Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or simply NAFLD, describes a condition where excess fat accumulates in the liver of people who consume little or no alcohol at all. Although some amount of fat may accumulate in the liver of a normal individual, having fat that takes up to five to ten percent of your liver weight can cause fatty liver disease, which may lead to serious health problems.
What is Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ?
The liver is a large, complex organ with many vital functions. One of these is the synthesis, transport, and metabolism of fat, which is an important source of energy. Fat may accumulate in large amounts in the liver when an abnormality in these functions occur, such that there is increased synthesis and/ or reduced transport and metabolism of fat. It is normal to have some fat in the liver, as with other organs in the body, but when more than 5% of the liver's weight consists of fat, a condition called fatty liver disease develops.
Fatty liver disease is generally categorized into alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, depending on the cause. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is further classified into isolated fatty liver (IFL), in which there is no inflammation involved, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), in which inflammation is involved, often leading to liver damage and serious complications.
NAFLD affects 30 percent of the US adult population and is now the leading cause of chronic liver disease in the country. NASH can progress to serious liver damage, causing cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) and liver cancer, which can lead to liver failure and death. Aside from these, NAFLD is also associated with serious conditions such as heart disease and stroke.
What Causes Non-A...
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...olic liver disease, NAFLD is one of the most common reasons this procedure is being done in the US. Furthermore, with the increasing incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes, it is predicted that fatty liver disease may become the leading cause of liver transplants.
Works Cited
Medicine Net. Fatty Liver (Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease [NAFLD] and Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis [NASH]). http://www.medicinenet.com/fatty_liver/article.htm.
Mayo Clinic. Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nonalcoholic-fatty-liver-disease/basics/definition/con-20027761.
WebMD. Fatty Liver Disease. http://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/fatty-liver-disease.
Lazo M, Hernaez R, Bonekamp S, et al. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and mortality among US adults: prospective cohort study. BMJ 2011;343:d6891. http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d6891
Wolfe, R., Merion, R., Roys, E., & Port, F. (2009). Trends in Organ Donation and Transplantation in the United States, 1998-2007. American Journal of Transplantation , 9, 869-878.
The liver is a vital organ in the body which does many things in order to keep the body functioning smoothly. The most important functions of the liver are:
Once ingested, food must be digested so it is available for energy and maintenance of body structure and function. Alcohol inhibits the breakdown of nutrients into usable molecules by decreasing secretion of digestive enzymes from the pancreas. Alcohol impairs nutrient absorption by damaging the cells lining the stomach and intestines and disabling transport of some nutrients into the blood. In addition, nutritional deficiencies themselves may lead to further absorption problems. For example, foliate deficiency alters the cells lining the small intestine, which in turn impairs absorption of water and nutrients including glucose, sodium, and additional foliate. Even if nutrients are digested and absorbed, alcohol can prevent them from being fully utilized by altering their transport, storage, and excretion. Decreased liver stores of vitamins such as vitamin A and increased excretion of nutrients such as fat, indicate impaired utilization of nutrients by alcoholics.
A condition called steatosis is the result of fat buildup in the liver and is the earliest stage of alcoholic liver disease. This condition causes the liver difficulty breaking down alcohol, potentially resulting in alcoholic hepatitis. Fibrosis of the liver, which is also related to heavy drinking, causes scar tissue to build up in the liver. Alcohol alters chemicals that the liver needs to break down scar tissue, causing liver dysfunction. If one does not refrain from drinking during the fibrosis season, the scar tissue can build up and create another condition, called cirrhosis.
Autoimmune hepatitis is life threatening form of liver inflammation, in which the body’s immune system attacks liver cells causing scarring otherwise known as cirrhosis, liver failure, and if not caught in time transplantation (Mayo Clinic Staff). “Scientists don’t know why the body attacks itself in this way, although heredity and prior infections may play a role” (American Liver Foundation).Type 1 of AIH is the most classic case. It can occur at any age and is often developed very fast. Type 2 is less common and is mainly found in young women (American Liver Foundation).Type 3 occurs in adults between the ages of thirty to fifty (Frey, Longe, and Ricker). Type 1 is often accompanied by other autoimmune disorders. Type 1 diabetes, Rheumatoid arthritis, Graves disease, Sjogren syndrome, and inflammatory bowel syndrome are often also seen in patients with autoimmune hepatitis (PubMed Health). About 70 percent of p...
