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Fatty liver

Fatty liver or steatosis hepatis is a reversible condition seen in chronic alcoholism and many other conditions, where large vacuoles of lipid accumulate in hepatocytes (the cells of the liver). Accumulation of fat in liver cells will cause the liver to enlarge. The lipid within the vacuoles is a particular type of lipid known as triglyceride. Triglyceride molecules consist of a glycerol backbone with three fatty acid molecules joined on. more...

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Causes

Many chemicals, such as alcohol and drugs can cause fatty liver.

Fatty liver can occur in diabetes mellitus and in pregnancy. It can also be seen in starvation and obesity. In addition, it is also a minor symptom of hepatitis

Pathology

Fatty change represents the intracytoplasmic accumulation of triglyceride (neutral fats). At the beginning, the hepatocytes present small fat vacuoles (liposomes) around the nucleus - microvesicular fatty change. In the late stages, the size of the vacuoles increases pushing the nucleus to the periphery of the cell - macrovesicular fatty change. These vesicles are well delineated and optically "empty" because fats solves during tissue processing. Large vacuoles may coalesce, producing fatty cysts - which are irrevesible lesions. 1

Treatment and prevention

The treatment of fatty liver depends on what is causing it, and generally, treating the underlying cause will remove the problem.

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Transaminase levels and fatty liver disease - Medical News From Around World - serum transaminase; nonalocholic fatty liver disease
From Nutrition Health Review, 12/22/02

ITALY--Elevated serum transaminase levels are often found in patients who do not have diabetes or dyslipidemias, but the clinical significance of "nonalcoholic fatty liver disease" is not clear.

Researchers studied 46 patients with chronically elevated levels of serum transaminase. The study included ultrasound examinations of the fatty livers and comparisons of numerous age-and-sex-matched control levels of patients with normal transaminase levels.

It was found that serum cholesterol levels were similar in the patients who had nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and in the control group, but 61 percent of the patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease had elevated levels of triglycerides, in contrast to only 21 percent of the control patients. Fasting insulin levels in these patients were also twice as high as in the control group.

(Source: American Journal of Medicine, November 1, 1999.)

COPYRIGHT 2002 Vegetus Publications
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group

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