Fatty Liver Disease Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

What Is Fatty Liver Disease?

Fatty liver disease is a reversible condition marked by accumulation of large vacuoles and triglyceride fat in liver cells.

The accumulation of fat occurs as a result of stenosis. Stenosis is the term used to describe the abnormal retention of lipids within the cell.

Depending on the different causes, fatty liver disease can be classified in two types. This includes:

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD), which in those with excessive alcohol intake
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a term dubbed to describe those who develop the disease and do not consume alcohol

While some fat in the liver is normal, in fatty liver disease fat makes up about five to ten percent of the liver weight.

While fatty liver inhibits liver from performing its normal function, the liver tends to repair itself my producing new liver cells when old ones are damaged. For this reason, fatty liver may be reversible.

Causes Of Fatty Liver Disease:

Fatty liver disease arises due to the inability of the body to either metabolize the fat fast enough or if the body creates too much fat.

In general, fatty liver disease may be caused by any of the following causes:

Alcoholism

obesity
hyperlipidemia, or high levels of fats in the blood
diabetes
genetic inheritance
side effect of certain medications, including aspirin, steroids, tamoxifen, and tetracycline

Nutritional factors
Malnutrition
total parenteral nutrition
severe weight loss
refeeding syndrome
jejunoileal bypass
gastric bypass
jejunal diverticulosis with bacterial overgrowth
Metabolic factors
Abetalipoproteinemia
glycogen storage diseases
Weber-Christian disease
acute fatty liver of pregnancy
lipodystrophy

Symptoms Of Fatty Liver Disease:

Fatty liver disease may cause the exhibition of the following symptoms:

a dull or aching pain in the top right of the stomach
fatigue
unexplained weight loss
weakness
Enlargement of liver
Abdominal discomfort
Confusion
Liver inflammation which may cause poor appetite
Nausea
Vomiting
Jaundice

Diagnosis Of Fatty Liver Disease:

Fatty liver disease can be diagnosed via:

Physical examination of abdomen
Blood test, which may show an abnormally high amount of liver enzymes
Ultrasound, where the fat on the liver may appear as a white area
Liver biopsy, to determine the exact cause of fatty liver

Treatment Of Fatty Liver Disease:

There is no such treatment for fatty liver disease. While medications may be provided to relieve symptoms, major form of treatment includes self care. This may include: