Fatty Liver Diagnosis

Your liver is one of the largest organs in your body, weighing in at approximately 3 pounds. It is responsible for important functions like filtering toxins out of your blood, creating bile and regulating metabolism (just to name a few). Fatty liver is an accumulation of fat in your liver cells that can lead to serious complications.

The Facts

• Your liver normally contains some fat. If more than 10 percent of the weight of your liver comes from fat, you have a condition called fatty liver. In some cases, the condition does not damage liver tissue. In other instances, the overabundance of fat in your liver creates inflammation that damages your liver. This is called steatohepatitis. It is often referred to in connection with alcoholism (alcoholic steatohepatitis), but it can also occur without regard to alcohol consumption (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis).

  If the inflammation in your liver is left untreated, scar tissue begins to form. As time goes by, the scar tissue begins replacing healthy liver tissue, compromising your liver function and leading to serious health risks. This is called cirrhosis. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (often called NASH) is one of the leading cirrhosis causes.

Symptoms

• Symptoms of fatty liver are generally non-existent. Most patients learn that they have the condition after undergoing testing for other conditions or reasons. As the disease progresses, you may experience symptoms like confusion, weakness, fatigue, diminished appetite, abdominal pain and weight loss.

Risk Factors

• Risk factors for developing fatty liver include high triglyceride levels and diabetes. Other risk factors include rapid weight loss, malnutrition, drug use, exposure to toxins, history of metabolic disorders, insulin resistance and alcohol abuse. Generally, overeating or eating a high-fat diet does not cause the condition; however, obesity is a risk factor. To develop the disease, your liver's ability to break down fat must be compromised in some way, allowing the excess fat to accumulate.

Diagnosis

• The condition is frequently diagnosed beginning with a blood test. If your liver function results are abnormal or if your doctor notices that your liver is enlarged, he may suspect that you have fatty liver. Additional blood tests, an MRI, a CT scan or ultrasounds may rule out other forms of liver disease. A liver biopsy is often helpful in determining a definitive diagnosis.

Treatment

• According to the American Liver Foundation, new methods of treatment are at the center of research efforts. There are currently no medical treatments available. There are, however, guidelines that can help to prevent further damage or even reverse some of the damage done to your liver. For example:
  Safely lose weight. Plan to lose no more than one to two pounds weekly.
  Reduce your triglyceride levels using medication, diet or a combination of the two.
  Refrain from drinking alcohol.
  Maintain control of your diabetes.
  Adopt a healthy, balanced diet and an active lifestyle.