Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0015695 (fatty liver)
 13,941 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Steatohepatitis in children occurs in the childhood version of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), as a result of hepatotoxicity and with certain genetic/metabolic diseases. Until recently, NAFLD was considered to be rare in children. It is now recognized as an important childhood liver disease, especially because childhood obesity is much more common. Children with NAFLD may present as young as 4 years old; males tend to predominate; fibrosis is often found on liver biopsy and cirrhosis has been reported. Treatment for childhood NAFLD currently consists of weight reduction plus regular aerobic exercise; vitamin E may be an effective adjunctive therapy. Drug hepatotoxicity and genetic/metabolic diseases that can cause fatty liver, such as Wilson's disease and cystic fibrosis, must be excluded since treatment is radically different. Other causes of chronic hepatitis, such as chronic viral hepatitis, must also be excluded. Multisystemic inherited diseases with hyperinsulinaemia plus insulin resistance may have NAFLD as hepatic involvement and should be identified.
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PMID:Steatohepatitis in children. 1240 43

Chronic liver disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Although often used to detect liver disease, the prevalence and etiology of elevated aminotransferases are unknown. We analyzed data on adults ages 17 yr and older (N = 15,676) from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994). Participants were classified as having elevated aminotransferase levels if either aspartate aminotransferase or alanine aminotransferase was elevated above normal. Aminotransferase elevation was classified as "explained" if there was laboratory evidence of hepatitis B or C infection, iron overload, or if there was a history of alcohol consumption. Analyses were weighted to provide national estimates. The prevalence of aminotransferase elevation in the United States was 7.9%. Aminotransferase elevation was more common in men compared to women (9.3% vs 6.6%, p = 0.002), in Mexican Americans (14.9%) and non-Hispanic blacks (8.1%) compared to non-Hispanic whites (7.1%, p < 0.001). High alcohol consumption, hepatitis B or C infection and high transferrin saturation were found in only 31.0% of cases. Aminotransferase elevation was unexplained in the majority (69.0%). In both men and women, unexplained aminotransferase elevation was significantly associated with higher body mass index, waist circumference, triglycerides, fasting insulin, and lower HDL; and with type 2 diabetes and hypertension in women (all p < 0.05). Aminotransferase elevation was common in the United States, and the majority could not be unexplained by alcohol consumption, viral hepatitis or hemochromatosis. Unexplained aminotransferase elevation was strongly associated with adiposity and other features of the metabolic syndrome, and thus may represent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
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PMID:The prevalence and etiology of elevated aminotransferase levels in the United States. 1280 14

Heavy iron overload, in both primary and secondary hemochromatosis, may cause fibrosis of parenchymal organs, especially the liver. The toxicity of iron is believed to involve increased oxidative stress, with iron-catalyzed production of reactive oxygen species causing oxidative damage to lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Lesser degrees of hepatic iron deposition are also associated with, and seem to be risk factors for, certain nonhemochromatotic liver diseases. Porphyria cutanea tarda is associated with hepatic iron overload and responds to iron-reduction therapy. Results of recent studies have demonstrated high prevalences (about 60%-80%) of HFE gene mutations in patients with porphyria cutanea tarda. Chronic hepatitis C is another risk factor for porphyria cutanea tarda. Other recent evidence indicates that the prevalence of HFE gene mutations is increased in chronic viral hepatitis and that patients with chronic hepatitis C harboring especially the C282Y mutation are more likely to suffer from advanced hepatic fibrosis or cirrhosis and to do so at younger ages. A role for modest iron overload in increasing severity of alcohol-induced liver disease has been well established from results of experimental studies. However, it is currently unresolved whether mild-to-moderate hepatic iron deposition or heterozygosity for the C282Y mutation plays a role in human alcoholic liver disease or in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. There is persuasive evidence that iron reduction decreases insulin resistance, and it likely also decreases oxidative stress, two key pathogenic features of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease/nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Iron loading has also been described after portosystemic shunts and in end-stage liver disease.
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PMID:Iron as a co-morbid factor in nonhemochromatotic liver disease. 1295 98

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy is a hepatopathy that occurs in the second or third trimester and accounts for 20% of cases of jaundice occurring in pregnancy. Both genetic and hormonal factors appear to play important roles in its development. The leading symptom is pruritus, and jaundice is common. Transaminases, serum bile acids and bilirubin are typically elevated, while gamma-GT is usually normal. For the differential diagnosis, in particular viral hepatitis, cholelithiasis, gestosis and acute fatty liver of pregnancy must be excluded. While the prognosis of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy for the mother is good, the associated increased tendency for a premature birth represents a potential risk for the child. Early treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid appears to have a positive influence on both the mother's symptoms and the course of the pregnancy. Should the symptoms persist after delivery, consideration must be given to a chronic hepatopathy.
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PMID:[Intrahepatic cholestasis in pregnancy. What to consider in jaundice and pruritus]. 1461 Aug 64

The role of liver biopsy in the diagnosis and management of liver disease is a controversial issue even among hepatologists. Although most causes of elevated liver enzymes can be determined, or at least suspected, on the basis of a careful history and laboratory tests, histological assessment remains the gold standard for most liver diseases. Histological evaluation can either confirm or refute clinical diagnoses and can provide information about the severity and stage of disease. Occasionally, the liver biopsy also provides an additional diagnosis. The spectrum of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease accounts for a substantial proportion of cases of chronically elevated liver enzymes and can be reliably diagnosed only by liver biopsy. Prognostic information can be obtained in patients with this disorder, as well as in those with alcoholic liver disease and viral hepatitis, and liver biopsy can be used as a guide to their management.
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PMID:The role of liver biopsy in the management of patients with liver disease. 1463 66

