A fatty liver, also known as steatosis, describes a liver condition in which fats, or triglycerides, accumulate in the cells within the liver. Although a fatty liver often fails to cause any noticeable symptoms, if the condition goes undetected and the cause remains, it can lead to complications. As the fat continues to accumulate, it can cause scarring of the liver tissue and lead to cirrhosis.
Cause
The most common causes for a fatty liver in those living in the United States and other Western countries include the excessive use of alcohol, exposure to toxins and taking certain medications, according to the Merck Manual. Other causes include hereditary metabolic disorders that interfere with the normal processing of fat within the body, excessive weight gain and other metabolic abnormalities such as insulin resistance. Patients with viral hepatitis, an autoimmune liver disease in which the immune cells attack the liver or inherited liver diseases may also develop a fatty liver.
Stages
The accumulation of fat in the liver on its own usually fails to cause any permanent liver damage. Some of the patients with a fatty liver may develop non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH for short, according to the American College of Gastroenterology. This condition becomes more serious as the fat accumulation triggers inflammation of the liver cells. Inflammation of the liver cells, a condition known as hepatitis, promotes scarring and can lead to cirrhosis.
Symptoms
Although not all patients will experience symptoms, some may become aware of mild symptoms. Inflammation of the liver caused by the accumulation of fat can cause pain in the upper right portion of the abdomen. Because the liver aids in the digestion of foods and stores energy, malfunctions of the liver can cause both fatigue---a feeling of extreme tiredness caused by a decrease in energy---and weight loss due foods failing to digest completely.
Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis of the liver occurs when scar tissue replaces healthy tissue causing the liver to slowly deteriorate and malfunction. As the twelfth leading cause of death by disease, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, cirrhosis is a serious condition. Although a healthy liver can regenerate cells when they become damaged, a fatty liver interferes with this ability. It therefore becomes important to determine and treat the cause of the fatty liver, which can reverse the accumulation of fat.
Diagnosis
Performing blood tests to determine the level of liver enzymes in the blood can help diagnose the presence of a liver condition such as a fatty liver. However, some patients with fatty liver continue to have normal levels of liver enzymes. An ultrasound of the liver allows medical professional to visualize the liver and see the accumulation of fat. A liver biopsy, the removal of a small piece of liver tissue, can not only determine the presence of fat in the liver but also provide insight to the cause, such as whether alcohol contributed, and the extent of the damage.
