Non alcoholic fatty liver

How is non alcoholic fatty liver disease treated?

Liver disease is also called hepatic disease. This is in terms of group of single number of diseases affecting the liver. 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.

Relevant blood tests for diagnosis of NAFLD are:
- 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

Treatment of Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease NAFLD
Treatment of nutrition and excessive body weight:
- Nutritional counseling: Diet changes have shown significant histological improvement.
- Gradual weight loss may improve the process in obese patients; rapid loss may worsen NAFLD.
- A recent meta-analysis presented at the Annual Meeting of American Association for Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) reported that weight-loss surgery leads to improvement and or resolution of NASH in around 80 % of patients.
- Insulin sensitisers (metformin and thiazolidinediones) have shown efficacy in some studies.
- Ursodeoxycholic acid and lipid-lowering drugs, have little benefit.

Treatment also includes:
- Interventional Treatments for Liver Disease(Society of Interventional Radiology).
- Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt (TIPS)(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America).

Alternative Therapy
- Dandelion (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
- Kava Linked to Liver Damage (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
- Milk Thistle (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)

Nutrition
- Diet and Your Liver(American Liver Foundation) .

Specific Conditions
- Acute Liver Failure(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research).
- Alagille Syndrome (National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse).
- Alcohol-Related Liver Disease(American Liver Foundation)
- Alcoholic Hepatitis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
-Benign Liver Tumors(American Liver Foundation)
- Blood Vessel Disorders of the Liver(Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Budd-Chiari Syndrome(Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Enlarged Liver(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Gilbert’s Syndrome(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Liver Cysts: A Cause of Abdominal Pain?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Liver Hemangioma(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease(American Liver Foundation)
- Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Also available in Spanish
- Portal Hypertension (Merck & Co., Inc.)
- Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

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What are causes and symptoms of non alcoholic fatty liver disease?

Liver disease is also called hepatic disease. This is in terms of group of single number of diseases affecting the liver. 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

Symptoms present in advanced stages of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease are:
- Lack of appetite
- Unexplained weight loss
- Nausea
- Small, red spider veins under your skin or easy bruising
- Weakness
- Jaundice
- Bleeding from engorged veins in your esophagus or intestines
- Loss of interest in sex
- Fluid in your abdominal cavity
- Itching on your hands and feet and eventually on your entire body
- Swelling of your legs and feet
- Fatigue
- Malaise
- Dull right-upper-quadrant abdominal discomfort
- Mild jaundice