Fatty liver a disease that can cause cancer
Fatty liver, as its name implies, is a condition where fat accumulates in the organ. This occurs due to a failure in the proper functioning of the liver.
In the human body we can find many important organs and among them there are some that stand out like the liver.
It is one of the most important organs of the human body, which helps in the metabolization of fats during the digestion of food in the liver and likewise eliminates toxins.
Is fatty liver a “silent” disease?
It is said that this disease is “silent” because it can end up being asymptomatic and just as it is silent it can be deadly since it can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer. Among the most common causes are:
• Overweight.
• Diabetes.
• Cholesterol and triglycerides high.
• Arterial hypertension.
• Unhealthy diet.
• Lose weight quickly.
• Intestinal diseases.
• Be a person of medium or greater age.
• Treatment with medications such as corticosteroids and anti-cancer drugs.
Types of fatty liver
Alcoholic fatty liver
Unlike the one named above in this case fatty liver if caused by alcohol. Remember that the liver has the function of breaking down the ingested alcohol and then removing it from our body. However, this process can cause certain substances that end up damaging the liver cells.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver
This type of condition occurs when the liver can not metabolize fats correctly, causing storage in the tissues. As you must imagine, this type of condition is not caused by alcohol. In this we find two types:
• Simple fatty liver: in this case the amount of fat in the liver is low, or no inflammation or damage in the cells of that organ. Fortunately this guy does not cause damage or complications.
• Non-alcoholic hepatic steatosis: Here if there is inflammation and damage to the liver cells. All this can cause fibrosis or scarring of the liver.
Symptoms of fatty liver
As we mentioned earlier, this disease can be asymptomatic, meaning that it may not have any symptoms. In case you have symptoms, the most common are:
• General discomfort.
• Chronic tiredness.
• Chronic fatigue.
• Dolo in the upper right part of the abdomen.
• Jaundice.
Diagnosis and treatment for fatty liver
As it is an asymptomatic disease, it is not very easy to diagnose. To be able to know if an individual has fatty liver, some tests must be carried out, which are:
• Blood test: This is done to know and evaluate the levels of transaminases and bilirubin.
• Ultrasound: With this it is possible to determine the brightness of the liver; the more brightness the greater the damage.
• Liver biopsies: it is done to know what the degree of liver damage is.
Regarding the treatment for this condition, it is recommended as a first step to lose weight, however, the weight loss should not be sudden. For this we recommend you to have a healthy diet and exercise regularly.
Another important aspect is to eliminate any medication that affects this condition and how you should imagine the consumption of alcohol is also prohibited.
Finally, it has discovered that vitamin E and thiazolidinediones which are substances used in the treatment for diabetes have a positive effect, to treat this condition.
