What is Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)?

For Fibronostics

The liver performs a multitude of functions including digesting food, processing nutrients, and eliminating toxic byproducts in the blood.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of more than two dozen diseases of the liver. NAFLD is a condition in which too much fat is stored in the liver not accumulated as a result of alcohol consumption. The related disease of alcoholic liver disease is caused by a buildup of fat due to heavy alcohol use. (published site)

Simple Fatty Liver vs NASH

There are two types of NAFLD, one is simple fatty liver disease and the second is nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH. Simple fatty liver disease and NASH are two separate conditions. People typically develop one type of NAFLD or the other, although sometimes people with one form are later diagnosed with the other form of NAFLD.

The main difference in the two is inflammation; NAFLD causes little or no inflammation and thus does not progress to liver damage or complications. NASH, sometimes referred to as hepatitis involves inflammation, which causes cell damage that can lead to fibrosis, scarring, and if left untreated, cirrhosis, and liver cancer.

NAFLD is among the most common causes of liver disease in the United States, although only a small number of people with NAFLD have NASH. Experts estimate that about 20 percent of people with NAFLD have NASH. Why some people with NAFLD have NASH and others don’t is unknown.

Risk factors

People who are obese or have type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of NAFLD, with 40 to 80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes also having NAFLD according to research, and among obese people between 30 and 90 percent of people have NAFLD.

While NAFLD occurs in all people, those of Hispanic and Asian ethnicity have higher risk than other racial or ethnic groups of developing NAFLD with normal range weight. People with NAFLD have a greater chance of also developing cardiovascular disease, which is the most common cause of death for people with either NAFLD or NASH.

Diagnosing NAFLD or NASH

Liver function tests are used to determine how well your liver is working and ultrasound can be used to detect fibrosis. Blood tests measure levels of proteins and enzymes in your blood. These blood tests often indicate only one or two measures of liver function, which might indicate liver disease. Other tests combine multiple blood chemistry factors and proteins along with other factors such as age, weight to produce a fuller picture of liver condition. LiverFAStTM is one such multi-factor, non-invasive liver disease screen for the early detection of fatty liver, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and fibrosis.

Fibronostics is committed to leveraging the benefits of technology to improve lives, and deliver high-quality, life-improving disease education,evaluation and monitoring. For more information contact us via email, or by phone at 1-888-552-1603.

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