What is Liver Disease?
Though the liver has incredible regenerative capability, it may suffer damage from long-term insult. Liver diseases are conditions affecting the health and proper function of the liver. Some common liver diseases include viral hepatitis, nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases/NASH, alcoholic hepatitis, and liver cancer. 1.6% of U.S. adults (3.9 million) are diagnosed with liver disease. With a mortality rate of 12.5 per 100,000 people, there's urgent work to be done. (Source: CDC 2016)
Martin, Laura J. Web MD 2017.
What Does the Liver Do?
The liver is the largest organ in the body. Amongst its 500+ roles, the liver is responsible for food processing, energy storage, blood filtration, and immune response. Specifically, the liver contributes by secreting bile for lipid breakdown, storing excess glucose as glycogen, and removing bacteria and toxins from the blood.
What You Need to Know About Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
"Simply Radiology" 2017
Abstaining from excessive alcohol consumption is necessary but not sufficient for optimal liver health. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common condition which exists on a spectrum. The most frequent form is typified by a fatty liver, or fat accumulation inside of the liver cells, and it is estimated that nearly 1 in 3 adults may suffer from NAFLD. While abnormal, the presence of fat in the liver is not necessarily harmful. Many of those who with NAFLD don't even know that they have it, as they often have no obvious symptoms.
This is not to say that NAFLD is benign, as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a condition associated inflammation and scarring of the liver, is a more severe variant of NAFLD that may develop in those who have or are at risk for NAFLD. Risk factors may include obesity, and experts are now emphasizing the importance of screening patients who might be at risk for NAFLD.
Read on at http://patients.gi.org/topics/fatty-liver-disease-nafld/ to learn more about the screening, diagnosis and treatment of NAFLD/NASH.
This is not to say that NAFLD is benign, as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a condition associated inflammation and scarring of the liver, is a more severe variant of NAFLD that may develop in those who have or are at risk for NAFLD. Risk factors may include obesity, and experts are now emphasizing the importance of screening patients who might be at risk for NAFLD.
Read on at http://patients.gi.org/topics/fatty-liver-disease-nafld/ to learn more about the screening, diagnosis and treatment of NAFLD/NASH.