Fatty liver is a condition where fat builds up in the liver, causing symptoms such as fatigue and abdominal pain. It can be caused by excessive alcohol consumption, metabolic imbalances, obesity, and other factors. Diagnosis requires blood tests and imaging, and treatment involves removing the cause. If left untreated, it can lead to cirrhosis and liver failure.
Fatty liver is a condition in which fat builds up in the liver tissues. When this occurs, the various symptoms of fatty liver could include fatigue and abdominal pain, and occasionally results in weight loss. These symptoms are the same regardless of the cause of fatty liver. It can be difficult to diagnose, because for many people, these symptoms are extremely mild and not enough to cause alarm. For others, the symptoms of fatty liver are non-existent.
Symptoms develop from enlarged liver due to fatty tissues. There are a number of causes, one of the most common being excessive alcohol consumption. Fatty liver caused by other factors is also called non-alcoholic fatty liver and simply occurs when the liver has difficulty breaking down fats and instead begins to store them. This can result from a metabolic imbalance, obesity, high cholesterol, excessive consumption of aspirin, tamoxifen or corticosteroids. It can also be associated with diabetes or even pregnancy.
There are different degrees of fatty liver syndrome and it is suspected that every individual has some degree of fat in their liver. Some forms are harmless, but some are not. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is the accumulation of enough fat that the liver becomes inflamed, causing fatty liver symptoms such as abdominal pain and pain. This type can impair the liver’s ability to function and can lead to cirrhosis associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. At this stage, scar tissue builds up in the liver along with fat, which can lead to liver failure.
The symptoms of fatty liver alone are not enough to diagnose the condition. Blood tests can help detect abnormalities in liver function, and tests such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), or ultrasound can help determine if there is excess fat in the liver. If these tests come back to show problems, your doctor may do a liver biopsy to take a sample of the tissue. On examination, it can be determined whether fatty liver is present.
Despite the mild form that fatty liver symptoms usually take, chronic fatigue or discomfort should not be ignored. While generally not life-threatening on its own, fatty liver is a condition that can usually be reversed with the cause removed. When individuals stop drinking, lose weight, or take other steps to control their diabetes or triglyceride levels, the liver has the ability to repair itself. If the causes are not removed, however, fatty liver can develop into cirrhosis, which in turn can lead to liver failure.
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