sclerosing cholangitis:
- Most patients with early primary sclerosing cholangitis have no symptoms.
- The presence of primary sclerosing cholangitis is recognized only because of abnormally elevated blood levels of liver enzymes (particularly alkaline phosphatase levels).
- This is often recognized along with a routine physical examination.
Early symptoms of primary sclerosing cholangitis include
- Fatigue
- bodily itching (pruritus)

With the progress of the disease:
- Patients may develop jaundice (yellowing of skin and darkening of urine).
- Jaundice is due to the accumulation of bilirubin in the body.
- The bilirubin accumulates because it is not able to be eliminated in the bile.
- This is due to prolonged obstruction of the bile ducts.
- The accumulation of bilirubin turns the skin and whites of the eye (sclera) yellow.
- It may be due to accumulation of bile salts in the body.
- It is as a result of obstruction of the bile ducts.

As primary sclerosing cholangitis progresses, patients typically develop:
- Right upper abdominal pain,
- Fever,
- Fatigue,
- Pruritus
- Jaundice
- These patients also are at risk of developing primary sclerosing cholangitis complications.
- The patients with the autoimmune form of primary sclerosing cholangitis have more rapid symptoms of abdominal pain, jaundice and fever.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a liver disease.
- This is one cause of a fatty liver.
- This occurrs when fat is deposited (steatosis) in the liver.
- It is not due to excessive alcohol use.
- It is related to insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome.
- This is involved with symptoms such as weight loss, metformin and thiazolidinediones.
- Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the most extreme form of NAFLD.
- This is regarded as a major cause of cirrhosis of the liver of unknown cause.

Causes of Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
- Fatigue
- Malaise
- Dull right-upper-quadrant abdominal discomfort
- Mild jaundice
- Abnormal liver function tests
- Alcohol consumption of over 20 g/day
- Insulin resistance
- Metabolic syndrome
- Obesity
- Combined hyperlipidemia
- Diabetes mellitus (type II)
- High blood pressure

Secondary Causes
NAFLD can also be caused by some medications.
- Amiodarone
- Antiviral drugs (nucleoside analogues)
- Aspirin rarely as part of Reye’s syndrome in children
- Corticosteroids
- Methotrexate
- Tamoxifen
- Tetracycline

Diagnosis of Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
- Elevated liver enzymes
- A liver ultrasound showing steatosis.
- An ultrasound may also be used to exclude gallstone problems (cholelithiasis).
- Computed Tomography (CT) —a method of body imaging in which a thin X-ray beam rotates around the patient which provides a detailed view of the liver.
- A biopsy (tissue examination) of the liver is the only test widely accepted.
- FibroTest that estimates liver fibrosis.
- SteatoTest that estimates steatosis.
- Apoptosis has been shown to be the mechanism of hepatocyte destruction and caspase-cleaved cytokeratin 18 (M30-Apoptosense ELISA) in serum/plasma.

Relevant Blood Tests
- Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
- Glucose
- Albumin
- Renal function
- Coagulation related studies
- The INR (international normalized ratio)

Blood tests (serology) are usually used to rule out:
- Viral hepatitis (hepatitis A, B, C, EBV, CMV andherpes viruses),
- Rubella,
- Autoimmune related diseases
- Hypothyroidism

Diagnosis
- Abdominal Ultrasound
- AMA Test
- ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography)
- Liver Biopsy
- Liver Panel
- Manifestations of Liver Disease
- Needle Biopsy