Fatty liver disease and signs, causes, treatment

What is fatty liver disease?

The liver is a large internal organ, accounting for about 2% of an adult’s body weight and about 5% of a child’s body weight. The liver has the function of synthesizing substances when they are eaten (sugar, protein, fat …) and at the same time eliminating toxins.

In fact, fat always exists in the liver but less than 5% of its weight. When the amount of fat loaded into the body is high and stored more than 5%, it will cause fatty liver.

Fatty liver disease pictures

Fatty liver is detected on ultrasound images mainly based on symptoms such as increased brightness in different areas of the liver or increased brightness of liver tissue.

Depending on the severity of the disease, the liver morphology on ultrasound will appear scattered or concentrated in areas. When the liver is fatty, the sonographer will not see or clearly see the external vascular system on the liver.

In addition, when the liver is fatty, the echogenicity of the liver is superior to that of the renal cortex and spleen, there is attenuation of ultrasound waves, loss of diaphragm clarity, and poor delineation of intrahepatic structures. .

Signs of fatty liver disease

Fatty liver is a progressive neurological disease. In the early stages, there are almost no symptoms. Patients sometimes feel tired, full of stomach. This symptom is quite general so it is easy to ignore.

Then, more fat accumulates, affecting the volume, causing the liver to enlarge. Some cases have pain in the right lower quadrant. In more severe cases, jaundice will occur – then liver function has been severely affected.

The signs of fatty liver are often subtle. Therefore, if the patient is in the risk group, the patient needs to be screened early to detect, instead of waiting until there are clear symptoms to go to the doctor.

Causes of fatty liver disease

According to Dr. Cao Ngoc Tuan, Deputy Head of the Department of Gastroenterology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, the leading cause of fatty liver is drinking a lot of alcohol. In moderation, the liver can convert alcohol into non-toxic substances. But if too much, the liver cannot filter will cause liver cell damage, inflammation, fibrosis and fatty liver.

Fat: The risk of fatty liver disease in obese people is many times higher than that of the general population due to frequent fat supply exceeding the body’s absorption threshold, causing fat accumulation in the liver.

High cholesterol: Too much lipid in the blood passes through the liver, the cholesterol in the blood increases, if it exceeds the liver’s metabolic capacity, it will cause fat in the blood.

Diabetes: High blood sugar will form a coating that makes the liver lose its cholesterol metabolism function, leading to the accumulation of cholesterol, causing fatty liver.

Prolonged use of the drug: In some cases, due to prolonged use of drugs to treat other diseases, drug metabolism affects fat metabolism in the liver. However, this is a rare cause.

According to Dr. Tuan, fatty liver is a non-hereditary disease. However, some causes of the disease can be inherited, for example diabetes, dyslipidemia with familial factors. Meanwhile, the cause of alcohol is related to lifestyle.

Is fatty liver disease dangerous?

According to statistics, about 50% of patients with fatty liver have the risk of progressing to hepatitis and cirrhosis. Among hepatitis and cirrhosis, 4-5% is converted to liver cancer.

When fatty liver complications begin, it is very difficult to have a chance to cure, the patient must accept living with the disease and long-term treatment.

Fatty liver progresses silently and its biggest harm is liver cancer. The more severe the disease, the more it affects the patient’s life. When turning to liver cancer, patients may need invasive treatment such as surgery or liver transplant.

Grades of fatty liver disease

Relatively, the disease is divided into 3 levels:

Fatty liver grade 1: Fat percentage accounts for 5 – 10% of the total weight of the liver. The signs are usually very mild or even absent.

Fatty liver grade 2: The percentage of fat accounts for 10-25% of the weight of the liver, the fat has spread to the liver tissues. However, if not treated properly and promptly, the disease can progress to grade 3.

Fatty liver grade 3: This is the most dangerous stage, very difficult to treat and recover, liver function is impaired. Increased risk of complications such as cirrhosis, liver cancer, which can lead to death.

Fatty liver treatment

Regarding treatment, according to doctor Cao Ngoc Tuan, it can be divided into 2 groups:

Fatty liver group but normal liver enzymes: The treatment method is lifestyle adjustment, no need for drugs, periodic examination every 3-6 months.

Fatty liver group with hepatitis and liver damage: Identify the cause of the disease to treat the cause, combined with lifestyle adjustments, to prevent worsening.

Fatty liver disease can be completely treated with drugs, not surgery, but when it is severe like liver cancer, the intervention plan will be more invasive. In some cases, even a liver transplant must be considered.

Prevent fatty liver disease

If people do not have diabetes or dyslipidemia, people can completely prevent the disease by improving their lifestyle and activities.

Exercise: You should practice sports every day, at least 30 minutes/day and at least 3 times/week, preferably 5 times/week. This helps maintain a healthy weight and reduce the amount of fat in the liver.

Diet: It is necessary to increase the intake of green vegetables and fruits to supplement vitamins, especially vitamins A and E. Vegetables and fruits help strengthen the function, cool the liver, and avoid the accumulation of extra fat in the liver.

With animal protein, you should choose to eat fish and chicken; Limit the intake of organs, beef is a type of animal protein rich in cholesterol, which increases the risk of fat accumulation and puts a burden on the liver.

Limit alcohol because it affects the liver and many other organs of the body. If drinking, should drink in moderation, slowly, do not drink much in a short time. People who have fatty liver must absolutely give up alcohol.

In addition, people should maintain the habit of medical examination health periodic. If the blood test has elevated liver enzymes, the doctor will order more ultrasounds and other tests to detect the disease. In some cases, if cirrhosis is suspected, further ultrasound is used to determine the extent of cirrhosis in patients with fatty liver.