The scenario is much more common today than in years past. A patient who doesn’t abuse alcohol or have chronic hepatitis is admitted to the hospital, many times the ICU, and is in end stage liver failure caused by nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
NASH is the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) into a much more serious disease. It includes the fatty liver of NAFLD and inflames and damages that organ. According to recent studies, there more than 64 million Americans living with NAFLD. Many of those patients will go on to develop NASH.
Expanding Belts, Expanding Epidemic
NASH is a problem that is going to continue to grow as the waistlines of Americans continue to expand and the nation’s diabetes epidemic grows in sheer numbers of patients involved. Experts believe that there are over 29 million diabetics currently living in the U.S. That number is expected to grow over coming decades.
“NASH…[IS] BECOMING MORE COMMON, POSSIBLY BECAUSE OF THE GREATER NUMBER OF AMERICANS WITH OBESITY. IN THE PAST 10 YEARS, THE RATE OF OBESITY HAS DOUBLED IN ADULTS AND TRIPLED IN CHILDREN.”
— The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
NASH attacks the liver, which is located on the right side of your body under the ribs. The liver is responsible for:
- Removing toxic substances from your bloodstream
- Processing the food you eat into energy the body uses in its day-to-day activities
The medical conditions type-2 diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome are prime contributors to both conditions developing. One of the issues health care providers struggle with is that, for the most part, NASH is a silent disease and most patients are symptom-free.
Additionally, NASH does not have FDA-approved pharmacological treatments at this time; however, treatment is still possible. Of course, the best scenario is one where prevention is the focus.
By maintaining a healthy weight and eating a healthy diet, many can avoid fatty liver disease. But if NAFLD or NASH has been diagnosed, the proper course of action is still the same: lose weight. Weight reduction and a lowering of the Body Mass Index (BMI) can lead to a reduction of fat in the liver, fibrosis, and inflammation.
That’s it. Weight loss, diet change, and exercise can prevent and treat fatty liver disease. Some basic habit changes including cessation or a reduction in alcohol intake can also help. Many prescription and over-the-counter drugs use the liver for metabolism and their use should be monitored when liver damage is suspected.
The good news is, that in cases where cirrhosis is not advanced, the disease can be stopped and possibly reversed depending on the severity of the liver’s damage.