After a matter of time you will begin to notice some symptoms. The most common symptoms are: weakness, fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, yellowing of the skin, itchy skin, ascites, bleeding, bruising, and mental health changes. (Kenny, Tim ) Cirrhosis can also cause complications to other areas of the body. Ascites is fluid that is present on the inside cavity of the abdomen. Cirrhosis can cause the fluid to build up between the layers of the abdomen and make it become enlarged. Portal Hypertension is also caused by having cirrhosis. The blood flow slows down in the major blood vessel and creates pressure on the inside of the vein. The blood then returns to the heart by different blood vessels. When this happens, the increased blood flowing through these vessels become swollen causing varices. The varices can be easily broken because of the high blood pressure flow and could ultimately cause death. Also, when the liver is unable to remove toxins from the blood, the loss of brain function can occur. This is called Hepatic Encephalopathy. This occurs when the liver does not detoxify and breakdown body substances and the toxins build up in the bloodstream. Sedatives and narcotics can make Encephalopathy worse, so liver disease patients are not allowed to take these medicines. (Liver Anatomy
Like many of the organs in our body, the liver plays a vital role and function in our body, which in turn helps keep our bodies nice and healthy. The liver is the second largest organ in our body, located just underneath the rib cage on the right side. Some of the liver’s functions include: producing bile, producing proteins, metabolizing nutrients, removing potentially toxic byproducts of certain medications, and helping our body fight infection by removing bacteria from the blood. Although the liver can carry out its necessary functions in its healthy state, there is a disease which causes damage to the liver called, liver cirrhosis. It is important to learn and educate ourselves on the many aspects
We will discover what happens to the body if too much alcohol is consumed. Here is a list of just a few of the problems associated with overindulgence with alcohol. This list includes heart problems such as; Cardiomyopathy – Stretching and drooping of heart muscle, Arrhythmias – Irregular heartbeat, Stroke, High blood pressure. The liver can develop such problems such as Steatosis, or fatty liver, Alcoholic hepatitis, Fibrosis, Cirrhosis. It also can lead to different types of cancer such as mouth, esophagus, throat, liver, and breast. ("Alcohol 's Effects on the Body") The major part that is negative that I never even considered as a major risk was all the risks of different cancers. I always believed mouth cancer was caused by smoking or chewing tobacco, not consuming too much alcohol. I think it is interesting to see that the overconsumption of alcohol can be shown to increase the risks of cancer. Stroke is a major problem that affects millions of people per year worldwide. I didn’t know until now that the overconsumption of alcohol could increase your risks of it. One thing not listed above is the fact that if you drink too much beer you can become dehydrated because the body can’t absorb the water in the beer because of the alcohol. It is a major problem that alcoholics face. A person’s liver can repair itself to a certain degree. If an alcoholic stops drinking his/her liver will start
With respect to disruptions in blood pressure and osmolarity, the amount of non-alcoholic fatty liver tissue will increase. In homeostatic circumstances, insulin signals the liver to manufacture fat. As insulin levels increase because they are not binding to receptors, the liver proceeds to manufacture more and more triglycerides and cholestrol that gets stored in arteries and other organs. Insulin resistance causes hyperglycemia, which cripples the liver’s ability to metabolize lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. The brain will tell Scotty that he needs to drink more water due to excess fluid loss in his urine (Mohamed, Nazratun Nafizah, Zariyantey, & Budin,
Page Description: Liver enlargement occurs due to swelling of liver beyond the normal size. It causes extreme pain in the liver and may occur due to fatty liver. Symptoms vary and may be confused with other medical conditions.
Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Many illnesses and conditions can cause inflammation of the liver, for example, drugs, alcohol, chemicals, and autoimmune diseases. Many viruses, for example, the virus of Mononucleosis (Mono) and the Cytomegalovirus can inflame the liver. The effects that hepatitis has on the liver is very similar to the effects of alcohol causes, this virus is the leading cause of liver cancer and the common reason for liver transplants. Liver disease has seemed to plague our society for many, many years. Studies have shown that hepatitis and jaundice reports have confirmed that the virus has been an infectious liver disease, as early as the 8th century.
Hepatitis is a word that describes an inflammation of the liver. According to Evelyn Strauss, who has a Ph.D. in biochemistry, this progresses to scarring of the liver tissue. The scarring of the liver tissue causes decreased functionality of the liver, cancer, and possibly death. Many people were afflicted with hepatitis in the past ("2000 Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research").
Added sugars are hard for your body to process, and they leave the liver unable to store fat efficiently. This leaves fatty tissue surrounding the liver. Bits of fat around the liver can lead to liver disease, which is a recent problem that was rarely associated with people who didn't drink excessively.
Alcohol in the form of alcoholic beverages has been consumed by humans since pre-historic times, for a variety of hygiene dietary, medicinal, religions and recreational reasons. According to the NIH Senior Health, drinking too much alcohol affects many parts of the body. It can be especially harmful to the liver, the organ that metabolizes (breaks down) alcohol and other harmful substances. People who drink heavily for a long time can develop diseases such as liver inflammation (alcoholic hepatitis) or severe liver scarring (cirrhosis). Alcohol-related liver disease can cause death. According to the statistics in the year 2010 by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and prevention) the number of discharges with chronic liver disease and cirrhosis as the first-listed diagnosis was 101,000 persons, while the number of deaths has been 31,903 persons.
.... P., Mamun, A. A., & Bonneux, L. (2003). Obesity in adulthood and its consequences for life expectancy: A life-table analysis. Retrieved from http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=715888