1. Home
  2. Latest Update

FATTY LIVER – WHAT DOES IT MEANS?

Q1. What is “fatty liver”?

·         Fatty liver or Liver steatosis or is when there is imbalance in fat handling by liver.Fat droplets accumulate in the liver cells and cause it to appear more ‘echogenic’ (brighter / whiter) on the ultrasound scan. 

Q2.  What are the types of fatty liver?

·         Nonalcoholic fatty liver- fat build up in the liver not linked to drinking alcohol.

·         Alcoholic fatty liver- fat build up in the liver linked to drinking excessive daily alcohol.

 

Q3. What causes fatty liver?

·         Non-alcoholic fatty liver is caused by-

o   Obesity – most common

o   Diabetes mellitus (adult onset type 2). It is the most important factor because in this diabetes it’s the insulin in your body that’s not able to work. Although the levels of insulin in blood are high but its function is impaired, a condition called “Insulin resistance’. This is turn increases blood pressure, increases triglycerides andcauses  fatty liver

o   Having metabolic syndrome:combination of excess body weight with insulin resistance with high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol levels.

Q4. Why don’t I have any pain or discomfort?

·         Fatty liver usually has no symptoms. Sometimes if the liver is enlarged there can be slight discomfort in the right upper abdomen.

 

Q5.Is it harmful for my liver to be fatty?

·         Usually it does not cause any serious problem in most people but one should consider this finding as a first warning to be aware about your------

Ø  Body weight

Ø  Blood sugar levels

Ø  Blood cholesterol levels

Ø  Blood pressure

Ø  Alcohol intake

Also some 10-20% people with fatty liver might develop steatohepatitis - a more severe form in which liver function gets affected.

 

Q6. How is fatty liver disease diagnosed?

·         Ultrasound scan whole abdomen:-This will check the texture and size of the liver and grade fatty liver as Grade I, II or III. And also if the surface is smooth or nodular.

·         Fibroscan liver: It checks and measures the fibrosis (scarring)and steatosis (fatty change) in the liver. Used as aadditional test to ultrasound scan.

·         Coupled with your ultrasound scan are the blood tests. Liver function tests (GOT or GPT; also called AST and ALT) are often slightly above normal. Blood sugar; blood cholesterol levels need to be checked also.

 

 

Q7.Can  “Fatty liver” be prevented?

 

Yes. Maintain the following:

Ø  Healthy weight- If overweight, loose weight gradually.

Ø  Alcohol should be limited or avoided.

Ø  Exercise regularly to maintain your blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Ø  Get your annual health checkincluding complete blood tests in fasting state and ultrasound whole abdomen to follow-up and see the progression/regression ofgrade  andof fatty liver has come and how’s the progress. Severity of fatty liver on ultrasound correlates with the risk of metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus and heart disease.

Ø  Take medicines as prescribed by your health care specialist.

 

Q8. How is fatty liver treated?

 There is no single treatment for fatty liver. We need to treat the underlying cause as mentioned in the preventive measures.

 

For further queries please visit our website  www.wishdiagnostics.com or email us at wishimaging@gmail.com or call at 011-41087024,25

 

 

Copyright © 2017 Women Imaging Specialities in Healthcare. All Rights Reserved.