The pathological condition of the liver, caused by metabolic and nutritional disorders, in which the accumulation of fatty inclusions, as well as drops of fat in hepatocytes, is called steatosis of the liver or “fatty liver”. Liver steatosis ("steatosis hepatis", Greek.) Can be either an independent disease, or have the character of a syndrome. If more than 5% of the liver mass is fat, it is called fat.
The pathogenesis of this disease is not well understood. The main reasons underlying its occurrence are considered to be: excessive intake of free fatty acids, enhanced synthesis and esterification of fatty acids, reduced oxidation and reduced protein synthesis, as well as impaired lipoprotein secretion.
The main etiological factors include: toxic effects on the liver, endocrine and metabolic disorders, nutritional imbalance and hypoxia. A special place among the factors of a toxic nature belongs to alcohol and food imbalance, the role of other toxic factors is less significant. The degree of dystrophic change and the speed of its development is higher, the greater the volume of alcohol consumed. Medicinal liver steatosis sometimes develops, for example, in the treatment of antibiotics, tuberculostatic drugs, corticosteroids and cytostatics. The main endocrine and metabolic disorders include diabetes mellitus, thyroid pathology, Itsenko-Cushing's syndrome and general obesity.
Hepatic steatosis: symptoms.
There are two main types of morphological signs of excessive accumulation of fat in the liver: microscopic and macroscopic accumulation. Large-droplet, or macroscopic, accumulation is characteristic of alcoholism, obesity and the second type of diabetes mellitus. The severity of this type of steatosis corresponds to an increase in total body weight, and when it decreases (starvation or low-calorie diet), this indicator also decreases, and liver function returns to normal.
The course of this disease is usually long, many years, periods of relative remission are replaced by periods of exacerbation, which are most often provoked by physical or mental stress, infections and alcohol intake. Most often, the disease is asymptomatic, however, some patients experience heaviness and overflow in the right hypochondrium, umbilical or epigastric region of the abdomen, its bloating and intolerance to fatty foods. Most steatosis of the liver are susceptible to women with increased body weight. Diagnosis of this disease is carried out using ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. In addition, biochemical blood tests are performed, the final diagnosis is established after a puncture biopsy of the liver.
Hepatic steatosis : treatment.
Patients diagnosed with liver steatosis are given a strict diet, in which proteins predominate and fats are limited. In addition, drugs are prescribed that help to improve the metabolism of fats (folic acid, vitamin B12, choline chloride, lipoic acid). Liver medications such as ripazone, progepar and sirepar are also prescribed, as well as sufficient physical activity.
Prevention of steatosis of the liver.
Most often, this disease occurs when excessive consumption of animal fats, as well as in violation of protein metabolism, therefore, an important measure for the prevention of liver steatosis is a balanced diet. Also, in order to prevent steatosis, an additional intake of antioxidants and dietary supplements, which have detoxifying properties, is recommended. In addition, it is necessary to prevent prolonged digestive disorders, and, without waiting for complications, to treat them competently and in a timely manner.