Does fatty liver disease transmit?

Written by Zhu Dan Hua
Gastroenterology
Updated on September 01, 2024
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Fatty liver is relatively common in clinical practice. It is not an infectious disease and is not contagious. Fatty liver is generally considered to be caused by various reasons leading to fat deposition in the liver. Usually, there are no specific symptoms. Some patients may experience pain, dull pain, or discomfort in the upper right abdomen, along with nausea, etc. Typically, patients discover they have fatty liver during a physical examination or incidental liver function tests and abdominal ultrasound that indicate changes due to fatty liver. The general principle of treatment is symptomatic management. If liver function is abnormal, hepatoprotective treatment can be considered. Of course, if liver function is normal and it's purely fatty liver, the main approach is adjusting dietary and lifestyle habits. It is advised that patients consume high-quality proteins and reduce intake of greasy, fatty, low-fat, and low-sugar foods. Maintaining a good mental state, appropriately reducing weight, and exercising can cure mild fatty liver. If there is severe fatty liver, it is recommended that patients visit a local hospital for treatment.

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Fatty liver MRI manifestations

Fatty liver, also known as hepatic steatosis, typically appears normal in most cases on MRI. However, a minority of cases may show high signals on T1 and T2. In fat-suppressed sequences, the high signals disappear after the fat is suppressed, appearing as low signal shadows. MRI has a specific sequence for examining fatty liver, known as the dual-echo sequence, which includes two sequences: one is the in-phase sequence and the other is called the opposed-phase sequence. The in-phase sequence examines the liver parenchyma, while a characteristic feature in the opposed-phase sequence is the significant decrease in signal in areas of fatty metamorphosis.

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Written by Huang Gang
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What are the symptoms of fatty liver? Is fatty liver serious?

If you have fatty liver disease, the symptoms are essentially the same as those of chronic hepatitis B and C, which include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, aversion to oily foods, and fatigue. Additionally, patients with fatty liver disease may experience a sensation of swelling and pain in the liver area. At this point, further liver function tests such as measuring transaminase and bilirubin levels can be conducted, and performing a hepatobiliary ultrasound can definitively diagnose the condition. If the fatty liver is due to obesity, it is advisable to strictly control food intake and engage in active and reasonable exercise for weight loss, as fatty liver can be reversed. However, if the fatty liver is due to long-term excessive alcohol consumption, it is recommended to strictly quit smoking and drinking, combined with reasonable exercise and diet control, as fatty liver can also be reversed.

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Written by Ye Xi Yong
Infectious Diseases
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How to treat hepatitis B coexisting with fatty liver?

The coexistence of hepatitis B and fatty liver can exacerbate liver damage and may also affect the treatment efficacy of hepatitis B virus. For patients with both hepatitis B and fatty liver, in addition to monitoring and treatment for hepatitis B, it is important to adjust their diet and lifestyle, limit fat intake, engage in physical exercise, and promptly eliminate fatty liver. For carriers of the hepatitis B virus, before initiating antiviral therapy, if liver function abnormalities occur, it is necessary to determine whether the liver damage is due to fatty liver or active hepatitis B virus. Treatments can include protecting the liver and eliminating fatty liver. If the response to treatment is unsatisfactory, antiviral treatment for hepatitis should be considered.

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Written by Ren Zheng Xin
Gastroenterology
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How to improve diet for fatty liver

Patients with fatty liver should pay attention to a reasonable diet, ensuring three meals are balanced, both coarse and refined, eating more vegetables and fruits as well as whole grains, and eating less greasy and spicy foods, especially avoiding the intake of animal fats, and strictly abstaining from smoking and drinking. While adjusting the diet, it is important to engage in appropriate physical activities, such as jogging, playing table tennis, and practicing Tai Chi, to enhance the consumption of fat in the body. Be cautious when using medication to avoid liver-toxic drugs, maintain a positive attitude, and try not to get angry. (Medication should be used under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Is moderate fatty liver serious?

Moderate fatty liver is considered a relatively severe condition, mainly caused by the excessive accumulation of fat tissue in the liver. Generally, moderate fatty liver can cause varying degrees of inflammatory changes in liver cells. It can be roughly divided into three stages: the first stage is simple fatty liver, the second stage is steatohepatitis, and the third stage is fatty liver fibrosis, also known as steatotic liver cirrhosis. Many factors can cause fatty liver, such as obesity, alcohol consumption, and drug toxicity. If a patient experiences indigestion, diarrhea, or loss of appetite, the possibility of fatty liver should be considered. It is advisable to visit a hospital for an upper abdominal CT scan or an abdominal ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis. The treatment mainly involves three aspects: removing the cause, dietary adjustment, and medication.