Generality
The liver, with its 1500 grams, is the largest gland in our body. Its functions are multiple and largely essential. Among these, a role of primary importance is played by the sorting and synthesis of fats.
Causes and Incidence
Fatty liver, as we have seen, derives from an "alteration of lipid metabolism. This situation can be caused by many ailments and diseases.
Important risk factors for fatty liver disease are diabetes, obesity (especially the abdominal one - android or apple -), an unbalanced, unbalanced and excessively rich diet, anemia and acholism. Also some drugs, imbalances. hormonal, nutritional (Kwashiorkior), carnitine deficiency, prolonged fasting and excessive exposure to toxic substances can favor the accumulation of triglycerides in the liver. All these factors, in addition to increasing the risk of onset, also increase that of complications
- 75% of patients with type 2 diabetes present a picture of hepatic steatosis on ultrasound examination:
- Fatty liver is a common condition in obese people (70-90% incidence):
- Fatty liver disease appears more frequently between the ages of 50 and 60, but the incidence among children is increasing.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
For further information: Symptoms Fatty liver
About 20-40% of Italian adults "suffer" from fatty liver disease. in itself this disorder is not a real disease but a simple metabolic disadvantage, often asymptomatic. Only when the liver is very involved with steatosis, the patient can feel a sense of discomfort, a slight pain localized in the right quadrant of the abdomen.
The liver, in fact, shows signs of the disorder only in very advanced stages. What the patient normally refers to as pain in the liver turns out to be, in many cases, simple pain in the intestine or in the gallbladder (gallbladder).
Precisely by virtue of its asymptomaticity, more than 90% of people with fatty liver occasionally discover this disorder. Often this discovery occurs during an "ultrasound scan showing the so-called bright liver or during blood control checks (slight increases in alkaline phosphatase or transaminases may be linked to steatosis).
Transaminases are small proteins contained in the liver cell that perform a specific metabolic function. When a liver cell suffers and becomes inflamed some of these transaminases come out and pour into the blood. For this reason when a person has high transaminases it probably means that his liver is suffering. Such suffering is not, however, synonymous with disease. : it could in fact be transitory alterations and of little relevance from the clinical point of view (extreme physical exercise, incongruous diet too rich in calories, pregnancy).
Ultrasound is a relatively simple examination but can diagnose hepatic steatosis only at a fairly advanced stage. In fact, it is generally not able to visualize steatosis of small and medium size (ie when the fatty infiltration affects less than 33% of the cells ). Only a biopsy can confirm with certainty the degree of severity of the steatosis and the presence of any complications.
Fatty liver (fatty liver)
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Complications
When working under conditions of maximum exertion, such as a "car that always runs at full throttle, the liver cells can go haywire from too much work. This overload translates, in the long run, into cellular degeneration that causes first the" inflammation and then the death of the hepatocytes. This complication called steatohepatitis is the natural evolution of untreated steatosis.
In alcoholics, fatty liver can thus degenerate first into steatohepatitis and then into cirrhosis (non-reversible degeneration of liver cells).
For further information: Alcoholic Steatosis
The risk that a fatty liver of non-alcoholic origin turns into steatohepatitis (accumulation of fat accompanied by inflammation, fibrosis and necrosis) is quite low (about 5-10% of cases). Dyslipidemia (elevated blood cholesterol and triglycerides), obesity, metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance increase the risk of this complication.
Diet and Cure
For further information: Medicines for the Treatment of the Fatty Liver
The therapeutic approach of steatosis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis consists in modifying the lifestyle, while the efficacy of pharmacological treatments is still uncertain.
At the base of the fatty liver, as we have seen, very often there are dietary causes. These include: a diet excessively rich in fats, alcohol and sugars and, especially in underdeveloped countries, a lack of vitamin B12 (contained exclusively in foods of animal origin), biotin and pantothenic acid.
Diet becomes an even more important factor when we consider that two of the main causes of fatty liver disease (overweight and diabetes) derive in the vast majority of cases from incorrect eating habits.
In the presence of fatty liver it is therefore important to rebalance one's diet, paying particular attention to the use of animal fats (including butter and dairy products), red meat, margarine, alcohol and sweets. use of fats of vegetable origin (olive oil, seed oil, dried fruit, etc.).
Replacing meat with fish or legumes can be of great help in detoxifying the liver (as long as the fish does not contain, as unfortunately often happens, toxins or heavy metals).
The absence of a specific drug therapy contributes to further corroborate the role of the diet (except for those cases in which the disorder is attributable to particular diseases).
To further enhance the beneficial effects of a healthy diet, it is recommended, as always, to combine it with a regular program of physical activity. Endurance sports (swimming, cycling, walking and running) are particularly recommended.
See also: Diet and Fatty Liver and Remedies for Fatty Liver
Other articles on "Fatty Liver"
- Enlarged liver
- Fatty Liver - Drugs for the Treatment of Fatty Liver
- Fatty liver - Herbal medicine
- Diet and Fatty Liver Disease - Fatty liver
- Example Diet Hepatic Steatosis
