What Are the Conditions & Treatments of a Fatty Liver?

Fatty liver, also known as steatosis, is a condition characterized by the buildup of abnormally high levels of fat in the liver. In and of itself, fatty liver is usually asymptomatic. However, high levels of fat sometimes lead to inflammation of the liver, creating a condition called steatohepatitis. According to the American Liver Foundation (ALF), this inflammatory condition has two basic types: alcoholic steatohepatitis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Symptoms

• Fatty liver itself has no significant symptoms and is likely to go undetected until your doctor notices some anomaly in your blood test or determines that your liver is abnormally large when he palpates your abdomen with his hands. Fatty liver may progress to steatohepatitis and still remain asymptomatic for years. However, in time this liver inflammation is likely to manifest with such symptoms as abdominal pain, fatigue, weight loss, confusion and weakness, according to the ALF.

Diagnosis

• Once alerted to the possibility of fatty liver, your doctor will order other tests to pinpoint the cause. These may include additional blood tests and ultrasound, CT or MRI scans of the liver. If these additional tests turn up no sign of another liver condition, your doctor may diagnose fatty liver. However, the only definitive proof of fatty liver is through a biopsy, according to the ALF. For that test, the doctor will obtain liver cells through a needle and then submit them for microscopic examination to determine whether fatty liver is present.

Causes

• Generally speaking, fatty liver is a condition caused by excess---too much eating and/or drinking. Excessive amounts of food or beverages may present the liver with a burden it is unable to handle, causing the fats it is unable to process to build up in the organ. Those at high risk for fatty liver include alcoholics and those who are overweight or obese, as well as those with diabetes or high levels of triglyceride (type of fat lipid). For an unfortunate few, fatty liver may develop on its own, perhaps due to genetic factors.

Treatment

• Although medical researchers are working hard to develop methods for treating fatty liver, there is at present no medical or surgical treatment available. However, the ALF suggests that lifestyle modifications can be made to prevent the onset of fatty liver or even reverse the condition. These include losing weight, minimizing triglyceride intake through diet or medication, controlling diabetes if you have it, increasing physical activity, eating a healthy diet and stopping or minimizing alcohol consumption.

Cirrhosis

• If your fatty liver leads to either form of steatohepatitis, the inflammatory character of that condition may scar or harden the tissue of the liver over time. This will put you at risk of developing cirrhosis, a far more serious disease that eventually could result in liver failure.