LYCOS RETRIEVER
Liver: Fatty Liver
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The term hepatitis means inflammation of and damage to the liver cells. Steato (pronounced stee-at´-toe) refers to fat. Therefore, steatohepatitis is inflammation of the liver related to fat accumulation. Heavy alcohol use can lead to fatty liver and inflammation, usually called alcoholic hepatitis. Steatohepatitis resembles alcoholic hepatitis, but it can and does occur in people who seldom or never drink alcohol. In this instance, it is often called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH.
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Fatty liver usually causes no symptoms. Some people may feel tired or have vague abdominal discomfort. The liver tends to enlarge and can be detected by the doctor during a physical examination. If doctors suspect fatty liver, they'll ask about alcohol use. This information is crucial. Continued and excessive alcohol use will cause severe liver damage.
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[Y]our liver isn't indestructible — liver problems are possible. Excessive alcohol consumption over many years is a leading cause of liver disease. Too much alcohol can make a normal liver swell with fat, causing a condition called fatty liver. If the fat becomes inflamed, it can lead to either alcoholic hepatitis, a liver problem that causes serious but often reversible liver damage, or cirrhosis, which causes irreversible liver damage. Because of extensive scarring, a cirrhotic liver shrinks to a fraction of its normal size.
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The fatty liver may or may not be inflamed. Inflammation may then develop into scarring (fibrosis). Fibrosis often progresses into cirrhosis. Fatty liver (with or without fibrosis) due to any condition except alcoholism is called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. This disorder develops most often in people with the metabolic syndrome.
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The liver clears toxins from the body, processes food nutrients and is involved in regulating body metabolism. Fat accumulation, alcohol misuse, viral infection, iron or copper accumulation, toxic damage and cancer can prevent the liver from performing its vital functions. Liver disorders include fatty liver, cirrhosis, hepatitis, haemochromatosis, autoimmune liver disorders, cancer and some rare inherited diseases.
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Thebest knownforms of liver disease are hepatitis and cirrhosis. Fatty liver disease can be the result of obesity, as the name implies. Liver cancer can begin in the liver itself, or be the result of metastasis (meaning it started in another organ and spread to the liver).
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