Ten percent of patients who undergo resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with chronic liver disease have no detectable cause for this underlying liver disease. Recent studies have shown that patients with cryptogenic chronic liver disease frequently have risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study examines the incidence of risk factors for NAFLD in patients with chronic liver disease who underwent resection for HCC. Among 210 patients with chronic liver disease who underwent resection for HCC, 18 (8.6%) had no identifiable cause for the underlying liver disease. These patients were assessed for obesity, diabetes mellitus, and histological features of the tumor and the adjacent liver parenchyma. Comparisons were made with matched patients with alcohol- and chronic-viral-hepatitis-related HCC. The prevalence of obesity (50% vs. 17% vs. 14%), diabetes (56% vs. 17% vs. 11%), aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase ratio<1 (50% vs. 19% vs. 17%), and steatosis>20% (61% vs. 17% vs. 19%) was significantly higher in patients with cryptogenic liver disease than in patients with alcohol abuse and chronic viral hepatitis (P<0.0001 for each). Well-differentiated tumors were significantly more common in patients with cryptogenic liver disease (89% vs. 64% in patients with alcohol-related HCC vs. 55% in patients with chronic viral hepatitis-related HCC, P<0.0001). In conclusion, the hypothesis that obesity and diabetes mellitus may be important risk factors for cryptogenic chronic liver disease in patients with HCC is supported by the analysis of surgically treated patients. Whether HCC is primarily related to obesity and diabetes mellitus or secondarily to a NAFLD-like parenchymal lesions remains to be clarified.
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PMID:Obesity and diabetes as a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma. 1476 43

Hepatic encephalopathy in pregnancy may be related to a wide variety of acute and chronic liver diseases, including acute viral hepatitis, acute fatty liver of pregnancy, pre-eclampsia-related liver injury, etc. Of these, hepatitis E virus infection is a particularly important cause in those developing countries where this infection is endemic. Etiological diagnosis can be made based on epidemiologic, clinical and laboratory findings. Treatment is usually similar to that of hepatic encephalopathy in the absence of pregnancy. Patients with acute fatty liver of pregnancy and pre-eclampsia-related liver injury may benefit from termination of pregnancy; the role of this treatment modality among patients with viral hepatitis has not been studied.
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PMID:Hepatic encephalopathy in pregnancy. 1502 63

Chronic infections with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are the most important risk factors for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in humans. HBV is the primary cause of HCC in high-risk areas including China and Africa, whereas in developed countries such as the United States, HCV plays a more prominent role and is at least partially responsible for the increase in HCC incidence in this country. Humans are exposed to hepatocarcinogenic aflatoxins through ingestion of moldy foods, a consequence of poor storage of susceptible grains. Highly exposed populations are primarily in sub-Sahara Africa and Asia, where dietary aflatoxins significantly enhance the carcinogenic effects of viral hepatitis. Heavy, long-term alcohol use is a risk factor for HCC, whereas moderate use (1-3 drinks/day) is not. Constituents of cigarette smoke are hepatic carcinogens in animals, and there is mounting evidence that the liver is an organ susceptible to tobacco carcinogenicity. Diabetic patients are at risk for HCC probably as a result of the hepatic injury, fibrosis, and eventual cirrhosis resulting from fatty liver disease. Given the current epidemic of obesity and diabetes in the United States, this risk factor will be increasingly important. Increased risk for HCC is evident in young noncirrhotic users of oral contraceptives in the United States and Europe. In summary, risk factors for HCC are identifiable in most patients and primarily are associated with chronic hepatic injury.
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PMID:Environmental factors and risk for hepatocellular carcinoma. 1550 6

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a liver disease characterized by the histological features of steatohepatitis in the absence of significant alcohol consumption. The natural history of NASH is poorly defined. Here we report our experience with a patient to illustrate the clinical course of cirrhotic NASH. A 67-year-old woman was admitted with hematemesis due to the rupture of esophageal varices. Her varices were treated by endoscopic ligation and endoscopic sclerotherapy. Her medical history was unremarkable. Both the patient and her family members were asked about alcohol intake several times during her illness, but all of them denied a history of alcohol intake. She had insulin resistance, as determined by homeostasis model assessment. Serological tests for viral hepatitis were all negative. Viral hepatitis, autoimmune liver disease, iron overload, and metabolic liver disorders were all excluded. Imaging tests failed to reveal any steatosis, because of the presence of severe fibrosis. Liver biopsy showed moderate steatosis, moderate inflammation, ballooning degeneration, and Mallory bodies. We diagnosed NASH associated with cirrhosis based on the clinicopathological features. Almost 2 years later, she developed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and she died of multiple HCCs. At autopsy, tumor invasion was seen throughout liver segment 8. The noncancerous liver showed burnt-out NASH; the steatosis, necroinflammation, ballooning degeneration, and Mallory bodies had all disappeared. In Japan, the prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease will increase as obesity has been increasing, so it is important to understand how to diagnose NASH. When a patient has NASH, careful follow-up should be performed.
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PMID:Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and burnt-out NASH. 1562 89

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and chronic viral hepatitis C are the two dominant liver diseases in the Netherlands. Hepatic steatosis is usually innocuous but in twenty percent of patients it develops into steatohepatitis. One-fifth of these patients develop liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma can also be a consequence of the disease. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is characterized by macrovesicular steatosis, necroinflammation, loss ofhepatocytes and fibrosis. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis often is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipoproteinemia and obesity. Insulin resistance plays a major role in the pathogenesis of this disease. Drugs against insulin resistance can ameliorate nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Gradual weight loss, a diet including polyunsaturated fatty acids and exercise are other important treatment components of this condition.
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PMID:[Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: diagnosis, pathogenesis, treatment and prognosis]. 1583 33


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